Two problems related to differential unit have been reported for the 2003 Honda Odyssey. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Honda Odyssey based on all problems reported for the 2003 Odyssey.
I was driving my 2003 Honda Odyssey down the highway when all of a sudden my wife lost the ability to accelerate the vehicle. The rpm nozzle was going up but the car could not accelerate anymore. Afterward my son began to see smoke coming from the back of the car. We pulled the car over and immediately got out of the vehicle. There was quite a bit of smoke coming out from the engine area and a lot of oil dripping at the bottom of the car. We called triple a and had them pick the vehicle up after 2hrs of waiting on the side of the road in the rain. Then we had it dropped off to the mechanic and he stated that the transmission was dead. We then discovered that the 2003 Honda Odyssey had a transmission recall in 2004. I rejoiced and thought clearly this is why this happened as my vehicle only had 85,000 miles on it. Nevertheless, when I spoke with Honda about it they said that the problem was solved for my vehicle in August 2004. Therefore the best deal they could provide to me was to cover 60% of the cost. I told them I cannot afford the 40% differential and I do not believe I should pay it because this should not have happened to a Honda under 100,000 miles. There were no warning signs before or after the incident. Nevertheless, they mentioned that they are not sure what else they could do. I am complaining because clearly Honda did not fix the issue in 2004 else we would not have had the problem at 85,000 miles again. I am soliciting whatever help you can provide to me in this situation.
Just bought a 2003 with 130k mi has had excellent service from the original selling dealer. Transmission is now whining when accelerator is pressed at all. Was hoping for a cv joint, but turned out to be the differential going bad. We need to leave on vacation in a few days, and now will be renting a van at the tune of about $900 am very disappointed in Honda for not taking car of these transmission issues. Several motor mounts are failing. A couple of very high ticket items. Honda please step up to the plate to keep a certain level of customer satisfaction.