10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
115,844 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Honda Odyssey drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2001 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments (Page 1 of 7)

problem #138

Mar 082018

Odyssey

  • 250,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

It will shift hard in all gears. Sometimes won't start, won't move with the transmission shifting issues. If you get in the highway it does it. If you are at low speeds it does it. It's scary when it does it. And dangerous when it happens.

- Sunbury, OH, USA

problem #137

Nov 152018

Odyssey

  • 141,000 miles
I was driving on a 4 lane highway and came to a intersection with traffic lights. In my lane and direction I was traveling, the traffic light turn red, which implies my vehicle to stop. I stopped. When the traffic light turn green, which implies my vehicle to move forward, my vehicle would not pull forward. After a few minutes, the vehicle, with sounds and feel of transmission problems, slipping and at times not moving. I barely made it to a safe place, a near store parking lot, to get my vehicle out of danger of a busy highway intersection. I had to be towed to a friend's home some 40 miles from the vehicle occurring problem of not operating in a safe manner. The vehicle has not ran since. If you put in reverse or drive, the vehicle will not move period. The vehicle is and has remained in my yard at my resident.

- Brinson, GA, USA

problem #136

Aug 102019

Odyssey

  • 112,000 miles
My 2001 Honda Odyssey was shaking and when I would shift it in gear and wouldn't shift and it would drive rough. I changed all the solenoid but the problem is still there. Now I'm just going to junk it I can't afford putting a new transmission it only has 112,000 miles. I only used my Honda to go to work and home in the city streets.

- Villa Park, IL, USA

problem #135

May 012018

Odyssey

  • 131,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving down the road normal and the next moment my foot was on the gas as normal and the engine began to rev without propelling my vehicle any farther. I slowed down and then coasted to the side of the road. I experimented once I was safely off the road and attempted to re engage the transmission. It let me go for another few miles then I was able to make it home. The next day I started to drive it to my mechanics shop and on the way it stopped and would not go anywhere. I was only about a mile and a half from my home. Fittingly enough I had to park it in the parking lot of a business. That business was a funeral home. All this took place on a city street where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. When I attempted to take it to my mechanic the next morning, I was being followed by a co-worker who was going to give me a ride after I dropped it off. To be more specific about exactly what happened, I was just driving along and all of a sudden the engine erupted revving and as I took my foot off the gas it slowed obviously but the second I pressed on the pedal again it was rev with no motion. Now I have a van with a new timing belt, new rear brake light (I put in myself) and new rotors and brakes and wheels. What a shame the public wasn't protected from this better. Should be a mandatory recall on all these transmissions and be made right. My mechanic cant even find one for less than $1500 which is insane. He had a quote for $2400 and I only paid $3700 for the van in June of 2014. The root of the problem was the transmission with out doubt.

- Cocoa Beach, FL, USA

problem #134

Jun 042017

Odyssey

  • miles
I have 115,000 miles on this van and the transmission went out and I seen that this happened to a lot of these vans I am very disappointed.

- Oracle, AZ, USA

problem #133

Dec 102016

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 123,363 miles
For the third time since we owned the vehicle the transmission has been slipping and the vehicle again isn't drivable. This is an ongoing problem with this Y/M/M with many complaints. NHTSA and Honda need to do a recall. I was driving when the transmission failed and was lucky to not have had any cars around me. This needs to be addressed with a recall and replacement by Honda. We're the original owners and Honda is aware of the problem as is NHTSA but no major action has been taken to recall. This is a safety issue.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #132

Nov 212016

Odyssey

  • 194,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driver able to shut off ignition and remove key while transmission gear selector still in drive. My teen drivers that are learning to drive have done this numerous times, even after I have pointed it out to them. The vehicle safety interlocks should prevent this scenario but in this vehicle, the safety feature has failed

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #131

Nov 102016

Odyssey

  • 194,000 miles
The ignition key can be removed from the ignition with the gear selector still in drive. My teenage drivers have on several occasions left the van in the driveway with the van still in drive, ignition off. Luckily, our home's driveway is flat and we have not had an issue of the van rolling away - yet!

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #130

Dec 152007

Odyssey

  • miles
I am single owner of Honda Odyssey 2001, I started having transmission problems right after my warranty expired, at 125,000 miles. Had to replace it, but still slipping. I am very angry and frustrated, will never buy a Honda again

- Glendora, CA, USA

problem #129

Nov 202015

Odyssey

  • 171,250 miles
While I was driving the van on a hwy the rpms went up and the van would not go as if the transmission was totally gone. I got pulled off to the side of the road and had to call a wrecker service to come and pick us up. The van has been sitting for about a week. I got in it and it will go in a lower gear but only until the van warms up then it will not move at all. It cost me $200. To have it towed home and I was told by a transmission shop that it would cost me anywhere from $2500 to $4500 to fix the problem. That is more than the van is apparently worth. I have spent my christmas money on just the towing. I need help in getting it fixed I am a single mom with 2 small children. I did not have my children in the van with me but it was me and my ex mother in law and it was night and a mountainous hwy. If I had not gotten my van off to the side of the road there could have been a very bad accident as there are a lot of cars and big rig trucks that drive on that road.

- Sevierville, TN, USA

problem #128

Mar 152015

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 187,987 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Without warning no dash lights nor check engine lights my transmission failed in heavy traffic..a slight up rev and then complete failure of transmission....just avoided being rearended as the car slowed quickly on a rise and just made it to the shoulder in traffic..fluid levels were normal but fluid had a odor...my mechanic towed the car and drained and filled the trans (not convertor) to verify condition..trans will move in reverse at high RPM. This transmission was replaced 6/6/05 at 37400 miles under warranty and has been serviced and topped off as needed until now..in heavy traffic serious injury or death could have occured if not for observant driver behind me..I understand from transmission shops and rebuilders that Honda transmission are built to fail with very poor design (no filtering of fluids, ,and very weak clutch assemblies) to repair this vehicle it will cost $3800-to $5000 for new transmission and $3000 for a reliable rebuilt (jasper) this car was purchased to replace my 2004 freestar with transmission failures three times within 75.000 miles.

- Woodstock , GA, USA

problem #127

Dec 012014

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 184,148 miles
2001 Honda Odyssey, purchased with 83,610 miles from Subaru of exeter. June 23, 2008, 104,527 miles. It was my understanding that warranty covered up to 109,000 miles. The transmission was replaced under recall warranty at dover auto world, Honda service, due to check engine and tcs lights being on. Transmission came with a 3yr/36,000 warranty. December 1, 2014, 184,148 miles (80K on 2nd transmission), difficult to shift into reverse and drive sometimes engine slips before finally engaging into gear, over the next week, check engine light, tcs and D4 light flashing light on. Transmission fault code P0780, diagnosed, drove van two more days when transmission failed. Towed to local in town mechanic, given estimate for a re-manufactured transmission + labor $4,500. Spoke with Honda Motors of America, on Dec 18th 2014 provided with all requested information, the response provided by Honda is that the van had exceeded warranty and I would need to take the liability and pay for it. Honda customer service where surprised that it was replaced in 2008 under warranty. Honda claimed the mileage limit was 100,000. Bottom line is no help, spoke with local Honda dealership...they could not help. Since Honda of America had denied me. I agree that I should cover a portion of the cost (labor) but Honda should cover for materials since its their product and they should stand behind it.

- Milton, NH, USA

problem #126

Jun 282010

Odyssey

  • 100,703 miles
Our cars have always been taken care of. We bring them in for all required maintenance and do not drive aggressively. We are the only owner of the van and we bought it brand new. Then in 2010, accelerating from a stoplight, the van would not shift up and drove at about 30 mph. We brought the van into the Honda dealership who said we needed a transmission repair or replacement. They offered to do that for a hefty price and would not offer any financial help because we had bought the van on an air force base in germany. They stated that they could not tell if the van was raced or not, which it never was. An independent shop rebuilt the transmission and put in a new torque converter. They also included all the upgrades to the tranny. The van now has 153,000miles on it and we are hoping that it keeps driving well because that transmission repair is so expensive.

- Greenville, SC, USA

problem #125

Apr 012013

Odyssey

  • 160,000 miles
Ongoing problems with sliding door, seat belt and electrical issues. At 160K replaced transmission for $5000. Not happy at all.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

problem #124

Aug 152013

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 99,871 miles
I was on my way to work and came to a complete stop at a red stop light. The light had turned green and I proceeded to go and pushed the gas, the vehicle would not move. I turned the van off and on by the ignition a few times thinking it was something other than a transmission gear issue. I sat there for a few minutes after turning the vehicle off and turned it back on, it caught gear so I proceeded towards work. Luckily I was only a half block from my job. As I was pulling in the transmission had slipped again and I barely coasted into a parking space. I had the van towed to a transmission specialist and they flushed the transmission, reset the system and told me that I was going to need to have it rebuilt. The transmission shop told me that this particular vehicle has these issues and it has been a recurring issue with this make and model.

- Milpitas, CA, USA

problem #123

Apr 282001

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • miles
2001 Honda Odyssey. Consumer writes in regards to transmission problems. The appeared to be a minimal amount of sporadic transmission slippage between the 1st and 2nd gear. The dealer stated the slipping was normal, because it meant the transmission needed to be serviced. The dealer stated the fluid replacement, would take care of the slipping problem. The vehicle exhibited the same problem 20,000 miles later, except to a greater degree. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where they stated, the transmission was a concern, and the warranty was extended to cover a possible failure. The dealer stated it should have been addressed when the vehicle was in for service previously. However, it wasn't and the warranty had since expired.

- Snohomish, WA, USA

problem #122

Jul 042014

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 152,500 miles
On 4th of July 2014 - (invoice of $4000 on independence day) - was driving from family wedding events and suddenly feeling drive shift and slipping gears issue. I had to slow down to avoid accidents from this Honda's faulty transmission it is major safety issue can lock up front wheels on highway and can create major accident... now need to do replacement/rebuilt of power train (transmission) to fix following issue " flared 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, long park to reverse or park to drive engagement times, or in extreme cases no takeoff in forward or reverse after start up." Also engine light and tcs lights stay on... because of Honda's faulty power train I got to come up with $4000-$4500 to make my family and other people on road safe...

- West Chicago, IL, USA

problem #121

Jun 242014

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 142,000 miles
Transmission needed replacement at 81,681 miles, $5026, all work done by Honda dealership 4/13/11. Now at 142,000 Honda transmission failed again. Was driving on freeway at 65mph when engine lost power. Coasted to side of freeway.

- Rescue, CA, USA

problem #120

Jun 162014

Odyssey 6-cyl

  • 170,000 miles
Initial transmission failure at 100,000 miles. Honda made good on warranty and replaced with a rebuilt transmission. The second transmission has now failed at 170,000 miles - after only 70,000 miles of use.

- Lino Lakes, MN, USA

problem #119

Jun 062014

Odyssey

  • 95,545 miles
I realized that it wouldn't accelerate after being at a stop light. When it finally did it would jerk between gears. The check engine came on for the 2nd time (the 1st last week for a short that was fixed). Then my tcs came on and wouldn't turn off. The transmission is erratic and previously had issues between 2nd and 3rd. Now I'm told I need a new transmission. It has less than 96,000 miles. I'm a single mom w/ 2 kids I can't afford that. I got this van from a relative after my pathfinder (w nearly 300,000 miles on it) had an engine gasket issue I couldn't afford to have fixed because the engine had to be broken down. I'm seeing that this is a common issue for 12 yrs worth of models" why is there no warning? when I looked at other cars there were statements with them about issues. Honda needs to fix this. This is horrible quality management. A mini van is a kid mobile - how would Honda like the press if kids are hurt because this goes out when kids are in it" I get my van serviced by a mechanic every 2 mos - I take care of my cars. My last one was 17 yrs old. I won't buy Honda again if this is representative of their quality management and product quality. I've never had to replace a transmission under 225,000 miles before on any make or model.

- Lovettsville, VA, USA

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