While driving my daughter to school, accelerating from 35 to 40+, transmission locked up! Extremely dangerous!!! Could have been in a serious accident since we were merging onto a busy highway. Next day, another lock up + slipping between 25 & 35 MPH and @ 50 pm. Transmission slips and gear shift will get stuck in park, reverse & drive. Rpm revs high. Honda dealer diagnosed today as "internal transmission failure" 164,000 highway miles, serviced @ dealer, babied with oil changes, etc. Now $4,000 quote for transmission 3 yrs/36,000 mile warranty. I have been a loyal honda owner since 1990, but will not consider buying any future hondas.
2003 Honda Odyssey transmission complaints
Page 8 of 19: complaints 191 to 220 of 533, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was stopped @ a red light on a 50 MPH speed limit road & when the light turn green I pushed the accl the van rolled on but will not accelerate further engine kept revving & a big construction truck almost rear ended me looks like the transmission stalls the vehicle.
In stop and go traffic, when I pres the brake pedal, the vehicle jerks. When I press the gas pedal, on some occasions, the vehicle (still in drive) does not move but the engine revs up. I have to shift down and then back again to drive before it would move. There was a transmission recall on this car in 2004 and the dealer had installed a kit of some sort. However, this fix has not been permanent. Looks like I have lost the transmission altogether.
Transmission failed at under 80k miles. There are numerous complaints about these mini vans. We serviced our vehicle appropriately and also brought the car in to be checked when the transmissions were recalled. At that time they installed a trans jet kit which would solve the transmission problem. We even installed a transmission cooler. Honda is unwilling to provide much assistance at all with this repair and I think they should have done a full recall on these transmissions, as they knowingly sold a poor product.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. The contact stated the gear would not release from park and that the rear brake lights failed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 100,000.
While driving at highway speeds the transmission froze and released repeatedly nearly causing a rear end crash. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic were it was diagnosed as transmission failure. What is important here is that the vehicle was recalled and the work done in 2005. However, it is blatantly apparent that the "fix" honda did for the recall was not to correct the problem but only a temporary patch. All the recall did was delay the failure, it didn't correct the problem. Honda has simply moved the mileage at which the transmission will fail so they don't have to take full responsibility and fix what they sold. Sadly we paid an addition $4,000 to $5,000 for the honda name so we wouldn't have issues. Now we are not only out that money but honda still believes that their name deserves more money for a rebuilt transmission that has been shown to still fail. We have been quoted an additional $2,500 to $3,000 more than what it would cost to fix a competing american company transmission. It is unconscionable that honda knows it has an issue, then only patched it to delay responsibility. This is especially troubling when you consider that the transmissions fail at high speed on the highway. A definite risk to peoples lives.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH the vehicle stalled and would not shift into gear. The check engine and traction control lights were illuminated. The contact towed the vehicle to a local mechanic where the mechanic stated that the transmission failed. The contact called the manufacturer and the manufacturer advised that the vehicle was not under the warranty so there was nothing they could do to assist. The failure mileage was 88,000.
My wife was driving along when the RPM's started going up and the speed of the van started slowing down. The street she was on is a fairly heavy traveled street so she pulled off to the side of the street and waited a few minutes. She called me and told me what had happened and then proceeded to drive very slowly home. The next morning after coming home from work, I took the van out for a drive and sure enough, it started acting up on me. It got so bad, that I went ahead and drove it over to a transmission shop, taking me about 3 times as long as it should have. The van would only allow me to go several hundred yards before the engine would rev up and the van would basically stop. I would put it in park and wait a few minutes, then proceed alittle further not going more than 20 MPH. After the shop looked at it, they advised me that honda has had trouble with the transmissions and that mine needed to be replaced. They also stated that this particular transmission wasn't the right one for this particular engine that was in the van.
On the freeway when all of a sudden without warning slipped and lost power. Very scary with small children in the car and was barley able to make it off the freeway without getting into an accident. Only by the grace of god did we make it safely off the freeway. Honda dealer said we needed a new transmission. I had the extended warranty up to 106,000. Just a few thousand miles over warranty and honda would only grant %50 coverage. Still cost me $2797.00. Honda of america knows all about this transmission problem but still does not compensate loyal honda customers. My dealer replaced this transmission (that had a previous recall in 2003) with a "re-manufactured transmission" now on september 19, 2011 the tcs light came on with the engine warning light and the car "shuddered" badly at 30 MPH. Brought to the dealer but they are denying that it is a transmission problem? We bought the honda odyssey for its safety features and reliability. Honda and their dealer are not standing behind their product. I will look elsewhere for my next car purchase.
2003 odyssey left my wife in a terrible situation. It suddenly failed when she was in the middle of traffic with children in the car. With no warning, it would not move the vehicle and ground to a stop, leaving her almost out of control of the vehicle. Honda is supposed to be a manufacturer with well designed, reliable products, but it is not so with this transmission. When a manufacturer realizes there is a problem with a vehicle, but year after year after year does nothing to remedy the problem, it is irresponsible and reckless to continue to manufacture the vehicle with the problematic transmission.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. The contact stated the transmission vibrated abnormally while driving 25 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic test and found that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who advised that they would pay $500 toward the repair, leaving a balance of $1500. The contact declined the offer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 97,000. The consumer stated the torque converter was replaced for $500. Since the new converter was installed, and code od p0740 is displaying. The consumer stated the next step is to have the transmission replaced. Updated 10/21/11.
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)
My transmission failed on my 2003 honda odyssey shortly after the warranty expired. It had the recall update done years before but that didn't work. The transmission fluid was burnt causing the transmission to slip. There was not an accident, just a transmission that was failing. It seems this is more the rule than the exception with the odyssey. I had to get it replaced and after doing research, I decided to get a jasper transmission instead of having the dealer replace it with another faulty honda transmission.
Transmission failure.
2003 honda odyssey - transmission failure.
Vehicle popped out of gear while moving at 50mph and would not accelerate. Upon stopping on side of road and shifting from d to park and back to d, the van was able to move for a few hundred yards. At 35mph it popped out of gear again. Did same thing with transmission and was able to "limp" home as long as vehicle stayed under 30mph. Towed vehicle to dealer and found out transmission is bad. I have a 7yr/105,000 mile warranty, but it expired last year. I only have 103,000 miles on the van. The repair is quoted at $4200. I have complete and timely service records at a honda dealership for the life of the van.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the contact noticed black smoke from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle also decelerated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostics, where the technician stated that the transmission would have to be replaced. The failure occurred on two different prior occasions and the transmission was replaced. The vehicle was not again repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
I was driving down a two lane road and the transmission down shifted on its own in a violent manor. The rps jumped up. I let off the gas and the auto went back to normal. 10 minutes later I was on the highway running 70mph and the auto down shifted again in the same fashion as described before. I brought it to two shops and the technician was able to reproduce the problem. Both technicians stated that the transmission was the problem and it needed to be replaced. After doing research I found that this problem has happened to many hondas.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. The contact stated the vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance when the dealer advised that the transmission was defective and recommended replacing the transmission fluid. The dealer replaced the transmission fluid and later, caused the transmission to fail completely. The vehicle was towed to the deale where the contact was awaiting diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 162,000.
Minivan started to accelerate upon push of accelerator (rpms jumped significantly). Jerky/harsh acceleration from 0-40. Severe shudder of van when decelerating between gears. Malfunctioning overdrive (will not down shift to d3, 2, or 1st gear while rolling. Reverse gear did not work unless the car was started again.
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!
I was driving on the freeway about a mile outside of rawlins, wy and the RPM indicator suddenly went all the way to the top and then smoke started coming out from under the hood. I decided to drive it into rawlins although it was slipping gears and I had a hard time getting it to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear. I had to drive very slowly and carefully and when I got to the gas station in rawlins, there was transmission fluid all under the car and on the under side of the car. So I called and took it to a mechanic just before they closed. He quickly checked it and said it probably just needed a transmission service. So my boyfriend and I towed it to casper, wyoming and took it to the honda dealership there. They checked it and it came up with 3 malfunction codes p0710n/p0780/p1750. So it needed a new transmission. The mileage is at 148417 and I have only owned the vehicle for about a year now. It has been well taken care of and there was no previous indication that it had any problems. I was told it would cost me between $3200-$4500 to have a new transmission put in my car. I do not have the money for that. So now I have no vehicle for my family.
Transmission in vehicle failed during operation in traffic. Vehicle operator managed to move the vehicle to safety despite diminished operational function of the vehicle. There was a potential for a serious injury or fatality related to this incident. It is my opinion that these vehicles (2003 honda odyssey) should be removed from traffic situations until the manufacturer (honda) can prove that these vehicles are safe. This situation is more severe than the recent toyota problems. In addition to the hazard mentioned the owner paid the local honda dealer $4,300 for a replacement transmission, hope it goes more than 68,000 miles.
My family and I were traveling on the freeway with cruise control set and began smelling smoke and then started seeing smoke behind our families vehicle. We immediately pulled over and found transmission fluid all underneath and on back of our vehicle. We managed to make it to a honda dealer and after 3 hours of "we're not really sure" we were told "honda" told them our torque diverted was bad and our transmission needed to be replaced. $5000!!
2003 honda odyssey transmission failed at hwy speed on the tappen zee bridge ny after being told by two dealers one in canada and one in ny state that the vehicle did not have a transmission problem. Vehicle shifted into low gear, revved high, tcs light came on, check engine light came on and d3 light started flashing.
2--3 honda odyssey transmission problem: I purchased a 2003 odyssey brand new in september of 2002. The van was great for a while until the electric doors started to stick and we had something strange happen several times with the transmission. We took it to the dealer for a check-up right before the warranty expired at about 34k miles (warranty expires at 36k). The dealer loosened the doors and explained that the heat in florida required us to place a little of lithium grease in the gaskets on the doors. The dealer did not find anything wrong with the transmission, but since I had already started to hear about the transmission problems, I made sure they noted the complaint on the work order. At 40k miles bang! Transmission out! We took the car to the dealer and after a couple of days, the service representative called us to let us know that honda will provide us a new transmission for replacement, but we would have to pay the $1000 installation. My wife and I had little choice but to pay. Well, the van now (6/28/2033) has 119k miles and I just left it at a mechanic shop to get the transmission rebuilt. I will cost $1200, and there's not much else I can do right now. I have to practice my houdini skills and make $1200 pop out of thin air. This issue is a real shame because the van is awesome. Honda could be embracing their problems and capitalizing in building long term customer loyalty. Instead, I just want to place the honda logo in the train tracks, the way I placed small coins in the track to flatten them when I was a kid. I hope we can get something to happen though the courts about this.
My 2003 honda odyssey's transmission went out in fall of 2010. I am a careful driver, taken care to maintain my car according to suggested maintenance schedule. The transmission felt a little loose for a few days, and then one day on the way home from work it completely failed. I couldn't get into any gear. I called honda and asked for help and they said my car was too old and it was normal for transmissions to fail. The mileage on my car was 134760. I had to have a complete transmission replacement at aamco for $3000. This car has had so many problems, and honda refuses to stand behind their product. I've had the key core go bad, my drivers side rear door had been "fixed" 3 times and still won't close properly, all the paint is peeling all over the car, and honda would only repaint portions of the car as part of the recall. So one side of my car and the back is completely peeled away, and they refuse to repaint it, unless I pay to have it done.
We discovered today that our 2003 honda odyssey was in need of a new transmission, the sad part is this vehicle only has 89,500 miles, the honda dealership that inspected the van told us that the cost to replace the transmission was going to be $4200. We pretty much experienced all the same problems that many other users are mentioning on this site, it first started by skipping gears between 2nd and 3rd, then the tcs and emc light came on and after this everything came downhill. The dealer told us that the van was serviced in the past to take care of the recall by installing the jet fan cooling thing, apparently this was a bandage to the real issue as a couple of years later the transmission finally died on us. We bought honda for their apparent "superior quality" and have never been more disappointed. We feel like we got screwed and if there is a recall or some lemon law we would like to know about it because this just can not keep happening!!!!!!!!
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH she applied pressure to the accelerator pedal but the vehicle would not accelerate further. The tachometer and check engine lights also began to illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 101,000.
Approximately 60 days ago on a saturday I took my 2003 honda odyssey to one of the local honda dealers for and oil change service. I asked the service advisor to check out the check engine light because it had come on the week before. He told me that the regular service department was closed and that I shouldn't worry about it until it come up for the smog check. About 3 weeks later on memorial day weekend I had my wife and three children in the vehicle traveling on a major freeway and without warning the transmission failed. The vehicle lost power and we were very lucky to get to the side of the road without getting into a collision. I had the vehicle towed to the same dealership that had done the service and they confirmed that the transmission was bad and recommended a rebuilt replacement at a cost of over $3700.00 dollars. A new computer was also recommended for an extra $1,100.00. The van is still sitting in their lot. After a brief internet search it appears that this is a major problem with some honda products. My wife and children were very scared of some of the large trucks that past by us on both side at what seemed to be a high rate of speed. But it was probably more that we were slowing down at a fast rate.
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