Leaving in 5 days and driving to WDW...MONKEYWRENCH!

[Tiger926]

This is a common problem with the Honday Odyssey. My colleague is on her 4th transmission in less than 3.5 years! There is some kind of defect with how the transmission overheats, and the wear is then excessive, thus the need for many transmissions in a short time period.

They just tried to make her pay $5,000 for a new transmission last week - it's less than 1 year old, so I suggested she contact Honda Canada, and they replied back, that the transmission would be put in free of charge for parts and labour!

I guess the problem wasn't serious enough for a national recall, but it's serious enough that hard working families, who have already overpaid for the Honday Odyssey in the first place (it's such an expensive van), are forced to replace transmissions in vans that are not very old.

Good luck, Tiger

 

[csharpwv]

If you are staying on property - I would definitely suggest flying!

Imagine the time you could save by flying! You could possibly even get another day out of your vacation!

 

[2disneyboys]

anohter suggestion.. if you chose to rent, don't limit yourself to a van... esp with only 4 people.. (even if all are adult size!) we rented a large size sedan (you know, the size that sits 6 people for a large trip(4 adults) and had MORE than enough room so if you go the rental route, check out the pricing on allthe vehicle sizes...

 

[happily single]

I was screaming to the computer "GET A SECOND OPINION". Car dealers are highway robbers. Wouldn't be surprised if the transmission place finds nothing wrong.

I would however still rent a car. I've always gotten awesome rental rates through AAA. And be sure to shop the different locations of the rental agencies. In July one Hertz wanted $75 more for a week than another Hertz (which was actually walking distance to my house)

 

[dclfun]

I would get a rental van even if your van is fixed in time. This way you save the mileage and wear/tear on your family vehicle. Check out any available discounts. Consider that *if* you were being reimbursed for mileage, the costs to drive your own van could be higher than the rental.---Kathy

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Definitely rent a van! ITA with the others. It does seem very high-- I remember when looking into buying a minivan, we looked at Odysseys and they do seem to have transmission probs that were under recall. I'd contact Honda directly. I don't trust a thing out of a dealer's mouth!

I totally understand what you mean about a van throwing a monkey wrench into your plans, we hit a deer at the end of October, 5 days after we paid it off. The body shop quoted us $4200!! Ha.. yeah.. right.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would be raising hell if my car had 50000 miles on it and was needing it's 3rd transmission. That is NOT normal.

I think the 50K miles came from them having 50K on the second transmission, not on the whole car.

That said, hubby who worked at a Saturn dealership (and knows lots about lots of cars) says 50K isn't normal for a transmission.



From what I understand, recalls happen when big things happen dramatically, or when smaller things happen a certain number of times. This transmission thing might just be counting up to when it's going to make the cut for a recall. So make SURE Honda knows about this, and the first one as well if it happened too early.

 

[NeedaVacation03]

I am talking to my sister,who used to work for Honda service, and she says you should ask the service dept. when the district service manager will be in. They used to come in to the various shop, not sure if they still do or not- worth a shot though. Because they have the ability to override that decision. That is way to low mileage for the transmission to be out again.

 

[Local_Girl]

OP here again. Well, we are going ahead with the fix (rebuild, I believe) at the family-owned transmission shop since they came in with a quote for significantly less that what the dealership could do. We'll have a 3-year, 100,000 mile warranty on their work...by that time, we'll probably need a new vehicle anyway.

The district service manager for Honda was the one who denied our request, and even when DH called Honda corporate, he was told the DSM is the one who makes the call, end of story. Apparently, various Hondas have this transmission issue, and it's got something to do with an engineering design flaw, IMHO, based on what I've read about it. I understand Honda hasn't been very helpful with many customers who have had this issue...so, unfortunately for them, we probably won't be buying a 6th Honda, even though we've generally been very happy with them. And I came here to tell 300,000+ of my closest friends (yay DISers!) how unhappy we are about it.

We are still going to WDW cool1, taking our Accord wagon since the tranny fix is costing $$$$ and we don't need a 2 week car rental cost on top of that. The van will be fixed while we're gone, so we won't have to worry about trying to juggle one car (or another car rental) between DH and I for work/school.

Thanks so much everyone for your support and all the and Now I'm off to look up those "how to cut costs at WDW" threads, LOL!

 

[swilshire]

If you don't already have one, it's well worth the cost for a soft sided luggage carrier for the top of the Accord to give you more space. Most of them work even if you don't have a luggage rack. You can find them on sale in the $50 range. Ours is from Samsonite.

Sheila

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We are on the verge of having our Mercury Sable (2002) transmission replaced and it will run about 2800 and have a 3 yr/100k warranty from Ford. The original unit has 180K and is starting to act up.

Sorry about your surprise right before your trip!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If it were me I would rent. Why put all those miles on your own vehicle plus having a tranny problem would not be a good thing to take on a long drive. Plus most rental cars are fairly new therefore they get good gas milage. And if the rental breaks down along the way they will give you another vehicle.

Hopefully honda will antie up and cover it since it seems to be an on going problem. Just a bummer to have happened at the worst possible time!

 

[seashoreCM]

Before renting a car for such a long trip, check the rental company's policies regarding geographical limitatiions. TYpically you are limited to your state and neighboring states but sometimes it is more restrictive.

Did you change the transmission fluid at the time and mileage intervals recommended?

 

[toesmom]

Weeellll, I took the van (Honda Odyssey) into the dealership for an oil change and to check on what I thought was a minor transmission problem today. They tell us we need a new transmission in the van. Though normally that might be necessary, and a huge budget buster and a big pain, the BIGGEST problem with this situation is that we just completely replaced the transmission in this van 2-1/2 years ago. We had a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on the new tranny. We are at about 50,000 miles...so, of course, no longer under warranty.

They want $5000 plus for the new transmission/labor! DH is furious. The service folks at this dealership were trying to get Honda to honor the warranty, but it was denied. BTW, we do not tow anything with our van and the mileage on it is mostly due to highway driving. DH has a 15 year old Accord wagon with high miles on it and has had zero problems with the transmission in that vehicle.

So, not sure what to do. Unless Honda will cover the cost of replacing this transmission, we won't be getting it done. (Darn, I love my van. ) The immediate problem is what to do about the trip. Not going is the worst option as we've already paid for some things and they are non-refundable. We could take the Accord wagon, but with DH, me, and 2 teens, we'd be really cramped on a long trip and I'm a bit nervous about taking a vehicle with almost 300,000 miles on it. We could try to rent a vehicle...or fly...train?

Any suggestions? Maybe a hug...

Definitely get a second opinion on this. Dealerships, at least my experience, sometimes lie. Our old corolla, they told us we need new engine. All it was was an air filter. Second opinion figured it out.

It might not be as bad as you think. Ask around with friends to a trusted mechanic and you may be surprised.

 

[10dedfish]

You could try AAMCO? I think. They may be able to get you a better deal, and a 2nd opinion. Remember, trust but verify.

Matt