Honda Odyssey ...good & bad

[jennilynn510]

we're shopping for a new minivan. DH really likes the honda. tell me all the good & bad you've experienced. any help would be so appreciated

 

[vicki_c]

I've had my Odyssey for 5 years and I couldn't say one bad thing about it - it is awesome! It was the first new car I ever had (after years of hand-me-downs and assorted other used car clunkers) and it is perfect. Knocking wood, I haven't had anything go wrong with it that I recall. We just do the required maintenance, oil changes, had new tires and wiper blades and that's it.

Prior to that we had a Pontiac Montana and there was ALWAYS something wrong with it - including having the same items repaired, over and over and over.

We have had the best luck with Hondas, Subarus (another awesome make of car - never have any problems) and Acuras.

 

[BarbWB]

I have nothing bad to say about my 2006 Odyssey EXL at all. Amongst other cars, I've had a new Civic, a new CRV, and a new Odyssey. If you are looking for a minivan, the Odyssey is really great. I've had it for 4+ years with 73K miles now. The only problem I've had is that the battery has gone bad twice, but both times it was covered by warranty and replaced free at Honda.
The only problem with it now is that it is getting cramped for 4 older kids on long distance road trips. I really wish Honda had something bigger b/c all 3 of my Hondas have been fabulous cars.

 

[smile750]

I have an 05 Odyssey EX. I love the car (especially since it's paid off ) - I did have some issues though. There was a recall early on having to do with the power steering and I got that fixed. There was also another expensive fix I wasn't expecting regarding the front, side, and rear motor mounts. All cracked (didn't know until the Honda mechanics informed me after I had been hearing squeaking). Anyway - was expensive fix at the dealer though could have had it done for less than a $1K at another mechanic. I did google problems with 05 odyssey and that was a frequent problem that most blamed on design flaw.

I suggest that you google the year, make, model along with the word "problems" and see what pops up. Not everything makes it to a recall and you'll want to know what the problems are. Look what happened with Toyota.

Important to note that I would still purchase the same car - I love what comes standard and just the way everything feels compared to other vans.

 

[Local_Girl]

We love our Odyssey! It's a 2000 EX and we bought it used in 2004, with 97,000 miles on it. I was skeptical, but DH is a pretty savvy car guy, and said it was just getting "broken in". It was a great price too, compared to others we had seen. Now we have well over 200K on it and it's still running great. We have had to do a bit of maintenance above the routine scheduled stuff, but it's been well worth it.

DH has an Accord wagon with close to 300K on it, and it's in remarkable condition. Between us, we've had 5 Hondas and have loved them all. Unfortunately, we moved to a somewhat rural area this year (down 3 dirt roads to get to our house), so the cars are taking a bit of a beating.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We own 2 Odysseys. An new to us 06 EX-L purchased about 2 yrs ago- now has 62,000 miles on it. At the end of June we purchased a 2010 EX- L. I am LOVING it!!! It drives soo much smoother than my Venture. I love the power doors and lift gate and the back up camera too.

We owned an 87 Accord LX1- ran for 164,000 miles until it was hit head on and the frame was bent. Thank goodness DH was okay!

We use to own the Chevy Ventures (3 of them) but they started having more mechanical issues than we cared to spend to fix.

The only con to the Odyssey is the lack of being able to fit an infant carrier in the middle seat in the middle row. We have our 4dc and also do newborn foster care so I usually have an infant with us. It is really hard to get the infant carrier secured to the middle rear seat or outboard seat. I have 2 still in car seats- booster and a front facing. I usually have to have ds11 ride in the front seat. He is the size of an adult but still don't like having to put him in the front seat. That is the only con that I have. Apparently the 2011 Odyssey will allow a car seat to be installed in the middle row middle seat.

Good luck with your purchase. I was able to get a great price by using various dealer internet pricing. We also purchased the last day of the month since the dealers are looking to get the vehicles off the lots.

oh-- the 2011 Odyssey is being redesigned and has additional features. Check it out to see which one you like better.

 

[rangermom]

We just bought a new to us 2007 Odyssey EX-L with 50,000 miles. We love it. We bought it while on vacation in Houston, drove it back home to AZ, then DH drove it GA for training. I kept joking with him that I did not kmow which I would miss more, him or the van over the next 3 months.

Actually, we have been wanting one for several years. We have about 5-6 friends that own one and they all have nothing but good thinds to say, so we traded in our Town and Country in and upgraded.

We couldn't be happier.

 

[E&E Mom]

We bought a 2009 Honda O last year and LOVE it! We had been talking about trading in our SUV for a minivan for over a year (when my daughter was born). We have loved it so much. It just does not feel like you are driving a minivan. It handles like a car. One of my favorite features is the automatic doors and that the back seat windows will go down (not typical in a minivan) I love that is is a comfortable 7-8 person passenger and cupholders galore. I just can't say enough about it. If you decide to get one, I think you will love it.

 

[Jollean]

My mom has owned one for about 10 years. Since they first came out I think. She is real big on maitenance, and when we were out to visit her this year we could not beleive how great a shape it was in. It is still like new.

Just can't go wrong with a Honda, especially if you keep up with its maitenance!

 

[SandrA9810]

I know it's not the mini van, but my aunt has a 2000 Accord and finally fell in love with it, after getting the thing paid off. She bought it brand new off the lot, and has continued to use the dealership for yearly maintance tune ups and oil changes. She has yet to deal with any major issue, and still looks new. I sometimes forget that it's a 10yr old car.

Now a manager of mine, told me a story about when she was driving a Honda (which I believe she said was an Odyssey). She was behind a semi on the highway (with a decent distance). The semi suddenly slammed on his brakes. She slammed on hers, and turned the wheel, and slammed head on into the cement barrier. The car behind then had an extra 10ft of space to come to a complete stop behind the semi. When the police/paramedics got there, they told her she was extremely lucky for driving a honda. Almost any other car, her front end would've smash, and crushed her into the driver seat, probably killing her. She said she has never been able to buy a different brand since then.

They're also known for lasting a long time, and holding value.

I want an Element. Not as good as the Odyssey, but a few grand less, which makes it more reasonable. And if you can wait, end of the year is usually a good time to buy. The new year models have come out, and anything left on the lot after the new year, the business has to pay taxes on.
My aunt told me about that when I was working with her. She was boss of a wholesale company, and during the month of December the owner would limit the ordering to only the orders that needed to be filled. He didn't want much for the year end inventory.
Plus you buy one that's been used for test driving, it'll have some miles on it, but still under warrenty and it'll help knock down the price. Next year models should be coming out in the next couple of months, so you should get a 2010 (if you want brand spanking new) for a bit cheaper.

 

[mtquinn]

We bought an '09 last year and really love it. Though, it came time for the 15k checkup and the rotors were all warped. Needed to be sanded down and refinished. Brakes were completely fine, so the maintenance guy had no idea why it happened. It was covered under the warranty, thank goodness, so no complaints.

It's a slam dunk, really. Best van out there. I think Honda is redesigning it for next year, so the longer you wait the better deal you will get at the end of the year or beginning of Jan.

 

[kydisneymom]

I have an '07 Honda Odyssey EX-L and absolutely LOVE IT! There is really nothing bad to say. The dual sliding doors are my favorite part, just so handy. My van has 40,000 miles and we bought it new. We have had no issues and the only thing done to it is the scheduled maintenence. You won't be sorry!

 

[Dictator]

You should really check out the Mazda 5 and Kia Sedona.

 

[4forthemouse]

We bought an '09 last year and really love it. Though, it came time for the 15k checkup and the rotors were all warped. Needed to be sanded down and refinished. Brakes were completely fine, so the maintenance guy had no idea why it happened. It was covered under the warranty, thank goodness, so no complaints.

It's a slam dunk, really. Best van out there. I think Honda is redesigning it for next year, so the longer you wait the better deal you will get at the end of the year or beginning of Jan.

We had a 2001 Odyssey (191000 miles) we just traded in for a 2010. It was actually hard for me to trade it in I loved that van...but my new one is awesome.
FYI the 2011 models are suppose to come out next month I believe. They haven't made the 2010's for a few months now and because they are going at such great prices they're disappearing. If it's a 2010 you want you should look now. When we bought ours 3 weeks ago 2 of the 4 dealerships we'd been talking to were sold out of all 2010 Odysseys by the time we went back.

 

[soccerchick]

My mom has owned one for about 10 years. Since they first came out I think. She is real big on maitenance, and when we were out to visit her this year we could not beleive how great a shape it was in. It is still like new.

Just can't go wrong with a Honda, especially if you keep up with its maitenance!

This is us. We have a 2002 Odyssey and we doi regular maintenance. WE did change the timing belt at just over 100K, We've got 128K on it and it is still going strong. There are some cosmetic issues, but those are to be expected with two kids, softball and soccer teams carpools, long trips, etc.

There are probably some deals to be had on the 2010 models, if you can find one. The van was redesigned for 2011.

 

[hlkeck]

We have an '09 as well. My first Honda. LOVE IT. No problems. Everything works. Lots of room. The rear lift gate opens at a touch of the button on the key ring...fabulous feature.

I have had a Dodge Caravan. Things went wrong all the time.

Wouldn't change a thing on this van. Drives well, gets fair gas mileage, love the stow and go seats in the back. kids can plug in their video game unit to the dvd player. rear a/c. LOVE IT.

 

[mjkacmom]

Although I LOVE my 2003 Odyssey, there were a few years (including mine) with transmission issues. Both my dad and I had to replace the transmissions, and the shop where my mom and dad bought their used Odyssey's won't buy and sell certain years. That said, I love my Odyssey, and the transmission issues have been worked out by Honda.

 

[dimimi]

we're shopping for a new minivan. DH really likes the honda. tell me all the good & bad you've experienced. any help would be so appreciated

We like the Odyssey. We liked the Toyota Sienna better, but I didn't know that until we bought the Oddyssey! The Odyssey has (in my opinion) huge blind spots. A vehicle can fit in the right hand side of the windshild where the molding is to hold the window in. I've learned to be careful!

We had one major repair, I'm sorry I don't know the correct words, but a small bracket broke off the engine mount. They told us it happened often and it was over $500 to fix it. The part was under $50! Other than that, the van is great.

We like that the back seat fold in and we have the 8 seater option which has come in VERY handy!

 

[vicki_c]

We like the Odyssey. We liked the Toyota Sienna better, but I didn't know that until we bought the Oddyssey! The Odyssey has (in my opinion) huge blind spots. A vehicle can fit in the right hand side of the windshild where the molding is to hold the window in. I've learned to be careful!

For all my loving the Odyssey, I do find this to be very true and my husband complains about it. I try to be really careful with the blind spot but in fact just a few days ago, I didn't see a pedestrian in the parking lot who was approaching the driver side of the car, she was right in that blind spot made by the support - lucky we both saw each other before anything bad happened.

 

[DISdreamin']

Although I LOVE my 2003 Odyssey, there were a few years (including mine) with transmission issues. Both my dad and I had to replace the transmissions, and the shop where my mom and dad bought their used Odyssey's won't buy and sell certain years. That said, I love my Odyssey, and the transmission issues have been worked out by Honda.

Another person here with a 2003 that had a trannie replaced at right under 100K miles. Thankfully, Honda replaced it under warranty, and so far so good (knock on wood) at 135K. If you're buying used, definitely do a search - lots and lots of second-gen Odys and Accords had big issues with this (the 6-cylinder Accords only, I think).

That problem acknowledged, I love, love, LOVE my Ody. Honestly, we just bought a new CR-V earlier this week but if money had been no object we would have gone for the Ody again - and will in another few years when the '03 needs replaced! However, I wanted the power seats which only came with leather, and the EX-L Ody was much more than that same trim level on the CR-V.

FWIW, I never thought leather would be good when we bought the '03, but we got it because we wanted the rear entertainment/DVD system, and you had to get the EX-L to get RES. The leather has been FABULOUS to own - to see it, you would never guess that car has seen seven-plus years with two kids from infant to school-age. And the seat heaters (or what we call tush toasters) are my absolute favorite thing about that car.

One place I'd suggest visiting to learn more about the Ody is odyclub.com - you can find lots of info on all generations of that vehicle, and also lots about the new redesign, I'd imagine. Fabulous site for researching when considering buying, and also once you own the vehicle if you run into any issues or quirks.