Owners/service Manual problems of the 2008 Honda Odyssey

Vehicle was stationary, the lift gate would not stay up when opened manually.

The tailgate struts on my 2008 Honda Odyssey failed on 3/7/2016. When I open the liftgate on our van now, the struts that cause the liftgate to open easily are not working. This means you have to raise the tailgate manually and use a stick of some kind to keep the tailgate open. I found that a recall was issued around 2012 for liftgate problems on the 2008-2009 Honda Odyssey. The information I found said that the NHTSA campaign for this recall has the #12v062000 my Odyssey's VIN number does not appear to be included in that recall. Since I am affected by the same problem identified in the recall, I'd like for the recall to be expanded to include my VIN so we can be reimbursed for the repair. . Read more...

The automatic side door on the driver's side of the vehicle operated intermittently. The power to the door was turned off so that it could be operated manually. The door came off in hand during normal operation when attempting to close the door, except for the lower connection with the electronics. It took a mechanic, with help, about one hour to close the door, which is now completely non-operational. I have been informed, anecdotally, by several people, including a body shop owner, that this (automated doors coming off the vehicle in normal operation) is a common problem for Honda Odyssey vehicles. It obviously makes the operation of the vehicle unsafe until the door can be secured, and the use of the door is then prohibited.

The trunk lift (from an open position) of our 2008 Honda Odyssey ex-l unexpectedly fell on top of my wife's head while she was using the trunk area. Her injury was not serious, and consequently we determined the failure was the gas struts that assist in opening and closing the hatch. Honda already has a recall for the same issue for powered liftgate for 2008-9 models, but it doesn't include manual opening Odysseys, claiming that a degraded strut in a manual liftgate will be noticeable. This was not the case for us. Considering Odysseys are built for families, I feel this is a major safety issue since my older children frequently operate the tailgates without our help. Since the reason for the liftgate failure is the same for manual and powered liftgates, Honda should extend the recall (or at least a notification) to all 2008-9 Odyssey owners. Just because we didn't purchase the top of the line Odyssey, our safety shouldn't be any less than the touring owners.