In Nov 2011, Rena wrote about a problem she was having with the “detent spring” on a 2003 Honda Odyssey. I believe she said her car has “automatic transmission.” It is rare, but the same thing just happened to my car, a 2004 Honda Odyssey with a 5-speed automatic transmission, and I’d like to know if Rena bit the bullet and replaced the transmission or repaired it and, if she did, how much did it cost, or did she continue to drive the car the way it is and, if so, is the a safety concern? One person at car talk said just get used to driving it this way with the new feel of moving the shifter without the “notchy” feel. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past week. I had it road tested by two transmission shops and they said that the transmission is fine. I don’t know whether the detent spring on my car, a 2004 Honda Odyssey is external or internal. I took the car to a ATRA transmission shop and they said I need to replace the transmission. They said the problem is internal and not mechanical. Thanks!!!
Theres no way around taking the transmission out and splitting the case to repair this. Either the spring on the detent ball or the pin holding the rooster comb onto the manual shaft has broken. Not good for the transmission and could damage it.
transman
“The part is only about $2, but he has to take the transmission out to the tune of $1,500 to replance it”
"Would you feel better of the part was $1,500 and int labor $2.00? :-)
Sorry to hear about your problem, but labor cost is a real cost. That said do read all the above. Good luck.
Personally I’d just live with this quirk if the warranty won’t cover it.
This is by no means the worst peculiarity I’ve lived with for years on an older vehicle…
That would NOT be a very good idea. All it would take is for that manual valve to move just a little in either direction and cause the fluid flow to change direction in the valve body and seriously damage the transmission or even create an unsafe condition on the road. It needs to be addressed ASAP.
transman
T-Man is correct…Without the detent you can not accurately control the transmission…Sooner or later, you will position the shift handle so it’s in two gears at the same time or you hit a bump and cause an unexpected gear-change…Your best bet is the shop where the transmission was repaired…But that’s a slim chance…After all, they did not design this transmission, they just fix them when they break…
I forgot to mention that the transmission on my 2004 Honda Odyssey has 152,000 miles on it, so I don’t think it makes sense to pay $1500, if that’s what it would cost, to repair one or possibly more broken parts: detent spring or the detent ball or pin. I might as well pay a $3000 (3 yr warranty) for a O.E. remanufactured transmission and be done with it and can probably sell it in 3-yrs and get $3000 for it. The tranny seems to be the achilles heel in Hondas (1999-2004), everything else with the car seems built to last.
I decided to have the transmission replaced in my 2004 Honda Odyssey (5spd automatic, 152K miles). The shop is going to replace the front engine mount and only charge me for the part. I’d also like to replace the rear engine mount. The front one is worn, so probably the rear one is also worn and eventually will need to be replaced. My question: is there additional labor involved in replacing the rear mount when they change the transmission? I assume there is some labor involved, but possibly less than if I took it to a garage and paid them just to replace the rear engine mount. Thanks!
i would not charge you for installing a part that more often then not on honda’s needs to be removed to facilitate removale of the tranny, fyi i would charge you less then 500 for the whole job, more then likely the failing mounts were the root cause of the detent becoming out of place or fail caused by engine/drive tran deflecting or twist, i would also find a new mechanic here is why, the tranny was fine it just needed a parts r&r’d that was internally located, if any shop just pushed the sale of a tranny job then you got ripped off due to uneducated and skilled repair techs not having the skill set needed too repair or replace a internal tranny part, almost every tranny shop thats not privatedly owed or part of a franchise send your tranny out and they recieve a new rebuilt unit, THEY DO NOT DO ANY INHOUSE TRANNY REPAIRS INTERNALLY, only clutchs, torque converters, filters and fluids, if is more then that the repair addvice will always be “It needs a new tranny” SCAM SCAM SCAM, DISHONEST DISHONEST, NOT TO MENTION UNETHICAL