We purchased a 2007 Odyssey and have a grinding sound/vibration that has been there since we drove it off the lot. The sound and vibration happens around 50mph. Honda says it’s just an artifact of the model, that it is a gas-saving feature in the tranny, but the mileage is lousy, high teens on highway. Does anyone out there have any insight into this problem?
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Sounds like a bunch of male bovine droppings. Have them demonstrate that “they all do that” by having them take a ride with you in your van, then a comparable van from their lot. Keep written documentation of all your efforts to get this fixed. If the dealer continues to give you the run-around, kick it up to the regional Honda rep.
Odyssey’s have been having tranny problems for a couple years now. Keep after Honda.
By “Honda” do you mean your local Honda dealer? If so, I’d take it to a different one if at all possible. If this car is still under the factory warranty, it’ll be good at any Honda dealer. It sounds like wherever you took it, they weren’t very interested in fixing this. I do like NYBo’s idea of putting on the spot with a side-by-side comparison. You especially need to get this taken care of if the warranty is close to running out-- if they stall you and it gets worse after the warranty runs out, you’re probably SOL legally.
Just to speculate, the gas saving feature they’re talking about may be the torque convertor lock-up, which given the noise and lousy gas mileage, may be trying to engage, but failing to. If this is the case, that’s usually not a terribly involved repair as far as transmission repairs go.
I agree with Greasy Jack that this sounds like a problem with the torque converter lock-up. While the dealership is correct that this feature exists to save gas, it is not supposed to make noise when it engages or disengages. As to whether the gas mileage is “lousy”, that is a very subjective matter, and I would not raise this issue with the Honda people, except as it might relate to a failure of the torque converter to lock up when it is supposed to.
Persist, in a polite way, and take this as far as the Honda Zone Rep if the people at the dealership continue to shirk their responsibility.
If the car is shakeing bad enough for you to notice then it is more then an artifact. If the car did it while you were test driving it, then why did you buy it? If this only happens when the car is moving then it is probably in the tires. Demand to see the service records on the car and see if the tires have ever been rotated and balanced - it is about a $30 fix. Dealerships have no honor when it comes to selling anything. You have options when dealing with honorless dealerships. There are always the option of the Better Business Buereau, and my personal favorite, the bumper sticker trick. State farm insurance made me take my car to a dealer body shop. When I got the car back I thought it looked fine. However, I made it into 70 miles of a 150 mile trip and the car died on the highway. Although I told the service Advisor how to turn off the alarm, they still disconnected the battery to over ride the alarm. The battery cables were just resting (Not tightened) on the battery. While following the tow truck home I noticed that the bumper they had just put on was crooked. Long story shorter, dealer refused to fix anything so I had a bumper sticked made that said “Danniels Chevy Body shop screwed me.” The car was fixed at no cost within a week.
Regarding the suggestion:
“There are always the option of the Better Business Buereau(sic)…”
I would suggest that the OP save his/her effort, rather than waste it on attempting to get satisfaction through the BBB, frequently known as the Better FOR Business Bureau. If anyone wants an explanation, I will be glad to post details.
If your Odyssey has leather seats, it has Variable Cylinder Management(VCM). It shuts down some cylinders while highway cruising to save on gas. It should be mostly seamless if it is working properly.