10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
15 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,268 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 transmission problems

transmission problem

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2001 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments (Page 5 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #111

Mar 072010

Odyssey

  • 180,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2001 Honda Odyssey. While the contact was driving the vehicle he noticed that the transmission light had appeared on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 180000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Mint Hill, NC, USA

problem #110

Jan 242010

Odyssey

  • 110,000 miles
Over the past two years we have noticed that the automatic transmission in our 2001 Honda Odyssey would shift abruptly. It was suggested that we have the old transmission fluid flushed out and replaced with new fluid and we had that work done by the Honda dealer from which we bought the car when it was new. About three months ago we were driving the car and the transmission "locked" in high gear at about 60 mph on a divided highway. We could not get the transmission to downshift and the car would not slow down; it was a dangerous situation. We finally had to press on the brakes with a lot of force and the car finally slowed down, stopped and downshifted to a lower gear. This now occurs about once a week. We called the dealer and they told us that the transmission was failing and would most likely need to be replaced at our expense. A search of the internet revealed hundreds of cases of Odyssey owners having this same problem and having to have the transmission replaced even though the cars had low mileage. We also found that Honda had agreed to replace the transmissions at no charge as the result of a class action lawsuit. We took the car to the dealer to have the transmission checked. The diagnosis was that the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost to us of $3500. This malfunction creates a dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation for drivers of Honda Odyssey. Honda has admitted this is a design flaw in the car and yet they will not accept any responsibility to remedy the problem.

- Charleston, SC, USA

problem #109

Mar 052010

Odyssey

  • 75,000 miles
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). This is 2001 Honda Odyssey minivans having 75,000 miles. The transmission is slipping gears all of sudden causing unexpected acceleration & de-acceleration making it unsafe to drive at this time. Today I took this to the Honda of freehold sales: 877-934-6665 - service: (732) 414-3720) [xxx] & the dealer confirmed me that it is transmission failure. The vehicle [xxx] & by entering this at Honda web site I get the following message your 2001 Honda Odyssey is included in the 1999-01 trans warranty ext campaign. Description1999-01 trans warranty ext typewarranty extension campaign statusopen the recall involves approximately 600,000 light trucks manufactured in the U.S. and Canada. Affected models include certain model year 2002, 2003 and early 2004 Honda Odyssey minivans; 2003 and early 2004 Honda Pilot; and 2001 and 2002 Acura MDX sport-utility vehicles. Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted via mail and will be asked to take their vehicle to an authorized Honda or Acura dealer to be repaired free of charge after contacting Honda I am being asked to pay 50% of the replacement cost where as it should be free of charge as per this recall notice. Please help me get this issue resolved.

- Holmdel, NJ, USA

problem #108

Jun 152008

Odyssey

  • 94,000 miles

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

2001 Honda Odyssey minivans problem: Defective transmissions transmissions typically self-destruct between 75,000 and 130,000 miles. Honda lost a class action lawsuit relating to this issue. When this problem occurs, the transmission shifts harshly and sounds horrible. "D4" indicator light blinks as well as the check engine light comes on. The class action lawsuit resulted in Honda extending the drivetrain warranty to 100,000 miles. Unfortunately, most transmissions breakdown shortly after that mileage and Honda typically does not help out after that period. After "googling" Honda Odyssey transmission problems, I was shocked to find out that there are thousands of customers suffering from the same problems that I have, and Honda will not help out. In fact, their customer service representatives are noted as being trained to "act like robots and belittle the customer" when it comes to offering assistance. I feel that Honda should replace these defective transmissions for no cost to the customer. I believe transmissions should last well over 100,000 miles. My transmission has completely failed at 119,000 miles. I did have it at the local dealer complaining of transmission problems at around 94,000 miles, but they said nothing was wrong and suggested I have the transmission fluid changed. I went along with their suggestion and had it changed. This corrected the problem for a short time; unfortunately the problems returned and then the transmission eventually failed. Upon reviewing forums on the internet relating to Honda transmission problems, I believe Honda is "blowing off" Odyssey owners with this problem. There is a major safety concern. The autos can breakdown during travel risking an accident. It can leave drivers and passengers stranded. Honda needs to offer complete replacements of these transmissions without cost to customers. They produced a "bad batch" of transmission over a period of years beginning in year 2000. Please investigate. Thank you.

- Pottsville, PA, USA

problem #107

Feb 142010

Odyssey

  • 128,000 miles
Premature transmission failure.

- Highland, UT, USA

problem #106

Oct 152008

Odyssey

  • 163,000 miles
A whine in my 2001 Honda Odyssey transmission (4th) became louder and louder and after many trips to dealer with no success a Honda technician said it was not safe to drive any more. The first 3 transmission failures were detected with engine light turning on. My 5th transmission is experiencing the same problems. The whine is getting louder and many trips to Honda dealer are getting nowhere. I drive over 20000 miles per year and am concerned about potential accidents with defective equipment.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #105

Jan 162010

Odyssey

  • 92,920 miles

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

Transmission replaced on 12/28/2006 under warranty for slipping at 57,748 original miles. Now at 92,000 miles this replaced transmission is slipping again and on three occasion it seemed to be disengaged while driving on the freeway, I mean I push the gas but the car does not accelerate, the speed is reduced momentarily and then picked up and at other times I pulled over, turned the car off and got it to go. The car is at the dealer now and I have to pay ($2700) 75% of the repair cost. This incidents began around January 9th, 2010 until January 16 2010. Honda says the transmission needs to be replaced because of incorrect gear ratio. The replacement transmission is found defective at 37,000 miles.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #104

Jan 262010

Odyssey

  • 90,000 miles
I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey. In may/June 2009I noticed that there was some fluid leaking near the undercarriage -this was noticed right after a dealer servicing where they changed a lot of fluids in the vehicle. I called the dealer, he took a look and determined it was a transmission oil leak. He estimated that it would cost me up to $4000 to fix this problem and advised me to keep the fluid topped off and that would take care of the issue. On 01-21-2010, my van did not start even though the battery was working. I had it jump started. To prevent further such issues, I took the van to aamco to get the transmission oil leak examined. They determined that it was from the inside the transmission box and that it would take$600 to open the transmission and fix the issue. When they opened the transmission they discovered the transmission block and transmission had some issues and determined that the transmission needed replacement/ or needed to be rebuilt. They provided an estimate of $2300. I looked up the Honda website and discovered that this was an issue with Honda Odyssey vans of my model year and Honda extended the warranty on the transmission for these vans to 7 years and 9 months. I had never received any mailing to this effect from Honda and this was new information to me. I called Honda and they explained that they could not do anything as the warranty had expired - they want me to take the vehicle to a Honda dealer to get the transmission examined - they will consider my claim at that time. There is no guarantee I will get any reimbursement from them. The cost of the examination at the dealer would be out of my pocket in addition to the $600 I have already paid to aamco. Question is: Honda knows there is a defective transmission in this model year, why are they not replacing it? the way they have dealt with this issue - forces me to back on the road with this van with a risk of it stalling or having other transmission problems on the road.

- Vernon Hills, IL, USA

problem #103

Jan 022010

Odyssey

  • 65,000 miles
While driving North on the New Jersey turnpike with my wife and our 5 children at a steady speed of 60 mph, there was a snap/jerking motion felt and slight rubber smell and the van immediately lost acceleration. There was steady traffic I had to negotiate through to get our van safely off the interstate. This is the second transmission needing to be replaced in our 2001 Honda Odyssey and I have contacted Honda North America to correct this problem and they will not do so because the warranty had expired for the last replacement. Please contact me to advise of recourse options I have with this problem. Thanking you in advance for your assistance.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #102

Nov 242009

Odyssey

  • 152,532 miles
Bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey Feb '01. Transmission replaced @99,729 miles, w/rebuilt transmission, because of strange noises when gears changed. On 11/24/09, approx 7:30pm, traveling on I-695 near baltimore md, we experienced total transmission failure. Ten minutes earlier traction control system (tcs) & check engine lights came on simultaneously. The rpms began to increase dramatically; transmission stopped working, we glided about 10 feet to the side of the road, and stopped. Van was immobilized. Smell of burnt transmission fluid filled the van. Had we not been in right travel lane, the sudden stop could have been catastrophic. Vehicle towed by aaa to brown's Honda service, glen burnie md. This van had about 156,532 miles on it, meaning the rebuilt transmission lasted only 52,803 miles.

- Montclair, VA, USA

problem #101

Nov 082009

Odyssey

  • 82,000 miles

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

I have 2001 Honda Odyssey that I have maintained very well. I have had no issues with it over the years. Last week, I was returning home from a local walmart when the traction control (tcs) light turned on and refused to go off for about 2 minutes. When it finally did, the check engine light turned on. I took it to my Honda dealership this week. They called to tell me that my transmission was gone. I learned from the internet that there was class action lawsuit for Honda Odyssey made between 1999-2002 and Honda had extended the warranty to 93 months or 109,000 miles whichever occurred first. Unfortunately my vehicle was bought in November of 2000, so I do not qualify. I was told by the dealership that Honda agreed to pay half for the repairs which still left me with $2200 to pay. This is unacceptable. Honda knows this is an issue with their odyssseys and the least they should do is cover all the defective vehicles and offer a recall. I have a vehicle that I took great care of and now in 9 years and only 82,000 miles ended up paying more than 2K for no fault of mine. I am never going to buy a Honda again. I urge you guys to take strict action against Honda.

- Suwanee, GA, USA

problem #100

Oct 202009

Odyssey

  • 175,000 miles
2001 Honda Odyssey - original owner - needs a new transmission - this is the second one.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #99

Oct 102009

Odyssey

  • 141,000 miles
We own a 2001 Honda Odyssey. We bought it because we wanted a safe vehicle for driving. In 2006, we drove our van from Massachusetts to Florida. We took route 81. While driving we began to experience an odd pulling when putting pressing the gas. Eventually, the car would barely move. We were being watched by an angel. We were fortunately able to get off the main highway and find a place to look at the car. We were told that the transmission was in need of repair. We were within a few miles of a Honda dealer in staunton, va. Honda gave us a rental car and we proceeded on our trip to Florida, while the car was being repaired. I felt safe. I felt that the issue was taken care of and that the Honda would be okay. Our van is now at 140,000 miles. We have been planning to drive the car another 30,000 miles and then entertain that idea of another van. Today I took my children on a family outing. We were enjoying the fall colors on a 2 lane mountain road. Our car began to pull a bit and the next thing I know the car is beginning to not move. By the grace of god, I was able to get the car around the bend of a winding road, but I had to leave it on the highway. I put on the flashers, got my kids out of the car as quick as I could and then quickly crossed the road with them and went to the scenic lookout that was a bit off of this 2 lane road. I did not want to be near my van that completely died on a 2 loan winding mountain road!!!!!!!! thank god I did not have any cars behind me at the time!!!!!!!!!!! I called the police for help. They sent a tow truck right away and then the car was towed to a Honda dealer. I do not feel safe in there vehicle. I do not know what to do. I had planned to drive this for at least another year. I am going to look into possibly going against Honda legally. I am very upset about this. We could have been involved in a very serious and deadly accident. Also, there was no warning light or sound to warn of this problem.

- Wilbraham, MA, USA

problem #98

Oct 022009

(reported on)

Odyssey

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Fax on behalf of constituent regarding a 2001 the Honda Odyssey he purchase in 2002. He has replaced the transmission 3 times due to defective parts. The consumer stated he was not told there was a problem with the transmission or that a recall had been issued.

- Hoover, AL, USA

problem #97

Jun 032009

Odyssey

  • 81,635 miles
Transmission warning light and engine light comes on at highway speed without warning. Dealer diagnosis indicates transmission internal failure require replacement.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #96

Jul 172009

Odyssey

  • 86,353 miles
I am the original owner of 2001 Honda Odyssey. My car has 86,353 miles on it. The check engine light is on and the code is P0740. The dealer is telling me that the transmission need to be replaced, which would cost me about $3,900. I purchased the car in Sep 2000 from the same dealer and all maintenance services were performed according to the dealer/Honda schedule. I took good care of this car. This is very upsetting. When I researched the problem, I came to know that Honda was aware of this problem. I never got a letter from either dealer or Honda regarding this. This is irresponsibility. Can you please advise what I should do? I see that there are numerous similar complaints.

- Airmont, NY, USA

problem #95

Jul 122009

Odyssey

  • 107,000 miles
Eng light & tsc light both came on traveling on the interstate hwy. Diagnosed as a P0740 torque converter clutch circuit malfunction. Check. No trouble found. Reset. Same occurrence within several days. Check by two local Honda dealer garages. Told complete transmission must be replaced with a remanufactured one.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #94

Jun 122009

Odyssey

  • 93,450 miles
2001 Honda Odyssey LX with about 94000 miles was purchased used by current owners with about 22,000 miles. Transmission was replaced by Honda at 47191 (Apr 21, 2005) after much complaints by owner to dealers and regular mechanic. Owner was even told to flush engine at a cost of $70.48. On June 11, 2009, Odyssey was checked out for road trip by regular mechanic (oil changed, filters replaced, brakes shoes replaced, and rear wheel cyls replaced) however transmission failed on road trip leaving 6 stranded in ca desert outside of barstow. Car was then towed to regular mechanic for review and repair. Over the years this car has received regular service from mechanic and transmission was serviced at 67851 miles by regular mechanic (not Honda dealer). Honda has denied claim for transmission replacement due to service by non Honda dealer and they are requesting proof that generic term "qt synthetic atf" which was used by mechanic (as noted on mechanics invoice for service dated 3/19/2007) was purchased from Honda dealership and was actually a Honda part. Mechanic has regular relationship with Honda dealer and suppliers and continues to use Honda parts for Honda cars (Toyota parts for Toyota cars, etc). During owner's discussion with Honda, they asked for additional clarification regarding atf Honda part. Owner spoke with mechanic regarding this. Mechanic went back to clarify original 3/19/2007 receipt and added phrase "Honda atf-Z1" and reprinted receipt with "print date: 6/23/2009" showing "work completed date: 3/19/2007". Honda used this correction to deny all claim and said the mechanic altered the invoice. This vehicle requires it's third transmission before 94,000 miles. Owner feels this is unacceptable especially when Honda is aware of transmission problems during these years. Transmissions should last at least 100,000. Tires last 50,000 - 75,000 miles, why shouldn't a transmission.

- Burbank, CA, USA

problem #93

Jul 272009

Odyssey

  • 120,000 miles
I purchased a 2001 Honda Odyssey and shortly after buying it the transmission started having difficulty upshifting!I tried returning it but the Honda dealer that originally serviced the car said that it needed a transmission and that it was out of warranty! the car is dangerous! I drive to the store in it and at each stop sign when I accelerate! the car suddenly screeches forward and engages after revving up to 4000rpm this causes the traction control system to brake the wheels making it dangerous and unpredictable! the Honda dealer keeps telling me that it is out of warranty however this is one of the vehicles that were included in the class action of 2006 with attn jared stamell! Honda has made a very dangerous car and they should be made to take these models off the road! I have not been able to have Honda repair this 2001 Odyssey auto transmission and it has caused me a financial hardship being stuck with a potentially dangerous vehicle that they do not wish to take responsibility for the repairs that they admit it needs! this Honda company has a very non responsive customer service and people have even posted that these vehicles have killed people!every single time that I drive the Honda Odyssey the transmission acts up and doesn't shift right!

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #92

Jul 012009

Odyssey

  • 58,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Odyssey. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle felt as if it would hesitate. The engine did not rev and the vehicle was not accelerating properly. The contact took the vehicle to a repair shop and the mechanic stated that there was an issue with the solenoid switch, which caused the transmission to fail and possibly lock up completely. Through research, the contact discovered that this was a very common issue with this type of vehicle. The contact believes that a recall should be issued. The manufacturer has not been notified. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 58,000.

- Miniola, NY, USA

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