Transmission Failure problems of the 2003 Honda Odyssey - part 2

Encountered transmission failure with 2003 Honda Odyssey. 2004 transmission recall performed by dealer and factory maintenance scheduled performed throughout ownership. In June '11 noticed slipping when shifting from second to third occurred. Extremely dangerous and scary with 2 little children in the car on the highway or on the local streets. The car jolted on the highway for the first incident and we nearly swerved into the median. I've been told all is normal to replace the trans by varying dealerships. I feel that Honda has not investigated nor resolved the trans problem thoroughly and now I could be held paying the bill once it is replaced. After much research, we discovered that the Odyssey transmission has had numerous complaints of failure. Honda corp indicated that the dealership will have full authority to issue a second recall if it is the transmission. The dealership said that Honda corp makes the decision and a case needs to be filed. However, the seller said that if you bought the car at the dealership or have had spent a lot of many in service at Honda, this weighs heavily in their decision and customers are more likely awarded the full recall value. This is wrong for the Honda company to play games with a safety issue and only reward highest paying customers with a recall. All should be benefit and they should be held liable.

2003 Honda Odyssey began slipping in transition from 2nd to 3rd gear approximately 1 month ago. I took the van to the dealer twice, only to be told they could not identify a problem. They did report that I needed $650 of other maintenance, which I agreed to, but could not "replicate" the problem I was there for. After the 3rd visit in less than 2 weeks, I was told that the transmission had failed and would need to be replaced. After much research, we discovered that the Odyssey transmission has had numerous complaints of failure. The dealership said they had contacted Honda corp. But they declined any assistance. We are the original owners and have been loyal customers of this dealership for the past 8 years. The dealership did offer a 10% discount, but the cost is still a staggering $3800. I believe that Honda, having full knowledge that they are promoting and selling defective transmissions, should be held liable for their product.

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 should'nt 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.

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.

Transmission failure on 2003 Honda Odyssey purchased new from dealer. 2004 transmission recall performed by dealer and factory maintenance schedule performed throughout. In April 2011 noticed slipping when shift from second to third gear occurred. It became immobile while accelerating on a busy street. Taken to Honda dealer and informed transmission needed replacement.

20003 Honda Odyssey transmission failure while driving. Lost of power in middle of vehicle operation.

Our Honda Odyssey van - 2003 - has had numerous issues. Most recently, the transmission has failed. It appears that many minivans from this same era have had similar issues and Honda is not offering me any assistance (except for a new $4,800 transmission). I love Honda, but this is an outrage - clearly they have issues and they should be forced to correct their error.

Transmission failed egr valve failed.

Pulling out of driveway onto highway and the transmission failed, had to have towed to repair facility and ultimately transmission had to be replaced. Have heard this is a common problem.

Transmission failure - 2003 Honda Odyssey @65,000 miles - lost 4th gear first, then 2nd gear when I slowed down. By the time I got to the dealer, all of the gears were malfunctioning and car was undriveable. Pending a response from Honda as to whether they will grant me a "goodwill repair" allowance, I have not taken any repair action. This transmission was the subject of a recall in 2004, which I responded to. Honda settled a lawsuit regarding transmission problems in their 1999-2002 transmissions. It's time for an investigation on the 2003-2004 transmissions, particularly those which were subject to the original recall.

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 45 mph the vehicle would sputter and stall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed a transmission failure and advised replacing the transmission. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 143,000.

2003 Honda Odyssey transmission failed at 63000 miles. This seems to be a regular occurrence with this vehicle and model. My wife was driving the vehicle and it simple stopped moving in the middle of a highway. Not very safe and it seems that Honda is not willing to take full responsibility for this issue.

My wife drove this minivan, Honda Odyssey 2003, and just before entering the interstate freeway the "check engine" light turned on, the transmission became "sleepy" , rpm jumps up to 5000, smog in cabin, all lights on dashboard start blinking and the car just stopped. She panicked because this was during heavy traffic and the situation became dangerous. She slowly drove to her friends' house and left the car overnight. The next day, I checked the diagnostic codes and had p0730 and p0780 (transmission failure). Poway Honda dealership, in san diego, CA, was asking for $4,565. 00 to replace the bad transmission with a refurbished unit. I am very disappointed with Honda's "high" quality product. This vehicle has only traveled 108,000 miles and now requires such a high repair cost. I found one private repair company that will repair this problem somewhat cheaper.

My wife drove this minivan, Honda oddysey 2003, and just before entering the interstate freeway the "check engine" light turned on, the transmission became "sleepy" or lazy and the car just stopped. She panicked because this was during heavy traffic and the situation became dangerous. She slowly drove to her friends' house and left the car overnight. The next day, I checked the diagnostic codes and had p0730 and p0780 (transmission failure). Poway Honda dealership, in san diego, CA, was asking for $4,565. 00 to replace the bad transmission with a refurbished unit. I am very disappointed with Honda's "high" quality product. This vehicle has only traveled 108,000 miles and now requires such a high repair cost. I found one private repair company that will repair this problem somewhat cheaper. My question to Honda is, is the mechanical designer in charge of this bad design part still working for you?.

My wife drove this minivan and just before exit to 15 freeway "check engine" light turned on, transmission starts sleeping and car just stop. She gets in panic because in this time was heavy traffic and situation become dangerous. She slowly drove to friends house and dropped the car overnight. Next day I checked codes and had p0730 and p0780 (transmission failure). "poway Honda" in san diego, CA was asking for $4,565. 00 to replace bad transmission with refurbished unit! I was very disappointing with Honda "high" quality product (only 108k miles and ~$5,000. 00 have to pay for used transmission!) I found one private company for $3. 300. 00 to replace this junk from Honda.

Transmission failed---car lost rpms & dropped from 70 mph to 5 mph while driving on the highway. We were not notified of the transmission recall by mail & never notified in person at the Honda (autofair Honda-manchester) dealership where our car's service was done. When we called american Honda to complain, I was told, ''what do you expect, the vehicle has 140,00 miles on it". Honda took weeks getting back to us & in the meantime we had an independent transmission shop replace the transmission (approx $3800). Honda dismissed a very serious situation & as I researched more & more, I became very angry knowing Honda has been allowed to endanger families for so long with this known problem. It was by complete luck that my children were not seriously injured or killed when the car went from 70 mph to almost a stop in the middle of the highway. Also, when the transmission was taken out of my minivan, the steering column and other parts were melted in spots. As the 2003, 2004, 2005 Odysseys get older with more mileage, there will be more reports/accidents. Also, Honda should be obligated to state they expect their cars to not make it to 150,000 so the consumer can be aware.

2003 Honda Odyssey transmission failed without notice causing safety concern as I was driving without any ability to speed up and control.

2003 Honda Odyssey transmission failure.

I have 2003 Honda Odyssey. I had problem a month back with transmission (oct'2010). It thought the transmission was not smooth. So I showed to a NJ dealer (open road Honda). They advised me to fix something in transmission + they asked me to do transmission belt package, which I did. It did cost me around 2500$. A month later (Nov'2010) my automatic transmission failed. The car stopped in mid of the road when I was driving with me and family with check engine light on. I had to tow in the vehicle to the same dealer on black Friday (11/26/2010). Now today dealer called me and told I have to spent around 5000$ to fix the car. The error code which he mentioned to me are >> p0730-automatic transmission need to be replaced p0845-there is problem with 3rd gear pressure issue I checked online and my car is in the list of recall for 'automatic transmission' I have 120k on my car. I called Honda company they told me the vehicle is not on warranty. They can not help. Dealer did not fix the issue earlier when I had shown the car to him earlier before engine light could come on. Don't know what to do next. Any help in this matter will be highly appreciated.

I have a 2003 Honda Odyssey and was driving on thanksgiving evening on an interstate hwy. In florida back to my home in orlando. During this trip the check engine light came on suddenly. . . And then my transmission had a catastrophic failure. Leading up to this the minivan was driving nicely. Suddenly the vehicle spewed out transmission fluid onto the engine and there was a horrible burning smell. The car decelerated, and I nearly lost control of the vehicle. I was able to steer it onto the shoulder. Fortunately, there was very little traffic close behind. . . So I avoided a collision. After this event, I have found out that my Honda Odyssey was recalled for a faulty transmission. Recall id 04v176000. The dealer is coggin Honda orlando, and they now acknowledge that it was recalled. They were instructed by Honda America to install a modified oil jet kit. Obviously. . . This fix was not effective. My outcome is that my family was stranded for hours until we could get the vehicle towed. I'm aware that countless other 2003 Odysseys have had the same transmission failure. Some of them involve crashes, injuries and deaths. How many more people will lose their lives because of Honda's faulty transmission design, and their unwillingness to properly fix the problem? I'm angry because neither Honda America or coggin Honda told me about the recall. I never would have purchased this vehicle if I had knowledge of this recall? doesn't this violate my right to full disclosure of the vehicle's history? how is this legal?.

We were driving on the interstate in stop and go traffic when for unknown reasons the tcs and engine malfunction indicator lamps came on. We pulled off the interstate, parked, turned the vehicle off and read the owners manual to see what it said about the engine malfunction lamp. It said that it could be from a loose gas cap so we tightened the gas cap as is stated in the owners manual. We then carefully resumed our trip. The malfunction indicator lamp remained on during the trip. The following day we took the vehicle to a local Honda dealer service department. The computer error code was read and the problem was diagnosed as an incorrect gear ratio code and that the vehicle requires a new transmission. So far the transmission has only had minor slippage when starting from a stop. The assistant service manager told us that it will only get worse. This vehicle was in a 2004 transmission inspection recall. We had Honda service inspect the transmission and they said it was good. The transmission should not have failed with only 67,850 miles on the vehicle. After researching on line we discovered that the transmission failures on the Odyssey can result in a crash. This is the only car we own and now my wife and I are afraid to drive the vehicle especially with our kids in it. We can not afford a $3,000 or more transmission replacement bill.

Own 2003 Honda Odyssey with 107,000 miles. Just had timing belt replaced at dealership, full inspection, changed transmission fluid. Only two weeks later transmission failed on i4 on way to orlando with family. A harrowing experience.

2003 Honda Odyssey, the transmission failed (slipping between the gears) at 113,000 miles. Have visited Honda dealer where we bought the car, we have been told we need a new transmission (transmission is dead basically). A re-built one would cost ~$4500 - $5000. With all the major services have been done at dealer service center, the transmission is dead too prematurely. Honda needs to be responsible for the repair cost. The recall of 2004 didn't fully address the transmission issue which makes the transmission failed way too early.

Transmission failure on 2003 Honda Odyssey.

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The contact was driving at normal speed when the transmission warning light illuminated. The dealer advised that the transmission had failed. The transmission was replaced. The manufacturer assisted with partial repair costs. The contact was advised that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train: automatic transmission) and believed the failure was caused by the recall repair. The failure mileage was 89,700 and the current mileage was 90,000.

Transmission failure, occurred July 2010 transmission recalled by Honda 2004.

2003 Honda Odyssey automatic transmission failure. Nhtsa please research the serious problem with the 2003 Honda Odyssey automatic transmission failure rate. Quickly just google it and you will see that thousands are having their transmissions fail and not just the original transmissions but also the remanufactured transmissions that Honda dealers use as a repair. Review comments made on the forum at odyclub. Com and other websites such as automobilemag. Com. This is an epidemic safety issue involving the automatic transmissions of Honda Odysseys. There was already a successful class action lawsuit against Honda for years prior to my model and there is much talk online about pursuing a class action lawsuit for years 2003-2005 as well! it is the job of the NHTSA to protect american consumers and I am requesting that NHTSA pull the data on all of the Honda Odyssey transmission failures plus do some additional research online. I am confident you will see there is a major safety issue here due to mechanical failure. My failure caused a complete loss of power which could have killed me and my family since we were turning out into a busy street when it happened. I was able to get the 2003 Honda Odyssey into the dealership and they told me it could very well be a transmission failure. I have maintained this Mini-van far better than what Honda even recommends and yet this still happens to me and thousands of other citizens. The diagnostic code p0720 is an early sign of transmission failure. The dealership is replacing the sensor but I am told it is most likely the early signs of transmission failure. If it ultimately ends up being the transmission it will cost me over $3,500 to fix and they replace it per Honda with a remanufactured one that has a very high failure rate as well! some make it less than 36k on the remanufactured one and have to replace it a third time! major safety issue involving a major powertrain part - the automatic transmission.

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that the transmission suddenly failed while he was driving at 55 mph on may 10, 2010; also, the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was advised to change the fluids and filter. The check engine light illuminated again so the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced at his expense. The contact called the manufacturer who advised him to send in all his maintenance records. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000. The current mileage was approximately 105,000.

On Saturday, April 24th, starting the van, a strange whining sound was coming from the engine compartment that changed pitch with engine revs. Sunday April 25th, at ~88,300 miles, vehicle failed to accelerate halfway onto the highway on-ramp. Engine just revved but transmission would not take. Both tcs and check engine light came on. Scared wife half to death with kids in the car. Luckily they were able to get off highway right away and limp along to meet me in safe place. Took it to the Honda dealership Monday morning. I barely made it and almost had a couple of accidents since car would not accelerate up any of the hills and rolled backwards a few times. Dealership said the transmission has failed and needed to be changed out at a cost of $3500 (Honda would provide a measly 10% assistance) which we cannot afford in this economy which now makes this van worthless. Looking at all the complaints here and on the web, this seems to be a serious problem Honda is turning a blind eye to. The NHTSA needs to be pro-active before someone really gets hurt in an accident. These transmissions have serious design flaw to fail at this mileage and with proper maintenance.

Our 2003 Honda Odyssey had a transmission fail on us at 80,000 miles in 2008. Now 2 years later at 119,000 it has failed again. The first time we were stranded waiting for a tow truck, this last time on Saturday, we were able to make it up to the dealership. We are now facing another $4000 repair bill. The second transmission only lasted 39,000 miles or half of the original.

Honda Odyssey 2003 - gear shifting poorly, check engine light turns on at around 84k. Honda dealer diagnoses it and states that the failure code indicates internal transmission failure. Mechanics saw dark/disfigured transmission fluid and reproduced the gear shift problem. Dealer claims no warranty or recall covered. Seems like a very common problem requiring a recall. In lieu of the Toyota problems, Honda should be investigated. Very expensive to fix (quoted $5500+tax), almost the price of the van.

My wife's 2003 Honda Odyssey transmission has failed causing the dealer to replace it. We received the original NHTSA campaign notification #04v176000 and took the car promptly to the dealer for inspection. The transmission started to fail to shift from 1st to 2nd gear, then malfunction light came on, then visit to dealer for inspection. Vehicle has 58,000 miles on it and it has been regularly serviced by Honda dealers. After seeing the volume of Honda transmission problems, I feel Honda should replace the transmission free.

2003 Honda Odyssey transmission failed at 101,000 miles. Took dealer three service times and $1,000. 00 in unneeded repairs to find problem. Transmission should have been replaced during recall procedure in 2003/2004. . . Wasn't. Dealer finally replaced transmission with remanufactured unit in February 2010 at a $1,400. 00 cost to me.

Engine gasket failure. Noticed a small oil leak on the garage floor. We were told that a new head gasket was needed for $1,861. Got a call today and was told that the bolts in the engine were stripped (it has not been touched by anyone since manufacture) and that we can pay an additional $400 to have the bolts reseated or buy a used motor for $2,900. Neither seems fair. Transmission failed in October and was $5,200 but given a $1,800 discount. This is the 6th major repair to this van since its purchase as a new vehicle. The consumer wants to know if the complaints she found from other consumers that had similar problems with their vehicles like her were made at the same plant around the same time her vehicle was manufactured. Updated 01/05/10.

2003 Honda Odyssey transmission failure on highway. Driving under normal conditions within the speed limit, upon downshift into overdrive the transmission "slipped" causing a driving safety situation at full speed putting my entire family at risk of an accident. The transmission has failed and continued to perform unacceptably off and on that day. I stopped driving it except to take it to the shop where they told me it has to be replaced. Very low mileage (68k or so).