2003 Honda Odyssey: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Apr 30, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · 211,000 miles · VA · fire

The interior roof of the vehicle caught fire and burned after the car was turned off. The smoke started while driving and the smoke was coming from the drivers side seat belt area where it connects to the frame top.

Filed Apr 1, 2013 · Electrical · 122,000 miles · KS

We were returning from a family vacation traveling on the interstate highway system at 70 MPH when, without any warning, all the dials on the dashboard (speedometer, tachometer, etc) suddenly went to zero then immediately returned to normal. I also noticed a burning smell. About two minutes later, while still traveling on the highway at 70 MPH, the vehicle lost all acceleration. So we pulled to the side of the road. About a minute after we pulled over, the vehicle ceased all operations. My initial efforts to restart the vehicle were unsuccessful, but after 5 minutes, I was able to restart the vehicle. Again, the vehicle ceased operations after a few minutes. After investigating the vehicle, we decided to call a tow truck. While sitting on the side of the highway waiting for the tow truck, we turned on the vehicle again to operate the air conditioning. After about 10 minutes, we noticed the burning smell and puffs of smoke coming from the steering column. We turned off the vehicle and waited for the tow truck. The honda dealership to which the vehicle was towed replaced the ignition switch and fixed the problem. They informed me the ignition switch "burned up" inside. I still have the part, if you care to inspect it. We were able to complete the remainder of our 700 mile journey home. Please note the dealership informed me the problem I experienced was completely different from the recent safety recall on this vehicle (recall 13-011) for the ignition shift interlock problem. While I normally do not file complaints of this nature, I am filing this complaint to bring this issue to your attention. Based on my research on the internet, I am not the only one experiencing this problem. Thankfully, no one was injured in my incident. However, it is very possible that serious injury can occur when a vehicle traveling at 70 MPH loses power without any warning.

Filed Aug 15, 2012 · Transmission · 176,000 miles · CO

I was traveling with family on the highway, going 75 MPH and suddenly saw a flume of smoke behind my car. I notice the RPM jumped to 5 and I stepped on the brake to immediately. It smell like some liquid was burning. Pull the car over onto the exit and look to find the transmission fluid had leaked and spray onto the exhaust and muffler - causing the smell. Towed it back to my house and call honda but they said it's over 100k and they will not cover any repair cost. It's obviously a manufacturing defect but they will not repair it. Just the week before, I brother-in-law's van (exact same make and model - and about same mileage had to same problem - oddly enough almost at the same place on the highway. It's very unlikely that two identical vans broke down almost at the same spot with the same problem was a normal break down. Honda knows the problem but would not admit to it and will not recall it. I would like for you to tell honda to recall the transmission and fix my car and my brother -in-law's. It's not only a defective transmission, it also a hazardous - what if it had caught on fire - when the fluid spray out. Please mandate honda to recall the transmission of the 2003 odyssey. Thanks.

Filed Aug 5, 2012 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · GA

Starting the vehicle up and trying to drive away it will jump out of first at which point the engine over revs. Must sit for a few seconds and it will "bang" into second gear shaking the entire vehicle. Driving down the road it will slip out of third gear at 55mph and then "bang" into 4th. This vehicle has had the transmission completely rebuilt four times since 07/01/2011. The second time for a rebuild was january 2012, then may 2012 and now it must go back a fourth time august 2012. On several occasions while pulling out into traffic the transmission has slipped out of gear and nearly caused accidents. This is a very dangerous vehicle that has a transmission that can not be repaired once it begins to fail. At highway speeds when trying pass another vehicle the transmission will stutter slip and "bang" into passing gear or slip out of gear and then re-engage in a lower gear preventing the over taking of the other vehicle. Another incident occurred on the expressway at 65mph I began smelling smoke and pulled off onto an exit ramp at which time the entire vehicle was engulfed in thick white smoke that smelled like burning transmission fluid. We had to exit the vehicle for fear of it being on fire.

Filed Dec 18, 2011 · Transmission · 133,200 miles · VA · fire

While traveling from florida to virginia down i95 at 70mph in cruise control, I suddenly lost acceleration and looked up in time to see smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. I pulled over and transmission fluid continued to burn and smoke from engine compartment and then the plastic engine cover caught fire. We were able to extinguish it and have it towed to a honda dealer, where we were told the transmission overheated for an unknown reason. This van had already had three transmission cooler line recall performed after a similar incident by a previous owner that caused the transmission to need to be rebuilt. After being left with no other option, I opted to refill transmission fluid and continue to drive the can back to virginia. The van operated perfectly and had no issues for the rest of the six hundred plus mile trip home. I am of course now scared to drive it anywhere even though it runs like it never had a problem. It gave no indication of trouble before this sudden overheating either. This could have been much worse especially since we were traveling with three small children including a baby.

Filed Jul 29, 2011 · Transmission · 101,500 miles · VA

At 101,500 miles and less than 2 years and 20,000 miles after the first transmission rebuild, our 2003 honda odyssey van is once again in need of a complete transmission rebuild. This is the same problem that thousands of other honda owners are reporting. We purchased the van new from honda in december 2002 and have religiously maintained it (oil changes, tires, brakes, tune-ups, check-ups, etc.). At 82,289 miles, the original transmission "came apart" while my wife was driving one day. Prior to that, the gears seemed to be slipping. Frustrated with the poor service from the dealership and the run-around honda has been giving their customers (specifically with odyssey owners), we had the transmission rebuilt by aamco ($3500) and were "assured" that we were getting a better transmission than the original. How is a transmission that lasts 1/4 of the time than the original a better one? This 2nd transmission was fine until friday 7/22/2011, when we were taking a trip down to nags head, nc. Suddenly, I noticed when we were approximately 45 miles away from home (on I-95) that the RPM was up around 6x, the van was not shifting gears, and there was smoke coming out the back. I quickly got off the interstate, came to a stop and then it would not shift at all. We had it towed back to fredericksburg, va and were informed that the transmission fluid was "burnt," the transmission itself would have to be replaced, and the radiator would need to be replaced. We are once again looking at spending $4-5k for a vehicle we bought new, kept well-maintained, and has relatively low miles for its age (101k). When we bought the odyssey, we also purchased a cr-v and declare we were honda people. This is why we are no longer honda people. The honda odysseys have a well documented history of problems with their transmissions, and honda has not stepped up to take care of their customers. Honda owes every odyssey owner an apology!

Filed Nov 28, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 175,000 miles · NY

The top bracket holding the alternator to the engine block failed again for the third time while my wife was driving the van. As a result of the failure of the top bracket, the stress on the main serpentine belt caused the bolt holding the alternator in place to snap off at the engine block. This caused the alternator to become loose and caused a burning smell to come into the cabin of the vehicle. The alternator loose and un-attached poses a potential catastrophic failure with the pully system and the power steering which may cause an accident. I reported the previous incident of the same problem on october 25th, 2010. My concern is that this is a recurring problem that honda is aware of and not correcting with a recall and addition of a re engineered and strengthened top alternator bracket. I am also very concerned that failure of this part/system while my wife and children are driving the van will cause an accident and injury or death to my family. I have called honda and their solution or recommendation is to replace the part and use proper torque specifications. This has not worked 2 times so far and my mechanic tried to weld and additional piece of metal to the oem bracket to make the bracket stronger, and this did not work.

Filed Nov 27, 2010 · Transmission · 109,000 miles · FL · fire

I have a 2003 honda odyssey and was driving on thanksgiving evening on an interstate hwy. In florida back to my home in orlando. During this trip the check engine light came on suddenly...and then my transmission had a catastrophic failure. Leading up to this the minivan was driving nicely. Suddenly the vehicle spewed out transmission fluid onto the engine and there was a horrible burning smell. The car decelerated, and I nearly lost control of the vehicle. I was able to steer it onto the shoulder. Fortunately, there was very little traffic close behind...so I avoided a collision. After this event, I have found out that my honda odyssey was recalled for a faulty transmission. Recall id 04v176000. The dealer is coggin honda orlando, and they now acknowledge that it was recalled. They were instructed by honda america to install a modified oil jet kit. Obviously...this fix was not effective. My outcome is that my family was stranded for hours until we could get the vehicle towed. I'm aware that countless other 2003 odysseys have had the same transmission failure. Some of them involve crashes, injuries and deaths. How many more people will lose their lives because of honda's faulty transmission design, and their unwillingness to properly fix the problem? I'm angry because neither honda america or coggin honda told me about the recall. I never would have purchased this vehicle if I had knowledge of this recall? Doesn't this violate my right to full disclosure of the vehicle's history? How is this legal?

Filed May 31, 2010 · Transmission · 113 miles · IL · fire

I was driving my 2003 honda odyssey 65 MPH on expressway and van started smoking from underneath the car. I quickly pulled over and the smoke increased. We thought the van was on fire! I emptied my children from the car onto the side of the road (extremely unsafe!) the fire department and police came. Fluid puddle was under car and fluid was all over under the hood and under the car. Said to be from the transmission. All my fluid levels were full according to dip sticks. I had to wait (alone with my kids) on the side of the road for an hour and a half (90 degree, humid day, with no water) to be picked up by aaa and towed home (80 miles) my gauges gave me no warning. My car is kept in perfect maintenance condition. I had the trans replaced in recall with a rebuilt from honda a few years back. This was a scary and dangerous event for us and I am very sad to hear that honda will do nothing to fix this problem for me. I am now in fear whenever I am in my van that it could happen again.

Filed Mar 24, 2010 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · GA

I was driving my 2003 honda odyssey down the highway when all of a sudden my wife lost the ability to accelerate the vehicle. The RPM nozzle was going up but the car could not accelerate anymore. Afterward my son began to see smoke coming from the back of the car. We pulled the car over and immediately got out of the vehicle. There was quite a bit of smoke coming out from the engine area and a lot of oil dripping at the bottom of the car. We called triple a and had them pick the vehicle up after 2hrs of waiting on the side of the road in the rain. Then we had it dropped off to the mechanic and he stated that the transmission was dead. We then discovered that the 2003 honda odyssey had a transmission recall in 2004. I rejoiced and thought clearly this is why this happened as my vehicle only had 85,000 miles on it. Nevertheless, when I spoke with honda about it they said that the problem was solved for my vehicle in august 2004. Therefore the best deal they could provide to me was to cover 60% of the cost. I told them I cannot afford the 40% differential and I do not believe I should pay it because this should not have happened to a honda under 100,000 miles. There were no warning signs before or after the incident. Nevertheless, they mentioned that they are not sure what else they could do. I am complaining because clearly honda did not fix the issue in 2004 else we would not have had the problem at 85,000 miles again. I am soliciting whatever help you can provide to me in this situation.

Filed Aug 2, 2009 · Electrical · 102,795 miles · WI

Have a 2003 honda odyssey ex with rear entertainment system. Dvd has had a buzzing noise in headphones intermittently for several months. Today smoke came out of dashboard as dvd quit while traveling down highway.

Filed Aug 5, 2008 · Transmission · 125,000 miles · WI · fire

I am the original owner of a 2003 honda odyssey (purchased october 2002). In summer of 2004, I received a recall notice regarding the transmission, and potential failure of transmission. I took my vehicle to a honda dealer for inspection and repair. Was informed that there was nothing wrong with my vehicle, and no repair was necessary. In july 2006, with approx. 84,000 miles on the vehicle, my transmission failed while I was driving on the freeway, causing transmission fluid and oil to splatter everywhere inside and outside the vehicle. There was smoke coming out of the engine, for approx. Half an hour. The vehicle was towed to a dealer 90 miles from my home. After negotiations with american honda, a rebuilt transmission was installed and was covered by honda. Now, just over two years and 40,000 miles later, the exact same thing has occurred. Am attempting to negotiate with honda to take care of this problem. On both occasions, was traveling with children in the car, and was forced to compromise their safety as well as mine, while waiting on the side of the freeway for over an hour.