I am searching for a used Honda Odyssey for my wife…BUT I see a lot of Honda Odyssey’s from 1998 to 2003 advertised with new transmissions on cars with less than 120K miles. Is this coincedence or did Honda put bad transmissions in these vehicles? Any insight would be appreciated. Do I need to stay away from certain years or models???
Even Honda and Toyota have problems now and then. Honda has had some transmission issues on certain models and Toyota has their famous (or infamous) oil sludge problem.
If the transmissions are really NEW they should be OK, even if the originals were not.
As to the overall reliability of certain years or models, I suggest you consult Consumer Reports.
My 2006 Odyssey (purchased July 2006) had a front end whine (sounded like a bearing noise) almost from the day we bought it. I complained, so Honda supposedly replaced a wheel bearing. It still made noise and then the dealer said that Honda corporate said that was “normal”. I still complained and after four visits they put in a new (rebuilt) tranny and it has been quiet and smooth ever since. Not sure I like the idea of a rebuilt, but it probably got more TLC in the rebuild process than the new tranmissions on the production floor.
Some homework during the multiple visits revealed Honda has been having transmission issues.
Yes they had problems. I belive they used a split case, and the seal goes bad. This casuses the tranny to loose all or most of its ATF and fry itself. My aunt just had this happen and Honda picked up the price of the tranny not the labor