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2018 Honda Odyssey: jerking or lurching

48 of the 1,016 complaints about the 2018 Honda Odyssey describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints
48
of this car's complaints
5%
typical mileage
30,000
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 6 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

What owners say

Filed Sep 4, 2026 · Airbags · 135,000 miles · OH · crash

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle drove over a pothole and the driver's- and passenger's-side curtain airbags deployed. The air bags deployment frightened the contact’s wife, and the steering wheel was jerked, and the vehicle crashed into the concrete median. The contact stated that the front driver's side tire was flat. The contact removed the deployed side curtain air bags and replaced the driver's side front wheel. The vehicle was inspected by the insurance company. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V227000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that the recall notification was received the day after the failure had occurred. The manufacturer was contacted by phone, and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the case was denied. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

Filed Aug 27, 2026 · Transmission · VA

The car on a weekly basis or almost every time it is driven. The car jerks when driving at low speeds. This is a safety risk when driving for vehicles in front or behind me, as the car jerks forward. This has been mentioned to the dealer, but they stated a charge of 180 USD will be incurred for diagnoses. If you look at the federal safety agency complaints database there are numerous complaints similar to what I am experiencing from other owners stating the same issue of jerkiness on the honda Odessey. I am surprised there is no recall on this. I put the date in down below but it happens almost every time the car is driven.

Filed Aug 6, 2026 · Driver assistance, Transmission · OH

While driving the car lurches as it shifts gears. This had gone on for quite some time but no codes have been thrown. This last time the car lurched so badly at the beginning of acceleration that I thought it was going to stall. It did not, but lights began flashing on the dash and when codes were (finally) thrown I was told I needed a new transmission altogether.

Filed Jul 13, 2026 · Transmission · VA

My Honda Odyssey has always had continuous issues when sometimes driving the car at low speeds it randomly jerks, which can become an issue when driving. I believe this is related to the manufacturers reference to service bulletins #19-014 and 20-016 stating a software upgrade is required. However my local dealer is stating this software can only be carried out if it is diagnosed first and a fee will be charged and only if jerkiness is found then another fee will be charged for the software install. As this is a known issue - should this install of software be a recall item. As this to me is a safety hazard, when the car jerks unexpectedly and should not have a cost involved for diagnostic and then additional for the software update.

Filed Apr 5, 2026 · Acceleration, Transmission · NY

When driving the transmission is slipping meaning it jerks forward when accelerating on the road.

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 Apr 2, 2026 · Transmission · NJ

I am reporting a dangerous and recurring transmission defect in my 2018 Honda Odyssey equipped with the ZF 9-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle experiences sudden and unpredictable delayed acceleration, particularly at low speeds. When attempting to accelerate from a complete stop or at speeds below 25 mph, the transmission fails to engage properly, leaving the vehicle stranded in the middle of traffic with no power response for several seconds. This creates an extreme safety hazard, as other vehicles may collide with mine while I wait for the transmission to respond. The condition is intermittent and unpredictable, making it impossible to anticipate when it will occur. It happens most frequently when accelerating from intersections, merging into traffic, or navigating through slow-moving areas. Honda has acknowledged this defect through TSB 19-124 (issued December 2019), which addresses harsh and jerky upshifts in 2018–2019 Odysseys with the 9-speed transmission. However, the TSB does not fully resolve the issue. A class action lawsuit [XXX] et al. v. American Honda Motor Co., Case No. 5:23-cv-05011-BLF, N.D. [XXX] ) is currently pending for this exact defect. I am requesting that the federal safety agency open a formal investigation and consider issuing a safety recall, as the delayed acceleration constitutes a serious risk of collision and injury. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 9, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · VA

One week ago, I was driving on a highway, accelerating to the 65 MPH speed limit on that road, my van's accelerator completely stopped responding. Despite pumping the pedal repeatedly, I was unable to control my speed at all, and the car continued to lose speed. I had my three children in the car at the time, and given that people regularly go in excess of 70 MPH on that road, I was in danger of not being able to exit the road and/or being hit. I was able to coast off of onto an exit, and the car started responding at speeds of 30 MPH, but it was lurching and jerking while driving. We immediately had the vehicle inspected by an independent mechanic and have been advised that the transmission needs to be replaced. There were no warning lights for this failure. The car also had an incident about a year ago where all lights came on and it stopped responding. At that time, we had Honda dealership examine it, and they said they could not find any issues. Additionally, the car has been jerking slightly while shifting, but the issue improved when we had the transmission fluid flushed at the Honda dealership again about a month ago, and no issues were noted by them at that time. We have performed regular maintenance and safety inspections on this vehicle.

Filed Jan 27, 2026 · Transmission · CA

2018 Honda Odyssey (10-speed automatic transmission) What happened: The vehicle is experiencing intermittent loss of reverse and delayed gear engagement from a stop. When shifting into reverse or drive, the engine revs but the vehicle does not immediately move, then jerks into gear. The issue is worse when cold. Warning lights / codes: Check Engine Light on. Honda dealer retrieved diagnostic trouble code P0763 – Shift Solenoid C Electrical. The code returned as a hard code after being cleared. Safety risk: The vehicle hesitates or fails to move when shifting into reverse or from a stop, creating a safety risk in traffic, parking situations, and when backing up. Current status: Diagnosed by Honda dealership. Repair recommended. Honda corporate case opened.

Filed Oct 2, 2025 · Brakes · LA

Today I was driving thru a green light and my car started breaking and jerking in the MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. I was not following closely behind another car. Sometimes if i am going around a curve and a car is approaching me on the curve my car will suddenly BREAK and jerk. My kids are very scared to ride with me due to the inconsistences with my acceleration and jerking out of nowhere.

Filed Aug 19, 2025 · Transmission · SC

The transmission is very jerky and has completely lost power before. It has refused to shift and stalled in the middle of the road. It is very scary.

Filed Jul 7, 2025 · Transmission · NY

As reported previously to Honda the vehicle jerks when accelerating at high speeds.It was recommended to die a transmission flush which was performed and did not resolve the issue.slow acceleration at times is also a safety issue especially on highways.

Questions about the 2018 Honda Odyssey jerking

Is jerking or lurching a common problem on the 2018 Honda Odyssey?

48 of 1,016 owner complaints about the 2018 Honda Odyssey (5%) mention jerking or lurching. The model year with the most reports is 2002.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Honda Odyssey?

There are 0 recalls and 6 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2018 Honda Odyssey

Collision warning 126Lane assist 117Adaptive cruise 113Stalling 91Knocking 65Hesitation 59Engine failure 55Check engine light 52Headlights 46Backup camera 42Fuel pump 42Warning lights 41Loss of power 37Water leak 31Door locks 27Transmission failure 27Won't shift 20Won't start 19Harsh shifting 13Screen failure 13Overheating 13Key fob 11Battery drain 10Grinding brakes 10Airbag light 8Fire or smoke 8Seat belt 8Shudder 7Slipping 7Sunroof shattered 7Misfire 6Start-stop 6Power steering loss 5

All model years of the Honda Odyssey

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