2001 Honda Odyssey: jerking or lurching

Filed Jun 8, 2014 · Transmission · 95,545 miles · VA

I realized that it wouldn't accelerate after being at a stop light. When it finally did it would jerk between gears. The check engine came on for the 2nd time (the 1st last week for a short that was fixed). Then my tcs came on and wouldn't turn off. The transmission is erratic and previously had issues between 2nd and 3rd. Now I'm told I need a new transmission. It has less than 96,000 miles. I'm a single mom w/ 2 kids I can't afford that. I got this van from a relative after my pathfinder (w nearly 300,000 miles on it) had an engine gasket issue I couldn't afford to have fixed because the engine had to be broken down. I'm seeing that this is a common issue for 12 yrs worth of models? Why is there no warning? When I looked at other cars there were statements with them about issues. Honda needs to fix this. This is horrible quality management. A mini van is a kid mobile - how would honda like the press if kids are hurt because this goes out when kids are in it? I get my van serviced by a mechanic every 2 mos - I take care of my cars. My last one was 17 yrs old. I won't buy honda again if this is representative of their quality management and product quality. I've never had to replace a transmission under 225,000 miles before on any make or model.

Filed Jun 24, 2013 · Transmission · 70,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 honda odyssey. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The contact mentioned that the tcs and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 72,000.

Filed Aug 19, 2012 · Transmission · 178,000 miles · OH

Transmission had been jerking when shifting around 5-15 MPH. Then about 3 months later it just wouldn't shift at all after about 5 MPH.

Filed Feb 23, 2012 · Brakes, Transmission · 101,000 miles · TX

The transmission began slipping between the 2nd and 3rd gears. The vehicle would slowly move forward with very little apparent thrust then would suddenly "kick" into the next gear and lurch forward, then slowly move into the next gear. Also the tcs light came on and stayed on and the green drive (d) indicator began to flash. This problem is primarily with the drive gear and not so much the reverse gear. The check engine light came on two weeks ago and has remained on. An obd code reader on 22 feb 2012 indicated 3 different fault codes -2 generic and 1 manufacturer- with the majority of explanations indicating specific transmission faults and one- a tcc code -electrical.

Filed Dec 16, 2011 · Transmission · 143,000 miles · TN

While driving down the road the transmission went out. Without any warning besides that morning it had a problem shifting into 2 gear. The vehicle had a new transmission put in 70,000 miles prior to this happening. But, it was very dangerous, just driving down the highway and it jerking down to 0mph and not even being able to get it to move off the highway, wouldn't go into any gear.

Filed Jun 11, 2011 · Transmission · 101,500 miles · NC

We have a 2001 honda odyssey ex. At 67,000 miles, while still under warranty, I noticed that it seemed to be slow at shifting gears after slowing down. I took it to the dealer and he said that this was normal. Now at 101,000, the engine light came on and the slow shifting suddenly got dramatically worse, with the engine revving up before jerking the car as the transmission finally shifts gears. Now when we took it to the dealer, out of warranty, we were told that the transmission would need to be replaced because of a "transmission torque converter clutch sys. Malfunction" and the replacement would cost $5000. I'm upset because honda knows that this is a problem with the 2001 model and should dealt with it honestly when we brought the car in under warranty rather than telling me that it was normal and waiting until after 100,000 miles to inform me that the transmission needs replace. We are trying to decide if it is worth the money to replace the transmission.

Filed Nov 29, 2010 · Transmission · 138,000 miles · NY

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda odyssey. The contact attempted to accelerate from a stop but the vehicle would only travel 2 MPH before it jerked into gear and began accelerating further. During the failure, the check engine and traction control lights illuminated. The contact turned the vehicle off and restarted; after the restart, the vehicle performed normally. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the failure was common. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 138,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Sep 27, 2010 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · FL

2001 honda odyssey; transmission failure. Bucks and shifts erratically. Engine light comes on, d4 light blinks. Extremely dangerous to drive, as it lurches forward uncontrollably. Just started with this problem last week; car currently has 95,000 miles. Original owner; maintained the car privately once the dealer warranty was expired.

Filed Aug 14, 2010 · Transmission · 48,000 miles · TX

2001 honda odyssey 1st transmissions failure at approximately 48000 miles. Vehicle sitting at intersection. Attempted to pull across traffic and turn left at 4 lane busy road with no light. Car revived but did not move. Then took foot off accelerator and as RPM's came down, car lurched and moved into traffic as 18 wheeler approached.3 kids in vehicle and wife. Nearly a major accident. Second transmission failure at approximately 109000 miles. Vehicle under cruise control 50 miles north of waco. Transmission suddenly and abruptly revived to reclined attempting to maintain cruise control set speed of 70 MPH. Left wife and 3 kids stranded in middle of nowhere north of waco. Took 3 hours for tow truck to find. Anything could have happened. Third transmission failure at 180000 miles. Vehicle just. Quit running engine revived like before. Spouse and kids were able to limp to shopping mall at 30 MPH and 4000 RPM. Vehicle os on 4th tyranny in 180,000 miles. Honda refused to pay for replacement tyranny. Cost 4000. Vehicle had extended warranty purchased. Each new tyranny came with 3/36 warranty and honda lost lawsuit for transmission and extended warranty to 109k miles. Subsequent lawsuit extended warranty further. Residual value when sold was completely stolen dealer gave 3900 in trade. Had listed on craigslist...nobody and I mean nobody wanted to buy it of called.

Filed Jul 28, 2010 · Transmission · 182,000 miles · TX

2001 honda odyssey transmission design flaw. Fact: the 2001 honda odyssey transmission was part of a class action lawsuit wherein honda extended warranties on all 2001 honda odyssey transmissions to 109,000 miles. The transmission is more flawed than honda admitted. My van is on its 4th transmission within 180,000 miles, averaging just 60,000 miles per transmission. Honda paid to replace it twice but refused the last one. My van has no towing package and has been well serviced. As a degreed engineer, I investigate the transmission problems and also had my mechanic take pictures of the inside of the tranny. Deeper investigation determined that honda has made no significant design changes to the transmissions they used when replacing the defective original unit. This means that the same design inherent to the unit was placed back in the vehicle. Doing this means that honda effectively put defective merchandise back in my car. In nearly every case I have investigated, the 3rd clutch pack is the failure mode for the transmission. Investigation turned out several reasons this is such a common failure. The third clutch pack gets starved for oil and heat buildup is not removed from the unit due to poor oil flow. The paths for oil flow get clogged with debris as the tranny fails. There are thousands of 2000-2002 honda odysseys like mine with multiple failures of the transmission. Honda has left my family stranded, risked their life in a "lurch" into traffic and stolen my residual value in trying to sell this vehicle.

Filed Apr 4, 2010 · Transmission · 107,111 miles · AL

I have a 2001 honda odyssey that I purchased used in 2008. I was at a stop sign, on an incline when my odyssey started rolling backwards. Thankfully there was no one behind me and I used the emergency brake to stop the rolling. I was able to coast backwards down the hill until I found a driveway to turn around in. On the way home the car jerked and jumped when I tried to accelerate.

Filed Jan 6, 2010 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · DE

While driving north on the new jersey turnpike with my wife and our 5 children at a steady speed of 60 MPH, there was a snap/jerking motion felt and slight rubber smell and the van immediately lost acceleration. There was steady traffic I had to negotiate through to get our van safely off the interstate. This is the second transmission needing to be replaced in our 2001 honda odyssey and I have contacted honda north america to correct this problem and they will not do so because the warranty had expired for the last replacement. Please contact me to advise of recourse options I have with this problem. Thanking you in advance for your assistance.