2018 Honda Odyssey steering problems

Filed Jun 18, 2026 · Steering, Transmission · FL

I purchased a 2018 Honda Odyssey and reported during my 7-day inspection window that the transmission was acting sluggish. The Carvana-authorized inspection service (Pep Boys) claimed the transmission was fine. Over time it showed more and more signs of failure until it completely failed. On the directive of the seller (Carvana) and warranty administrator (SilverRock), the vehicle was taken to an authorized Pep Boys facility for a complete transmission replacement. Less than two days after picking up the vehicle, the replacement transmission suffered a complete failure on a public roadway. The vehicle suddenly lost all acceleration and forced itself into 'limp mode' on a highway, and loss of steering control, nearly causing a severe collision. The vehicle is inherently unsafe, and the authorized repair network has failed to provide a merchantable or safe repair, creating an immediate life-threatening hazard.

Filed Apr 4, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · RI

While driving on a clear road, with or without heavy traffic, the collision mitigation warning shows up on the dashboard display. Sometimes the warning for the collision system goes off and the system tries to brake and jerk the wheel. If I have the wheel firmly I can correct it and it resolves. It can happen on a clear road with no one around or in heavy traffic. Yesterday it happened in a single lane with barriers on both sides, a road around Logan Airport in Boston, with no vehicles ahead of me. The car tried to steer me into the barrier. I was doing less than 25 MPH. The warning had been going off for a while but now that the steering and braking are involved it’s much more serious. I reported it to the dealer. They said they did a system check and couldn’t find a fault. The braking and steering problem first occurred about a month ago. The warning by itself has been happening intermittently for over a year. This happens even when the collision mitigation system is turned OFF. This is a terribly unsafe issue. If my wife had been driving I don’t know if she could have corrected. PLEASE ACT AND ISSUE A RECALL!

Filed May 21, 2025 · Steering, Suspension · 107,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the rear end of the vehicle unintendedly lowered. The contact stated that while driving over a bump or depression in the roadway, the vehicle was bouncing. There was no warnings light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the rear shocks and parts of the rear suspension had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that several months prior to the failure, the front shocks and the steering arms were replaced. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

Filed Nov 27, 2023 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AR

The electrical system has some weird glitch where it will shut down all the displays and more. The nav display as well as the speedometer area will shut down and restart. I will receive warning lights that many systems like the lane Keeping Assistant and accident braking mitigation systems are offline. Sometimes it will kill the engine too. This is very disturbing and unsafe to happen when driving. It could cause an accident on its own and also negates the extra safety features like LKAS added to make the van safer to drive. The problem was assessed by Honda and they said they could not find an issue originally. There were no codes. Now I am getting more problems and warnings. The dash now tells me "Engine Management System Malfunction". Honda reset this since they could not find a service code. It came back within a week and then my power steering started messing up. It seemed to be when the system was overloaded by going into reverse and switching to the backup camera. The power steering would lurch and stutter. This is very concerning to go out while driving. The final straw is now my high-pressure fuel pump has gone out causing a loud noise under the hood. My vehicle only has 120,000 which I feel is not that old for a Honda. Honda has the van today and wants $1200 to swap out the fuel pump and now they say the "Power distribution module" is causing all the electrical problems which is another $700. My question is: Is this all connected to the same electrical issue? Note: I have a suspicion that the problems are worse when the car gets too much stimulus in the electrical system. Sometimes it seems like the sun at the right angle blinds the front cameras and the system freaks out. Also, changing to reverse and activating the backup camera tends to cause the problem. Possibly even adding devices with carplay could exacerbate it.

Filed Oct 4, 2023 · Acceleration, Electrical · GA

On several occasions (roughly 5 separate and unique incidents), the vehicle put itself into neutral (N) while driving. There are instances when the vehicle was in motion and others when it is at a stop. The screens in the dashboard cluster and in the center of the front dashboard go blank momentarily and the transmission changes from drive (D) to neutral (N) without any apparent cause or any warning whatsoever. The power steering is also resetting, causing the steering to momentarily become much more stiff and harder to turn. It’s currently at the dealer undergoing inspection and repair, but the fact that this is causing a safety issue that makes the vehicle undriveable while at any speed without warning is a serious safety issue.

Filed Jun 1, 2023 · Driver assistance, Steering · NC

On Monday, March 27th While driving at various speeds, the collision mitigation system message flashed on the instrument panel without anything provoking it/no real cause. I observed while driving the vehicle, the warning message repeatedly flashed on the screen before the entire instrument panel went blank. This includes the infotainment system restarting as well, alternatively, I was driving going between 40-60mph and the all-dashboard notification lights started flickering (lane departure warning, odometer, blind spot warning, Collision Mitigation System etc.) it continues to happen randomly while driving at unpredictable times the wheel does lock up for a short time and the vehicle is temporarily not under driver control. It was able to restore, and I was able to regain control of the vehicle other times its last for several seconds. I have captured this incident on video. Additionally, there is also an issue with the vehicle hesitating while accelerating from a stop even with Auto Stop disengaged. On Thursday, June 1st same issue as described above occurred at 8:10AM when issue occurred again the vehicle steering for a 5-8 Second Period was locked and not able to move. Shortly after, I began to record the vehicle. Within a 7-8 Minute Period I was able to capture on video it happening an additional 3 Times.

Filed Mar 15, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · KY

The radio goes out on my van and the van shifts into neutral while I'm driving. This has been going on for months I've had it to the Honda dealership twice this last time thay said the only thing they could come up with is that the alternator is losing power but alternator is on back order until June and still no guarantee this will fix the problem since none of there test showed up anything other then they were able to get it to go into neutral for them while they were driving it.

Filed Feb 24, 2023 · Brakes, Steering · PA

My Honda Odyssey 2018 has a problem that sometimes, particularly during winter, that a lot of check lights are on, and sometimes the car starts to slide. The check lights may include the check engine light, the power steering light, the power brake light, and the transmission light. An independent mechanic determined that this is addressed by the Honda Service Bulletin 20-100, but Honda service representative denies a warranty coverage as they say the VIN is not in the range even when the Model, Make, and the diagnosis all matches (Honda Service representative: case # [XXX], [XXX]). INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Feb 1, 2023 · Brakes, Driver assistance · TX

ALL the warning lights came on, including brakes, power steering, lane keeping assistance, lane departure warning, and others, indicating the car should be stopped immediately regardless of traffic or conditions. I do not know if the functions were also impaired or if was simply false alarms. I understand this is typical of this auromobile.

Filed Feb 16, 2021 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 17,780 miles · NY

The power steering stopped working while I was driveing. The lights for power steering, break problem, lane keeping assistant system and lane departure migration lights are all on in the dashboard. The power steering was hard to turn.