Buying used Honda Odyssey... need advice!

[laurajetter]

Our much-loved 2007 Toyota Sienna went kaput and we are looking to buy a used van, either another Toyota Sienna or possibly a Honda Odyssey. We have found a 2015 Odyssey with about 75,000 miles that is in our price range. On paper it sounds great with some great features, we've checked CarFax and has never been in an accident. We've always generally held Toyota and Honda in high esteem regarding safety/reliability, longevity and basically having a good reputation.

We are set to go look at the one we found, however my husband looked up information on 2015 Odyssey's in general and ended up finding some troubling information about recurring issues some people were complaining about. One was regarding the brakes and that they wear out very quickly and have to keep getting replaced, and the other major one had to do with the transmission seeming to shift in a very jerky way. (Please note this is my watered-down, non-car savvy reiteration of what DH explained to me yesterday... I know there are more details to these issues!)

We are now becoming skeptical of the Honda Odyssey, however we don't know whether these problems are something we truly should be wary of, or are they just like any other car or product out there, you'll find bad reviews no matter what. I guess I came on here to find out if anyone out there (either used Honda Odyssey owner or knowledgable car person) has any experience or advice as to whether we should continue looking into this type of mini-van or whether the claims I mentioned are in fact frequent problems and we should steer clear.

We just don't want to be wowed on the test drive only to find out a few months down the road we start having the issues we read about and end up kicking ourselves. I still can't get their good reputation out of my head and want to just believe the issues we read about are rare and most likely we won't have problems, but I want to make a smart purchase.

 

[mjkacmom]

Right now our family has 2 odyssey’s and 3 civics in our fleet, and have driven 2 other odyssey’s and another civic into the ground. We did have a couple of transmission issues, gave up on a 2000 after it’s second rebuilt transmission went last year. I bought our newest in December 2019, a 2016. I love them (and my youngest kids are 18),

 

[cvjw]

I had a 2008 sienna and a 2014 Honda Odyssey. No comparison between the 2. The Honda was soooo much better. I kept my 2014 odyssey for 5 years and traded it for a 2019 Honda Pilot. The only thing to ever go wrong with the odyssey was the lift gate motor. When I traded the odyssey, it had 60,000 miles. It had the original brakes. I replaced the tires at 50,000 miles.

I think some of the earlier odyssey’s - like the 2007-2008 models had transmission issues. Mine was flawless. I was so pleased with the reliability of the odyssey that I purchased the pilot - which is my favorite car ever!

My husband wants me to get an Acura MDX. I told him I will stick with my pilot

 

[dez1978]

Our much-loved 2007 Toyota Sienna went kaput and we are looking to buy a used van, either another Toyota Sienna or possibly a Honda Odyssey. We have found a 2015 Odyssey with about 75,000 miles that is in our price range. On paper it sounds great with some great features, we've checked CarFax and has never been in an accident. We've always generally held Toyota and Honda in high esteem regarding safety/reliability, longevity and basically having a good reputation.

We are set to go look at the one we found, however my husband looked up information on 2015 Odyssey's in general and ended up finding some troubling information about recurring issues some people were complaining about. One was regarding the brakes and that they wear out very quickly and have to keep getting replaced, and the other major one had to do with the transmission seeming to shift in a very jerky way. (Please note this is my watered-down, non-car savvy reiteration of what DH explained to me yesterday... I know there are more details to these issues!)

We are now becoming skeptical of the Honda Odyssey, however we don't know whether these problems are something we truly should be wary of, or are they just like any other car or product out there, you'll find bad reviews no matter what. I guess I came on here to find out if anyone out there (either used Honda Odyssey owner or knowledgable car person) has any experience or advice as to whether we should continue looking into this type of mini-van or whether the claims I mentioned are in fact frequent problems and we should steer clear.

We just don't want to be wowed on the test drive only to find out a few months down the road we start having the issues we read about and end up kicking ourselves. I still can't get their good reputation out of my head and want to just believe the issues we read about are rare and most likely we won't have problems, but I want to make a smart purchase.

I had a Pilot with that same transmission and it was so annoying. Like too many gears and it couldn't decide which one to shift into. I have a 2018 odyssey and while I love most things about it, the biggest issue for me is the automatic doors. Like they start to close then it beeps and they reopen even when nothing is in the way or in the track.

 

[dez1978]

I had a 2008 sienna and a 2014 Honda Odyssey. No comparison between the 2. The Honda was soooo much better. I kept my 2014 odyssey for 5 years and traded it for a 2019 Honda Pilot. The only thing to ever go wrong with the odyssey was the lift gate motor. When I traded the odyssey, it had 60,000 miles. It had the original brakes. I replaced the tires at 50,000 miles.

I think some of the earlier odyssey’s - like the 2007-2008 models had transmission issues. Mine was flawless. I was so pleased with the reliability of the odyssey that I purchased the pilot - which is my favorite car ever!

My husband wants me to get an Acura MDX. I told him I will stick with my pilot

I am going back to a pilot when my lease is up. Did it feel weird to go back to the pilot? Did you miss the extra space?

 

[Brett Wyman]

I am going back to a pilot when my lease is up. Did it feel weird to go back to the pilot? Did you miss the extra space?

We went from a 2017 Odyssey Touring to an Audi Q7 3-row and miss the Odyssey's cargo space and third row room EVERY DAY.

 

[RamblingMad]

Check this site out.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Odyssey/2015/

 

[bcla]

My worry would be the issues with the variable cylinder management system. It seems to have caused problems with oil consumption in cylinders that get turned off.

 

[bethbuchall]

I love my Honda Odyssey and have had no major problems with it, but it is a 2007, so I can’t necessarily speak to the newer models.

 

[aprilchem]

I had a 2015 Honda Odyssey and now I have a 2020 Odyssey. Before that I had a 2007 Odyssey. I've LOVED them all. No issues with any of them.

 

[rotlex]

We have a 2013 Odyssey with 80K on it. Zero issues with it other than the front brake. (Well, actually the rotors and not the brakes pads). While not problematic, we learned over the years the front disks are undersized and tend to warp\wear easily. We had our dealer installer aftermarket rotors a few years back and the issue was resolved. Other than that, it's been one of the most reliable vehicles we have ever owned. Gas mileage wise, if that's a concern, it does very well. We average around 30 on the highway and 18-20 city. (not bad I think for the size and weight of the vehicle).

 

[rotlex]

My worry would be the issues with the variable cylinder management system. It seems to have caused problems with oil consumption in cylinders that get turned off.

We have never seen an issue with this. We do a lot of highway driving therefore are almost always running in eco\cyclinder shut down mode. We don't lose a drop of oil between changes. (We generally do them at 5k intervals).

 

[frog3101]

I will go against the grain, my 2015 Odyssey has been a pain in my rear. I have friends who had the same year and model (we all got them
Within 3 months of each other) who liked theirs fine. they both have since gotten different vehicles. Mine might just be a the lemon of the bunch. I have had multiple issues with the cylinders and spark plugs. I also had a “freak” wire issue with the automatic door, which resulted in an almost 1000.00 fix. I don’t want to get a different car for a few more years at least, but I won’t be sorry when I can say “goodbye” to this one.

 

[bcla]

We have never seen an issue with this. We do a lot of highway driving therefore are almost always running in eco\cyclinder shut down mode. We don't lose a drop of oil between changes. (We generally do them at 5k intervals).

Honda was having issues with this early on. It would literally cook the motor oil and cause massive sludge buildup and possible oil starvation. But using higher quality oils seemed to reduce the chances of that happening. There are some reports of occasional issues with VCM but it was certainly a learning experience.

 

[_19disnA]

Asking about how a particular model of car performs in general is different to me from trying to evaluate one specific used vehicle for purchase. How the car was driven (i.e. mostly highway vs. city), where it as located (i.e. northern climates with snow/ice vs the south), if it was ever in an accident....... mean more to me then most other things. I would have a reputable mechanic inspect any used vehicle you are considering. They can spot obvious issues that perhaps the casual consumer would not observe (things like worn suspension, engine/transmission or signs of accident damage repair, etc.) which could result in costly repairs down the road. Auto review websites tend to mostly contain comments from people who have something to complain about and not every vehicle of that model/year will have those issues.

Significant issues that impact all of that vehicle or at least all of them built during a certain timeframe were likely already repaired while under warranty. Certainly, you can have issues with any vehicle since it a mechanical device, but those are the main things I would consider.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We had a much older Odyssey with transmission issues. Ours was an 02 we bought in 06.

After about 6 months we began experiencing transmission problems. I then discovered there was a known problem with Odyssey transmissions back then. Some were recalled, some (like ours) weren't but the manufacturer would pay for a new transmission if you contacted them and requested it.

By the time we requested it they'd gone down to only paying for 50% of the cost of a new transmission. We took it because the vehicle was already out of warranty.

Turned out to be a very good vehicle for us. Even after our kids were grown, DW kept driving it and was sad to give it up in 2014.

 

[llij]

We are a Honda family with two Odysseys (2005 and 2016) as well as a 2019 Civic and 2014 Accord (4 adult drivers in our family! ). The 2005 Odyssey is still going strong and I think that the only issue we had with it had to do with the doors, but that was an easy fix at the dealer.

 

[cvjw]

I am going back to a pilot when my lease is up. Did it feel weird to go back to the pilot? Did you miss the extra space?

Not really. The pilot is almost as spacious as the odyssey. It has a little less cargo capacity. It is as nice for long trips as the odyssey was. It is also easier to park than the odyssey!

 

[BarryS]

We have a 2014 Odyssey Touring with 114k miles. Love it. The only reason we have it is because somebody rear-ended us and totaled our 2008 Odyssey

Minor annoyance with the Touring: the lane departure warning system causes windshield replacements to be expensive! You have to take it into the shop to "recalibrate" the camera and use OEM glass, so that cost us like $1200...

Otherwise, it has a better turn radius than my Altima, and my DW loves the heated seats in the winter. We once put an entire couch in there with the third row folded and the 2nd row removed!

 

[princesscinderella]

I had a 2010 odyssey and got a 2017 Toyota Sienna because Honda had switched over to the push button gear change and it just looked like a problem waiting to happen. I had a friend who had just gotten that odyssey and hated it too. I love my sienna and the seats were much more comfortable than the odyssey for everyone, with more leg room for my tall kids.