2001 Honda Odyssey

AT AROUND 120K OUR ODYSSEY WOULD OCCASIONALLY HAVE A "FUNNY" SHIFT WHERE IT CLUNKED A BIT. THIS HAPPENED ONLY OCCASIONALLY. THE SYMPTOMS WOULD MYSTERIOUSLY GO AWAY WHEN THE CAR WAS AT THE DEALER OR IN THE SHOP. WITH 149K, WHILE DRIVING AT 65MPH THE TRANSMISSION ABRUPTLY DOWNSHIFTED INTO SECOND GEAR CAUSING THE SPEED TO BE QUICKLY REDUCED WITHOUT THE BREAKS BEING APPLIED, CREATING AN UNSAFE AND INOPERABLE VEHICLE. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. YOU ARE DRIVING NORMALLY, THEN OUT OF NOWHERE YOUR CAR'S TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS TO A LOW GEAR. *TR

THE HONDA ODYSSEY & PRELUDE TRANSMISSIONS HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY EARLY (AND LATE) FAILURES DUE TO HIGHER THAN NORMAL PROBLEMS DUE TO DEFECTS IN MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP. (HIGHER THAN NORMAL DEFECTS DUE TO WORKMANSHIP IN MATERIAL... ARE EXACTLY THE WORDS USED IN THE WARRANTY EXTENSION NOTICED I RECEIVED A FEW YEARS AGO. THE WARRANTY WAS EXTENDED TO 7 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES HOWEVER MANY CUSTOMERS LIKE ME ARE CONSERVATIVE DRIVERS, NOT PUSHING THEIR VEHICLES TO EXTREMES, SO FAILURES OFTEN OCCUR AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I CALLED HONDA TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE (DISCOUNT OR WHATEVER) HOWEVER THEY HAVE DECLINED. CASE NUMBERS [XXX] & [XXX]. I WOULD LIKE TO FILE A COMPLAINT AND ASK FOR ASSISTANCE GETTING HONDA TO OWN UP TO THE ISSUE BEYOND A SIMPLE WARRANTY EXTENSION AND ASSIST WITH REPAIR EXPENSES AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP. *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2001 HONDA ODYSSEY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS AS FOLLOWS: FIRST TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 20 MAY 2003 AT 37,531 MILES. SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 14 MAY 2007 AT 119,849 MILES. THIRD TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 23 APRIL 2012 AT 193,820 MILES. THESE FAILURES ARE DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP OF THE TRANSMISSION FOR THIS VEHICLE AS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY IN THEIR LETTER TITLED "AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION N WARRANTY EXTENSION" IN THE WINTER OF 2002. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH HONDA FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILURES; HOWEVER HONDA WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN THE CASE OF THE THIRD TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE FAILURE OF THIS TRANSMISSION ON THE OPEN ROAD WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO COME TO A STOP. THE LATTER CONDITION IS HAZARDOUS ON ROADS WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC AND HIGH ROAD SPEEDS. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUESTED TO ENCOURAGE HONDA TO FIX THIS DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION. *TR

MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT A USED 2001 ODYSSEY WITH 104,000 MILES. WITHIN A MONTH THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO SLIP. WE LOOKED ON LINE AND SAW THAT THE TRANSMISSION FOR THIS YEAR WAS ON RECALL. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHO INFORMED US THAT WE HAD EXCEEDED THE RECALL LIMIT BY 3000 MILES (WE WERE THEN AT 118,000). WE COULD HAVE A REBUILT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED FOR $4000. WE TOLD THEM THAT WAS INSANE CONSIDERING IT WAS ONLY A 3000 MILE DISCREPANCY FOR THE RECALL.....THEY SHRUGGED. WE TOOK IT TO AAMCO, WHO REBUILT IT FOR $2600, A SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS. HOWEVER, HERE WE ARE, TWO YEARS LATER AND IT GOES AGAIN....SUDDENLY! I WAS DRIVING IN TAMPA RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WITH MY TWO CHILDREN IN THE CAR, WHEN MY TCS LIGHT COMES ON, AND MY D4 STARTS FLASHING. I FELT THE TRANSMISSION DROP WHEN I PULLED TO A STOP AT THE LIGHT. WHEN I BEGAN TO GO AGAIN, IT BARELY CRAWLED, THOUGH REGISTERING 2500 RPM. I STOPPED AT AN AUTO PARTS STORE, WHOSE COMPUTER READ VARIOUS CODES: DRIVESHAFT, O2 SENSOR, SOLENOID, AND TWO OTHERS WHICH HE SAID WERE TRANSMISSION RELATED. SO I BEGIN TO DRIVE THE CAR TO AAMCO WHICH IS 1 MILE AWAY. I HAD TO MAKE A U-TURN, AND TWO LEFTS WITH THE CAR BARELY MOVING WITH BOTH OF MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR. I GET TO AAMCO, AND HE TELLS ME THAT I PASSED MY WARRANTY WITH HIM 7000 MILES AGO AND I'M OUT OF LUCK. SO I DANGEROUSLY CHUG THIS THING AND MY CHILDREN HOME, HOPING WE MAKE IT. WE DID, BUT NOW WHAT? *TR

I PURCHASED OUR 2001 ODYSSEY VAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2000. I USED THE VAN ONLY IN THE CITY WITH LOW MILEAGE ABOUT 83,300 MILES. RECENTLY, I HAD MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GO ON, AND SOMETIMES THE TCS LIGHT TO GO ON AND D4 LIGHT FLASHING. I FELT THE VAN WAS SLIPPING IN/OUT OF GEAR AND NOT UNDER CONTROL. I HAD MY LOCAL MECHANIC CHECKED THE VAN AND TOLD ME THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS AND PROBABLY NEED A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. AFTER RESEARCHING HONDA COMPLAINTS FOR 2001 ODYSSEYS THERE IS DEFINITELY A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSIONS. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION FIRST FAILED WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WITH MY 4 CHILDREN AS PASSENGERS. THE CAR STARTED SHIFTING IRRADICALLY AND BECOMING VERY UNPREDICTABLE AND PUT HER IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION IN TRAFFIC. *TR HONDA REPLACED THE FAILED TRANSMISSION UNDER WARRANTY BUT DID NOTHING TO PREVENT WHAT WAS TO COME. NOW ON 2/25/12 AT 108622 MILES, THE SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILED AGAIN WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING IT STARTED SHIFTING TO A NEUTRAL STATE BETWEEN GEARS AND JUMPING FROM ONE GEAR TO ANOTHER AND EMITTING A LOUD WHINING NOISE. AGAIN, A VERY UNPREDICTABLE BEHAVIOR ON THE ROAD WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR. THIS TIME THERE IS HASSLE COMING FROM HONDA TO HONOR A REPLACEMENT. I ALSO FEAR THAT THE REPLACEMENT WON'T BE PERFORMED WITH A CORRECTED UNIT AS PER MY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE. THIS IS AN UNACCEPTABLE SAFETY ISSUE KNOWING THAT THIS VEHICLE COULD FAIL AT ANY TIME ON THE ROAD.

THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING BETWEEN THE 2ND AND 3RD GEARS. THE VEHICLE WOULD SLOWLY MOVE FORWARD WITH VERY LITTLE APPARENT THRUST THEN WOULD SUDDENLY "KICK" INTO THE NEXT GEAR AND LURCH FORWARD, THEN SLOWLY MOVE INTO THE NEXT GEAR. ALSO THE TCS LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON AND THE GREEN DRIVE (D) INDICATOR BEGAN TO FLASH. THIS PROBLEM IS PRIMARILY WITH THE DRIVE GEAR AND NOT SO MUCH THE REVERSE GEAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TWO WEEKS AGO AND HAS REMAINED ON. AN OBD CODE READER ON 22 FEB 2012 INDICATED 3 DIFFERENT FAULT CODES -2 GENERIC AND 1 MANUFACTURER- WITH THE MAJORITY OF EXPLANATIONS INDICATING SPECIFIC TRANSMISSION FAULTS AND ONE- A TCC CODE -ELECTRICAL. *TR

WHILE DRIVING BACK FROM VACATION IN NASHVILLE, TN ON I-65N THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN RAPIDLY. THE PARTICULAR AREA IN NASHVILLE DID NOT HAVE MUCH OF A SHOULDER TO PULL OFF ON. MY FAMILY AND I WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO FIND AN OFF RAMP SOON AND EXIT THE INTERSTATE. I FOUND A HONDA DEALER IN NASHVILLE AND WAS TOLD I WOULD HAVE TO WAIT THREE DAYS TO WAIT FOR ANY KIND OF SERVICE. WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME TO INDIANAPOLIS. THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT 43,865 MILES, 85,069 MILES, AND JUST RECENTLY AT 152,000 MILES. *TR