2018 Honda Odyssey: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Jan 27, 2026 · Transmission · MI

Vehicle lags in acceleration from a slow rolling start, at random times. There is a clear 1-2 second lag in the acceleration, then a sudden harsh shift into gear. Mostly happens during turns, and if traffic is present, may cause an accident. Also when traveling at low speeds 20-35 mph, there is a transmission jutter. Have spoken with service reps at dealerships and they claim to have no knowledge of these transmission issues

Filed Sep 7, 2023 · Transmission · OH

No acceleration when pressing gas at very unsafe times like pulling out from a drive onto road or turning in intersection. I pressed the gas when it was clear to go and the car lagged in acceleration then jolted me out into the middle of the intersection where it lagged again and right before I was about to get T- Boned by another car it accelerated and I was able to make it into my lane last minute. This has happened multiple times but at least 3 times where it put me and my children in imminent danger of getting hit. I have taken it to dealership where they did a reset on some electric part of transmission and said it could take up to 1000 miles to notice a change. So far no change and still experiencing problems. My car also lunges or intensely rocks back and forth when put in park. I hear clunking when shifting at various times. The issues with acceleration make it extremely dangerous when needing to pass vehicles whether on highway or roadway. I do not trust this vehicle but because the dealer sold it over priced mixed with the $13,500 depreciation that has happened within just a year of buying it I am not in a position to get out of it. I am desperately seeking help to get out of this death trap of a car for mine and my children’s sake. I bought this vehicle with appx. 40,000 miles and have had regular maintenance. Currently setting at 82,000 miles. The car has had the same issues since buying it with 40,000 miles that it has today with 82,000 miles. I see where there is a specific recall for 2018-2019 Honda odysseys for this type of problem but my vin is not affected which needs to change as clearly my vin is very much affected.

Filed Aug 13, 2023 · Transmission · MA

The transmission in my 2018 Honda Odyssey clunks and shutters and jerks forward when accelerating and jerks slow down when decelerating. Stop and go traffic I either can barely accelerate or rapidly accelerate after upshidting and almost hit the car in front of me. The transmission shudders and clunks and jerks

Filed Aug 8, 2023 · Transmission · MI

When accelerating from a stopped position, the car occasionally hesitates and then suddenly surges, especially when turning into traffic with vehicles fast approaching. After hesitating, the car accelerates rapidly with the tires screeching. Similarly, when travelling at slow speed, perhaps 40 MPH, and accelerating into a neighboring lane, the car quits accelerating for a brief moment before rapidly accelerating again. I can hear the transmission clunk occasionally as it selects another gear. It's as if the electronic communication between the engine and the transmission is lagging. The Honda dealer indicated the transmission and engine are fine. The brief second or two acceleration delay before overreacting has been embarrassing and I fear dangerous. The car has always behaved this way but it has gotten worse the last couple years. Currently have 54k miles.

Filed Jun 23, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

I am having an identical issues as described in the federal safety agency ID Number 11526094. Vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Have been almost hit a couple times as it is unpredictable when this happens. This is a dangerous behavior and I cannot in clear conscience sell this minivan to another family. I have returned it to the dealer multiple times and they were eventually able to reproduce the problem and captured the behavior on diagnostic equipment. Their finding is that when the accelerator is slightly pressed, and then release (like one might do when entering an intersection to make a left hand turn) the transmission jumps to 5th gear. When the accelerator is pressed to complete the left turn, the transmission spends several seconds shifting from 4th to 3rd to 2nd before finally accelerating. This delay opens up the opportunity to get hit. The dealer concurred that this was a problem but then contacted Honda and they said this is normal characteristic with 2018 and 2019 model Odyssey's with the 9 speed transmission. This may be a normal characteristic with this model year according to Honda but it is not acceptable behavior for any type of vehicle. It is just a matter of time before an accident will happen. It happens often and seems to be getting worse over time including irregular/rough shifts while driving. See attached documentation.

Filed Jun 8, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · WA

The problem is with the 9 speed automatic transmission system. Yes, it is available for inspection. There is a delay in acceleration which has caused the vehicle to "stall" in dangerous situations such as pulling out onto a road with traffic, making a left turn with oncoming traffic, or needing to accelerate at a green light. There have been multiple incidents when an oncoming car has had to brake to avoid a collision because I have stalled temporarily in their lane. I have also nearly been rear ended as I stall after moving forward at a green light. The vehicle accelerates too slowly from a stop, then stalls for several seconds before over correcting and too much power causes the tires to spin and the car can get a little squirrelly if I am not extra careful. It happens often but not always and is getting worse and more frequent. There are also problems with rough shifting and delayed shifting that have been an issue since I bought it in 2018. I have taken it to the dealer many times and while the issue has been reproduced, they have never been able to identify a cause. One Honda mechanic said that his 2018 Pilot acts the same way and it is "normal" for that engine. The issue was reproduced during a recent inspection from an independent mechanic who sent me to a specialty transmission shop who said the transmission was fine and suggested that it was due to a tech issue and sent me back to Honda. The mechanics at Honda have not gotten stuck in front of an oncoming car on a road test so they treat the issue as a mild annoyance. No warning lights have gone on. The severity and frequency of this problem is increasing and I no longer believe the car is safe to drive. Honda does not have a fix and I am ready to sell it but I don't think it is safe for others to drive either and I don't know what to do. It is only a matter of time until this causes an accident.

Filed Jun 1, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · FL

In lower gears, there is hesitation when accelerating which causes driver to unknowing lurch forward. Sometimes peeling out. In stop and go traffic, the van does not accelerate for a few seconds when gas pedal is pressed. There is sometimes a clunking sound which causes van to lurch when accelerating at a lower gear which feels like someone has hit my van from behind. It is a safety issue because I don’t know if the van will accelerate or not right away when I press the gas pedal.

Filed Mar 29, 2022 · Engine · NM

Like many others, I am experiencing hard shifts between the 25-30 mph range. The downshifting is also very hard. While I don’t hear clunking like I do with a gear shift, it will jerk down to a gear that seems too low and almost feels like the brakes are being applied when they are not. The most terrifying issue is the lag time between gas being applied. My engine remains idle and then jolts forward. This has almost caused an accident with oncoming traffic when I am trying to turn left. I beg of you to research this for a possible recall. Since it isn’t a constant issue, Honda says it runs normal and nothing is wrong.

Filed Nov 23, 2021 · Transmission · IN

The transmission started shifting hard on November 20th, 2021 while driving 60-70 mph on the interstate. I was on a Thanksgiving trip (Indianapolis, IN to Venice, FL) with my wife and three kids ages 8, 6, and 4. We were on I-75 north of Atlanta when the transmission shifted hard up and down around 2000 rpm. After about four hard shifts the van lost the ability to accelerate (no amount of throttle increased vehicle speed); no dash indicators or warnings. At the time we were going around 60-70 mph when we lost acceleration and I had to coast the van to the side of the road through the northern Atlanta traffic. The transmission did come back and I was able to get of the next exit and take the van to the Honda dealer. The transmission continued to hard shift on the approximately 15 minute drive to the dealer. I did leave the van with the dealer, but before I left I tried to put the van in reverse and it would not move. The dash and button suggested I was in reverse but there was no function, and at that time I got a transmission problem warning. Prior to trying to reverse the vehicle I did not get a warning. So while on the interstate when it was a real problem the vehicle did not give any indication of what was wrong; so I’m glad I was driving and not my wife or someone less capable in a dangerous driving situation. Honda looked at the van on Monday November 22nd and told me I needed a new transmission at a cost of $9,300. The van was purchased in March of 2018 and currently has around 69k miles on it. I don’t believe anyone would agree that a transmission replacement at 69k miles is acceptable. This transmission failure is on top of the RES problems that have persisted for multiple years now. If Honda doesn’t contribute financially to the transmission repair, I have no reason to buy another Honda. My van has been nothing but problems. The RES is unreliable for the family and the transmission failure left us stranded 500 miles from home.

Filed Oct 8, 2019 · Transmission · 32,000 miles · MI

Vehicle experiences rough shifting when slowing down and speeding up in stop in go traffic. It is like it falls into gear, and not a smooth shift. Very disappointed for a $33,000 purchase. This happens on the highway, or on residential roads.

Filed May 29, 2019 · Transmission · 17,000 miles · MI

The vehicle is having intermittent issues with the transmission shifting. The speed seems to vary, the range is between 24 and 33 MPH. It seem to be most prevalent after being on the highway for a longer period of time, 45 minutes and longer. Then when aaccelerating gently from a stop it can lurch when shifting, or shift hard and make an audible clunk. Other times, not having been driven for any length of time, in the same speed range, 24 to 33 MPH, during gentle acceleration it does not shift easily or smoothly. There is not necessarily a clunk (there can be), but it does not shift normally or smoothly, I would describe it a miss or lurch. In both cases it will shift, but not as it should. This began around 17,000 miles. I am noticing very fine vibrations in the steering wheel and throughout the front end, its not all the time, but it does not seem right. I am unable to associate it with any particular speed or stretch of road, but it did not do this when the vehicle was new.

Filed May 14, 2019 · Acceleration, Transmission · OR

Auto shifting anywhere from 20-30mph results in hard shift or knock. When van is downshifting there is an acceleration or knock. Transmission was replaced at 22,000 miles. No explanation for the cause. This was noticed about 3 months into owning the vehicle brand new at 8 miles from a honda dealership. It took them 13 months of a continuous cycle of going into the honda certified shop for them to believe us. Now our vehicle at 25,000 miles continues to reproduce the same problem.