general problems of the 2018 Honda Odyssey - part 1

All warning lights began flashing after a srs recall fix at Honda of joliet, illinois. Dealer wanted to do a in depth vehicle scan for $279. I brought it to an independent care repair shop where they did the scan for $199. They found engine damage per attached report. My vehicle’s VIN was not included in the initial recall for the same problem for the same vehicle, year, and engine type. Contacted Honda customer service a more or less ‘good luck’ response.

Warning lights began flashing on dash. Brought van to repair shop and was told and show leakage of oil into cylinders with metal shavings visible. Also heard a ticking sound while idling for a few weeks. Van only has 145,000 miles on it and was regularly serviced.

For a couple of weeks we have been having issues with our 2018 Honda Odyssey's back right door. When you go to open it, something happens where it makes it shut after fully opening. Our resolution for the time was to just push on the door harder and it would continue to slide open. Today, on xxx I was going to put my [xxx] son in his carseat, which is located mid van right side. He snuck infront of me and was standing in the path of the sliding door, it did what it normally does, the same door did not detect his body and began shutting on him. As it was squeezing his shoulders I was pushing back on the sliding door with all my strength, and after a few seconds it opened back up. I'm not sure whether the sensor failed, or it can't detect past a certain height, but either way it was a very scary situation. This had just happened an hour ago, so I haven't reported it to any authorities or anything. I came home and googled how to make a manufacturer report and it lead me here. If I had not been standing behind my son, I believe the door would have continued shutting more, enough to sustain serious injuries if not more. My son physically was okay, aside from a red mark on his upper arm where the door was shutting on him, he did need at least 5 minutes of consoling after, which only happens when something truly hurt him. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Recall 23v-431 (Honda 23-046) was previously performed on my vehicle to address most communication network failures affecting the infotainment system and backup camera. Despite the recall being marked complete, I continued experiencing intermittent infotainment failures. Symptoms include “network connection lost” messages, complete loss of the center display, audio failure, apple carplay disconnects, system resets, and loss of the backup camera while reversing. The failures frequently occur while driving over bumps, during turns, and recently while backing into a parking space. Because the issue persisted, I sought a second opinion from another Honda dealer. During their inspection, they advised that required portions of recall 23-046 had not been completed by the original dealership that performed the recall. The service advisor informed me that system history had not been cleared, a factory cable reset had not been performed, and the audio unit had not been properly initialized. In a follow-up text message, the advisor described the situation as a “workmanship error” by the original dealership. The remaining recall procedures were completed, however the same symptoms returned immediately afterward. The center display, audio, apple carplay, and backup camera continue to intermittently fail. I have incurred diagnostic expenses and out-of-pocket repair costs attempting to resolve this issue. My concern is that the original recall repair may not have been properly completed and that the same safety-related symptoms addressed by recall 23v-431 continue to occur, including loss of backup camera functionality while reversing. I am submitting this complaint because I am concerned that the recall remedy was not properly performed and that the safety defect addressed by the recall may still be present.

While the vehicle is in motion, it is loudly beeping that there is a problem with the rear tailgate and that it is open when it is closed. This is due to manufacturing defect wherein water is getting into the tailgate control module and ruining the electronics. This is making the tailgate unusable as it will not open and just reads off the error message. This is a well documented issue all over the internet on these vans and Honda should recall the vehicles to fix this.

Vehicle driving at highway speeds and put itself into park while at speed without operator intervention. Vehicle became uncontrollable and an extreme hazard.

Driver side sliding door is can not open/ failed to open. Life gate door failed to operate.

When accelerating from a stop position while pushing on the accelerator the vehicle will not move. Takes a couple seconds. Almost struck by oncoming car when attempting to turn left onto main road. Happens frequently. Next: left sliding passenger door doesn’t close all the way then opens back up. Takes several attempts before it decides to close or with my assistance. Third: rear cargo door shuts without me pushing the button. Alarm sounds and immediately shuts. Been hit in the head once while closing. I’ve seen complaints about this and Honda is apparently aware. Last; the car will inadvertently emergency brake when an oncoming vehicle approaches from the front. Very disturbing when traveling at any speed going into an instant stoppage.

Multiple times of driving the vehicle as I am trying to press the gas pedal while driving it acts like it is not working and suddenly it stutters and stalls. The car will shut off and put you into to neutral while you try and pull over to the side of the road without being hit. It happens randomly and without rhyme or reason. After it shuts off codes are thrown such as brake failure, emissions failure, hill assist failure, steering failure, and lane assist failure. The car will be really hard to restart and if eventually will and then everything will disappear and go back to normal. Codes leave and car drives fine until it messes up again. First time it happened was months ago from this report, and then it happened monthly, weekly and now almost daily but only when you try and drive. Very unsafe and there’s no reason cars should stall at high speeds going down interstates!.

Component: power liftgate control module (ptg module). Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. What happened: on approximately April 7, 2026, while driving in rain, a "power tailgate problem" warning appeared on the instrument cluster. Following that event, all powered liftgate operation became permanently inoperable — interior button, exterior button, and key fob all failed. Cause: an authorized Honda dealer confirmed in writing (service invoice, may 1, 2026): "power liftgate control unit has corrosion from water leak. " the water intrusion originates from defective factory polyurethane seam sealer on the rear drip rail — a known manufacturing defect on 2018-2019 Odysseys documented in Honda TSB mc-10152401. Safety risk: the same water intrusion that destroys the ptg module is documented to cause the liftgate to open unexpectedly while driving, posing a direct hazard to occupants and other motorists. Nhtsa is already investigating this issue across 2018-2022 Odysseys. Warning symptoms: "power tailgate problem" warning on instrument panel cluster appeared during rain exposure prior to full failure. Manufacturer response: american Honda motor CO. Declined to cover the repair under goodwill despite the dealer-confirmed defect, an active TSB, and an ongoing class action lawsuit (2018-2021 Odysseys) for this exact issue. Honda has not issued a recall. Estimated repair cost: $691 (module) plus body seam repair.

I have a 2018 Odyssey exl I been getting messages from right sliding door problem and during the drive after 12 or 13 miles was getting sign was saying stop the vehicle and door sign is keep flushing saying right sliding door problem.

Power tailgate failure/dead battery from body leak. Currently power tailgate is not functioning.

Tailgate door is not functioning. Tailgate problem message on dash. Cannot open door with remote nor manually.

Rear hatch power door issue indicated on dash display, and complete failure of powered door feature. Investigation finds many other drivers of this make/model/year have issues with faulty seals allowing water intrusion into circuitry in left rear panel where the power lift fat control unit box is, causing damage to the circuitry. Other drivers have described more widespread electrical issues, some even causing the gate to unlatch while the vehicle is in motion. Upon inspection of my personal vehicle, signs of water damage were found both in the base of the area covered by the panel and within the circuit box and panel itself, confirming these suspicions.

2018 Honda Odyssey rear tailgate problems, what was the issue? problem is because water is leaking from the roof rails onto the tailgate module, causing the power liftgate control unit to short circuit, leading to unintended opening/closing or complete failure. I checked every fuse and my tail gate still wont open! tailgate module failed due to leak on the roof rail. The "holes" are three very small spots that the weld didn't cover. . . . . . .

Upon further investigation, lots of 2018 Honda Odysseys are experiencing the same problem I am. There is a leak coming in from the top of the van in the rear that causes water to leak through and overtime damages the control unit in the back. Damage to this causes my power lift gate to completely stop working, my passenger drive door to stop working, and a bunch of features like the front collision warning, the lane departure, sensors, fog lights, so on to fail and go on and off. I had problems here and there with it but it wasn’t until it rained 4 days straight that I made the connection with the leak and started trying to figure out the problem. I took it to the Honda dealership to get diagnosed and they confirmed this problem. We have not been in any accidents to cause body damage to the vehicle.

The vehicle previously received a manufacturer dash wiring recall repair. After the recall repair was completed, the vehicle began experiencing intermittent and cascading electrical and communication failures across multiple integrated systems. Affected systems include apple carplay, the dvd system, in-vehicle camera systems, cabinwatch, and repeated “most network unavailable” error messages. These failures occur intermittently and result in multiple systems disabling simultaneously. The vehicle was inspected by a Honda dealership, which confirmed the issue involves wiring within the dash harness. The dealership stated the affected wiring is not sold or serviceable separately and that correction would require replacement of the entire dash harness, but that this portion of the harness is not included in the original recall coverage. Because these systems share common power and communication pathways, failures cascade across multiple modules. When the camera system fails, rear view camera functionality and related warnings are unavailable while backing up, reducing the driver’s ability to detect obstacles, pedestrians, or children behind the vehicle. When cabinwatch is unavailable, the driver is unable to visually monitor children seated in the rear rows while driving, which affects situational awareness and the ability to respond quickly to unsafe conditions inside the vehicle. These failures also impact driver information systems and create intermittent loss of critical visual feedback, increasing driver distraction as systems drop out unexpectedly while the vehicle is in operation. The condition began after the recall repair and appears to be related to or a continuation of the original recall defect. The vehicle remains available for inspection, and the condition has been confirmed by a manufacturer-authorized dealer.

Defective body seam on roof panel over drivers side rear wheel - resulting water leak on control panel for power liftgate caused the rear tailgate to continually open and close while driving. The vehicle was parked and the fuses controlling the tailgate were removed to enable the closure of the hatch and allow vehicle operation. Prior to this, the vehicle battery died while parked due to the continuous tailgate operation and required a battery jump. The vehicle was taken to d&j auto (an independent service center) where a previous liftgate control panel was replaced for failure to open the tailgate. A search of the internet on 2018 Honda odyessey liftgate problems revealed multiple instances of water leaks on the liftgate control panels due to body seam issues which caused liftgate failures. This information was relayed to the auto repair shop where the leak was discovered. The vehicle was taken to a body repair shop across the street where the seam was fixed, returned to the auto repair shop where a third tailgate control panel installed.

Vehicle experiences engine stalling and failure to restart at intersections when the auto idle stop (ais) feature is engaged. This creates an immediate life-safety hazard as the vehicle becomes non-functional in live traffic. This has occurred 2 times. Once on surface streets and once on the highway in stop-and-go traffic. This issue persists despite service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. Honda corporate and Honda dealership refusing to cover the repair. Separately, during a 37-day repair attempt (Jan 22 – March 2, 2026), autonation Honda chandler admitted the vehicle was sold with an 'incorrect' battery type (lead acid instead of required agm), which caused electrical instability. The dealership attempted a repair on Feb 13, but the vehicle failed to start again on Feb 11 during a pickup attempt. The dealer has since refused to provide accurate service records or further communication. The vehicle remains unsafe to drive as it continues to stall randomly.

After I received a software update for my 2018 Honda Odyssey elite the car has been stalling when idle. It is very dangerous because I will be at a stop light in drive, and the vehicle will shut off with no power. Cars will be behind me or no cars, and I have almost been rear ended. I did not have this problem until I received the new software update. It keeps occurring more and more often.

Since I own this vehicle, 3 times tailgate failed. I have done repair it twice in Honda dealership at paramus NJ. Now it happened again after a year of last fix. Instrument cluster = warning sign appears stays there. Somewhere on back = constantly sound beeping - when driving tailgate = does not open and if open some how, it does not close. Neither automatic nor manually. I have to drive vehicle since I have no choice. I inspected all fuse in front under hood and in rear at cargo area.

The infotainment display has been malfunctioning. The display goes black and the back-up camera is not available. On the night of December 12, 2025, we were driving the car on the highway and the screen flickered in and out and then went black and so did the dashboard display. This was very scary as the entire car went dark and we were driving blindly on the highway. It appears that all 2018 Honda Odysseys have a recall for the infotainment electrical system except for the elite model that we purchased. I called the dealer last week and was told no recall available and we will need to pay the $179 diagnostic fee plus the cost to repair which will be significant. We will take the car in this week as the car cannot be driven safely without full dashboard and backup camera display.

My vehicle repeatedly and unexpectedly shifts into neutral while in drive, causing a sudden loss of power in traffic. This has happened multiple times without any input from me and has nearly caused a crash.

Experiencing problems similar to recall 23v-43. Audio popping/crackling, radio unavailable, screen display issues- screen does not come on resulting in no rear camera, display says “network connection lost” while driving. Vehicle has been inspected by hondo of hot springs arkansas multiple times for radio/screen display issues.

The tailgate control module failed due to water getting in to it from normal rain. There seems to be a leak in the seam and caused the failure. I took it to the shop and confirmed the failure, purchased a new control module and replaced the faulty one. I opened up the faulty one and it had water damage inside.

The front facing camera has stopped working. Anytime we turn the vehicle on we get multiple warning lights (lane assist, cruise control, bright lights, braking, etc) aren't working.

My computer screen that has my radio and backup camera will black out randomly while I’m driving. There are times I can’t use it for a backup camera because it won’t cut on. I’m not able to control my heat and a/c when it goes blank too.

The roof leaks in the lh rear of the van under the roof strip thru a bolt or bad seam rfom a bad build causing the power unit liftgate module pn - 74970-thr-a11 to get wet and sit in water causing a short to the battery, the sliding doors to fail and the rear liftgate to fail which is a safety hazard if someone cannot exit the vehicle in an emergency. It is also a fire potential. This should be a safety recall at Hondas expense. The world wide web is flooded with videos and forums pertaining to this exact issue and Honda has not stepped up to the plate and addressed this issue.

The media touch screen display periodically goes blank and reboots during driving, which affects the backup camera, defrost control, and every other component controlled on the touchscreen display.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the windshield camera sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

Failed monocular camera : it is a very common issue across majority of Honda Odyssey. It's the overheating of the camera and start to malfunction, causing all the warning systems lights to illuminate. A lots of people and families who have owned or currently owns Honda Odysseys minivans have either faced this problem in the past or having it more commonly now. Due to the malfunction caused by the failed monocular camera, it tends to automatically disables the lane assist function, engine light comes on, cruise control get disabled and two other warning comes on the dash. Please note that there are a lots of families who own these Honda Odyssey have been facing this manufacturing fault that Honda needs to address.

Mass safety system failure due to front projector camera/ wiring harness. Noted systems below failed: adaptive cruise control auto emergency braking forward collision warning lane departure warning lane keeping assistance auto high beams all above system are not operational.

The camera started malfunctioning and now I have a bunch of warning lights on the dash. I think is crazy that a lot of people have the same issue and still there is no recalls for it. Is a major safety issue.

Like many other people on the [xxx] forums, our Honda Odyssey has a water leak that dripped onto the tailgate control module, causing it to corrode and stop working. Now, our tailgate door will not open or close electrically, nor even manually using the handle outside. We have to crawl through the vehicle into the trunk, open a trim piece with a screwdriver, and stick our finger into the mechanical parts to disengage the latch to allow the door to open. Safety issues: 1) it's hard to know whether the door is fully closed and latched, so it could pop open while driving. 2) in the event of a car crash or other emergency, we may need to rely on that tailgate door being operational, so it being jammed by a widespread and known problem seems like a predictable life threatening issue. Links to some of the forum threads where other people report the exact same issue: [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On [xxx], while driving in traffic, my 2018 Honda Odyssey suddenly and without warning shifted itself into park. The vehicle slammed to a stop in the middle of an intersection, stranding my family and creating a serious risk of collision and injury. The vehicle would not move afterward and had to be towed from the scene. After the failure, the dashboard displayed multiple warnings: “transmission problem,” “stop driving when safe,” “emission system problem,” and *“blind spot information system problem. ” the gear shift indicator also blinked. The Odyssey has remained undrivable since the incident. The vehicle is at stockton 12 Honda in sandy, utah, where the dealer confirmed a hard transmission failure (ro #[xxx]). Honda corporate opened two cases (#[xxx] and #[xxx]). Despite my repeated calls and emails, Honda’s assigned case manager verbally denied coverage on sept 12, 2025, stating the denial would only be reflected in Honda’s internal case notes. This failure is identical to the defect described in NHTSA recall 19v-299, in which the transmission control unit (tcu) can reboot due to low voltage and cause the transmission to shift into park while driving. Although my VIN is not currently flagged, my Odyssey ex-l uses the same zf 9-speed transmission and tcu as affected trims. I have a tow record, witnesses, and video evidence documenting the event. The vehicle remains disabled, leaving my family without safe transportation. This is a serious safety defect that should require investigation and expansion of the existing recall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).