Three problems related to brake light on have been reported for the 2008 Honda Odyssey. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Honda Odyssey based on all problems reported for the 2008 Odyssey.
On i69e heading north at 65 mph after cresting an overpass hill, vehicle stopped in middle lane no brake lights lit, hit brake pedal to stop but the brakes never reacted as normal. Push the brake pedal as hard as I could but the tires never squealed on the dry payment. Unable to change lanes due to other traffic and ended up hitting stopped vehicle still going about 20mph. $2,700 damage to my Odyssey and other car had heavy rear damage.
On 09/07/14, was involved in a 4 car accident. Traveling westbound on route 60, near i605, light traffic at approx. 3:45 pm. # 1 lane was closing, due to fwy work/maintenance. Saw signs and proceeded to move from the #1 lane to the #2 lane, while in the #2 lane noticed the flashing arrow for the lane closure. I estimate I slowed to about 60 mph, since traffic was merging, car in front was approx. 6-7 cars lengths ahead, when I saw brake lights from the car ahead of me and they had come to a complete stop. Which appeared to be from an accident. I immediately applied the brakes hard to stop, but could not stop in time. Ended up hitting the vehicle in from lightly, maybe about 5-10 mph at time of impact. Based upon the distance from the car ahead, I should have been able to stop our vehicle. Did not feel like the anti-lock braking system was working, felt no pulsating or push back in the pedal and car appeared to skid/slide into the car ahead. I found a recall notice for the anti-lock brakes, which stated that air can enter the system and affect the vehicle braking system. Never received any recall notice from Honda about this and I believe the fautly brake system was a factor in our avoidable incident. Another car hit us from behind and the driver was injured very badly.
The vsa light has been on and off for about two weeks, but user manual says it is okay for "normal driving". When I was driving about 40-45 mph, the vsa lights was on. I kept driving normally. Then we I tried to apply brake to slow down, the brake light turned on. After I released the brake, the car seemed to applied brake on itself even harder. It happened many times during the past few weeks and this time I definitely felt it.