2003 Honda Odyssey: engine overheating

Filed Sep 23, 2013 · Transmission · 105,000 miles · GA

Looking into issues with honda odyssey transmissions, I believe honda is negligent in offering any fair solution to a known problem. I think a class action lawsuit is in order. Reading hundreds of examples where transmission overheats after long trip due to restricted fluid flow. Honda is aware of the design issue and has done nothing to resolve. When you go to dealership they say it does not qualify for the recall and you need a new transmission. Going from 65mph to zero in the fast lane of a major highway with my entire family is extremely hazardess and potentially deadly. I thought honda was supposed to be a quality product? The dealership was friendly but honda's policy is awful case by case examination. Please someone start a class action, I had aamco rebuild mine damages are towing bills plus repairs call it $3000 in damages times the number of people who have had issues. This would be a huge opportunity any law office. I am in. When there are web sites dedicated to the issue and honda continues to ignore it is irresponsible. Http://www.odysseytransmission.com/

Filed Jul 24, 2013 · Transmission · 134,000 miles · CA

I was driving up the tioga pass in yosemite national park with my family when the car started jerking violently and abruptly shifting gears. The tcs indicator was on, but couldn't be turned off. I pulled off the road and parked. When I later tried to back the car up, the reverse wouldn't engage and the car almost went down a steep embankment into a lake. There had been no past problems with the transmission. I had the transmission rebuilt and it failed a year later driving at speed on the freeway. I had it rebuilt again and it failed again a year later after while driving at speed on the freeway. In both cases the abrupt loss of power on the freeway could have caused an accident. I'm now told that an additional aftermarket transmission cooler is needed because the transmissions overheat.

Filed Oct 24, 2012 · Transmission · PA

2003 honda odyssey. Consumer states transmission overheated, began shifting erratically and the check engine light illuminated. *tgw the consumer stated he turned the vehicle off, to allow it to cool off. When he turned it back on, the engine light was still on, but he was able to drive the vehicle home. It was still shifting erratically, but it did not overheat again. He took the vehicle to an auto parts store to have the check engine light code checked. The code came up as a p0740; torque solenoid circuit. The consumer did some research on the code and discovered that his model and year had a recall on the transmission and several class action lawsuits had been filed due to the problem. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and it was determined that the vehicle needed a new transmission. The dealer couldn't say if the problem was definitive to the recall. Honda informed the consumer the vehicle was inspected in 2005, where an oil jet cooler was installed on the transmission. The consumer then examined his vehicle, and discovered there was no oil jet cooler on the transmission. The van remained in overdrive and would not shift into 2nd or 3rd gear.

Filed Sep 19, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 98,000 miles · CA

Transmission oil overheating while driving in the freeway causing it to leak and burnt the transmission on all gears and a costly repair of $2400.

Filed Aug 3, 2012 · Acceleration, Transmission · 125,380 miles · CA

Transmission failed. When I stopped the transmission was severely smoking. Concerned of a fire, removed the family form the vehicle immediately, and then called for a tow truck. $3000 for a new transmission. Now having to replace the transmission again 20k miles later. Same issue with transmission overheated and has failed. American honda motor is aware of the defective transmissions and will do nothing. This is clearly a design and safety issue honda is failing to address. Spoke with transmission repair facilities and they confirmed it is a design failure and honda is keeping from the public. 1-failed PCM module 2-failed torque converter ( low follow atf fluid causing drag and overheating).

Filed Jan 3, 2012 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · OR

Although having brought the car in to the dealer under a power train/automatic transmission recall in 2004 as a result of the federal safety agency campaign #04v17600, the automatic transmission began to fail some months ago and the malfunction indicator light came on with p0730 (gear ratio error) being decoded by my mechanic. Some months later, the transmission was even more problematic and the difficulty in it shifting from second to third gear was so bad that the car could not be driven (95,000 miles). The problem appears to be with the overheating of the torque converter. This problem is even more likely to happen on a v-6 odyssey, which I have, because the honda power train/auto. Transmission cannot handle the extra torque of the larger engine. Replacing all the solenoids did not solve the problem and the transmission is currently being rebuilt but not by honda as replacing it with a factory-rebuilt honda transmission will only lead to the same issues. There are thousands of complaints on the internet of transmission failure in honda odysseys from 1999 up to the present. A class action suit forced honda to extend the power train warranty to 100,000 miles on 1999-2001 odysseys . . . But those of us with newer odysseys have been left out in the cold. My car is a one-owner vehicle, regularly serviced according to honda specifications and never used for pulling heavy loads or any sort of irregular driving. In fact, the car has been 'babied' from the day I bought it.

Filed Dec 21, 2011 · Engine · KY

2003 odyssey approximately 67k miles developed fluid leak in past week. Vehicle had been serviced regularly. While driving with family coolant leaked onto exhaust system causing smoke and had to pull off interstate. Engine had operated normally and there were no warning indicators or abnormal temperature gage readings. Had vehicle towed to local honda dealer. Diagnosed as leaking head gasket. Upon removal of the cylinder head, the head bolts pull from the block ports with the bolt threads. Apparently head bolts had become loose given the thread failure in the block and allowed leakage of fluids in the cylinder head. Honda stated that the engine will need to be replaced at a cost of 3k++. Apparently this same issue has occurred to several other 2003 odyssey owners according to on-line search. The dealer was at a loss to explain the failure of the bolts at the given mileage. It appears that this could be a defect in the block design or manufacture and could lead to premature engine failure. Honda should address this issue as well as automatic transmission and egr valve defects which have also been a continual problem with the 2003 odyssey. Very disappointed in the reliability of this van

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 Nov 28, 2011 · Transmission · 123,000 miles · GA

My honda odyessy's transmission overheated while on a family trip. I have kept up with the service scheduled outlined by honda. Van has 122k on it now. I bought a honda expecting to get the long haul out of it! 122k is not my idea of the long haul! The estimate is a $4000 cost to replace the transmission! I have read about the law suit the was won and want to know why this was not a recall of some sort! There is clearly a big problem, there is a website created just for this issue! If I had not done all of the maintenance or did not take care of the car I would not be so upset. Code p0730, gear ratio failure.

Filed Sep 16, 2011 · Transmission · 160,000 miles · MI

Transmission failure: travelling up a hill on a freeway at 70mph with family/children in the vehicle, suddenly & without warning, transmission wildly shifts from 4th down to 2nd/1st, back to 3rd, continues lurching/shifting back and forth as RPM's fluctuate wildly; hobbled to next exit, smoke & trans fluid coming from under hood. Called local dealer who "has no idea" what's wrong with it but for $100 will check it out. Result: they tell me that trans overheated & melted down, burned out clutches, needs new trans -> $4800 (rebuilt). Trans was just fine & trans fluid was fine prior to this incident, car was maintained, absolutely no warning of anything amiss. Now I find out via the internet that many, many people have this problem w/2003 odyssey's. Called honda, they tell me, "there is no known problem with this model year" (lie) and they won't do anything to help with the repair because the car came w/36,000 mile warranty and we are beyond that. He actually asked me, "is this the first time your transmission has blown on this vehicle? Are you still on your first transmission?" which is a funny thing to ask if there is no known problem. Internet indicates that when people have trans replaced, 2nd trans frequently blows also. This car had a recall for trans oil cooling, was completed before we bought (new from dealer) & we were not informed about it. This is definitely a safety issue when your trans explodes at 70mph with your children in the back seat. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Filed Feb 9, 2010 · Transmission · 59,000 miles · CA

2003 honda odyssey has an apparent design flaw in the automatic transmission. After 60,000 miles, the transmission has failed. Driving the car during the 3 days after failure was extremely dangerous with the clutch inside the transmission slipping causing high revving and lack of control. Slowing down (resulting in downshifting) causes the car to "jerk" since the clutch isn't functioning properly and the car isn't able to smoothly change gears. Honda issued a recall in 2004 to add an "oil jet" inside the transmission on the 2nd gear to prevent overheating, but this fix hasn't fixed their design flaw. Despite having this recall taken care of by the dealership in 2004, the transmission has still failed. Honda apparently issued a warranty extension, but I never received notice of this extension and the dealership had no details on this warranty extension (other than to tell me I am beyond that extension due to time lapse). Honda needs to be held accountable for this design flaw. It causes a dangerous situation if not immediately addressed, not to mention a very expensive fix for a problem that has plagued hundreds or perhaps thousands of 1999-2003 (or beyond) odyssey owners.

Filed Aug 21, 2009 · Transmission · 126,500 miles · NM

While driving on the interstate my 2003 honda odyssey started to put out smoke from under the hood and the transmission would not engage. Luckily we were able to pull out of traffic without hitting any other cars. We were towed to a repair shop where they said the transmission overheated and due to the damage had to be rebuilt. There is a recall in place (the federal safety agency # 04v176000) for our vehicle for this issue. In speaking with honda it appears recall work was done in 2004 (a revision to the oil cooler return line), but we still experienced the transmission defect. I just wanted to file the complaint in case others had found that honda's repair solution had not been effective for them either.