I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey. The Vehicle Stabilty Assist caution light has come on and remains on whenever the car is in use. I had this analyzed by my regular independent mechanic. His scan tool retrieved codes 66-01 and 83-01, but Honda does not share sufficient information to make these codes significant to independent mechanics. I then took the car to an appointment at the local Honda dealership. They knew ahead of time that I would have to wait at the dealership while they diagnosed the problem. After two hours they told me that it required a new modulator assembly, VSA (Honda part # HP57110-SHJ-A61). The cost would be $850 for the part and $160 for labor. When asked about the importance of the repair and my question about the safety of continuing to use the vehicle in its present condition the service manager appeared to be evasive and purposely vague in his answers. Thus I lack confidence in his remarks. What can you tell me about this situation?
The vehicle is safe as long as you don’t end up in an emergency situation, such as a sudden lane change, or taking evasive action to aviod the deer in the middle of the road. The system interacts with the brakes, throttle, and senses lean angles, and perhaps steering imput. If it senses something amiss is automatically takes actions to maintain or bring the car back under control. The driver does nothing, it is all automatic.
Now, your system isn’t working to protect you. Could be a sensor, or as they say the central control computer.
These systems are tricky and likely only Honda techs have the resources to diagnose and fix them correctly. Is it safe to drive, yes. But, not as safe as it was designed to be. It is like you are driving an Odyssey before they had such systems, say a 2000 Odyssey.