CarComplaints.com Notes: Aside from peeling paint, the 2008 Honda Odyssey is a pretty reliable, generally trouble-free minivan.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
11,901 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.

2008 Honda Odyssey brakes problems

brakes problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Honda Odyssey:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2008 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments

problem #11

Jun 052011

Odyssey

  • 65,000 miles

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

Today I ran into a pole in the parking lot as I was parking. My brakes haven't worked properly in over 2 years. My 2008 Honda Odyssey was recalled in 2010 for air in the brakes vsa modulator system. I did have this replaced by Honda dealership. However with in 6 months my vans brakes are still soft. There are times when I am inches away from a vehicle before it stops. This issue has me worried for my safety. I have taking it to the Honda repair dept and was told everything was working fine. I know there is an issue. When you go to S top your vehicle shouldn't finally stop with in inches of its destination. The brakes periodically make a screeching sound. As I have told my local Honda service dept, I am making a formal complaint about the brakes and hope I don't have to rely on this one day in court due to injury! please, just figure out what the problem is and fix my brakes!!!

- Phenix City, AL, USA

problem #10

May 252010

Odyssey

  • 100 miles
[xxx] June 8, 2010 ref. VIN # [xxx] Honda case # [xxx] to all concerned, this letter is to explain the events that has led to me now having to take this issue to a more elevated level. At the end of October of 2008 my wife, mother and 3 children went to coggin Honda located at 11051 S. orange blossom trail, orlando, fla. 32837 (tel. 407-851-9118) to look at the Odyssey minivans. We were approached by sales & leasing consultant chester heath: Cell [xxx] (no longer there) and he showed us around and met with finance manager francis rosario : cell [xxx] who financed us. About a week after driving it around I started to notice that it was making a noise when braking, a hard grinding noise (still making this noise to this day). I also noticed that it was making a clicking sound when making radius turns (since fixed by classic Honda by fixing the front axle in November 2009). Also there was and still is a rattle by the steering wheel. My main concern however is the braking noise which at the beginning would come and go. It now does it almost every time I brake. That has been part of the problem, it comes and goes. So I told my wife about the noise that the car made and she suggested I call coggin Honda to at least let it be known on record about the problem. I then called coggin that week and the person I spoke to said to just simply come by and we will have a look at it. Since it did not always happen I thought to myself that it was a new car just getting settled. So I probably waited a few months (about Jan. 2009) and then it started to make the noise on a constant basis and realized that this problem was not going away. I then brought the car to coggin and spoke with service advisor fritz ray (no longer there) and of course it did not make the noise at that time and because there was no noise they could. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Clermont, FL, USA

problem #9

Mar 122010

Odyssey

  • miles
Soft brake, pedal goes to the floor.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #8

Oct 202009

Odyssey

  • 19,000 miles

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

Brakes are too soft. Had accident twice already because brakes dont react like they are suppose to. You have to push the brake down really hard. With that also said transmission has been a problem since day 1. you hear a loud noise when you change gears. Went to the Honda dealer and they said its normal. I dont think this should be making loud grunting noise.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #7

Oct 142009

Odyssey

  • 33,000 miles
2008 Honda Odyssey ln van; brakes faded drastically, without warning, van stopped just before impact. Speed approx. 50mph, slightly downhill grade. Afterwards, brakes made a scrubbing noise. This went away after driving very cautiously home. This has occurred three times in 18 months. Dealer claims no knowledge which is a lie, it is all over the internet, same issue, and someone will die soon. I am a very cautious drive, most are not. It appears that the transmission which "helps' during the breaking process and while in "eco" does not react quickly enough causing the vehicle to rely strictly on the breaking system. This does not work at moderate to highway speeds. Down hill is worse. It also occurred once with a 2007 model of the same make and model. *note; I have over one million miles logged using a variety of vehicles over 31 years. This is not driver error or "missing" a brake pedal.

- Loganville, GA, USA

problem #6

Oct 152009

Odyssey

  • 3,000 miles
In November of 2008 I purchased a new 2008 Honda Odyssey from apple Honda of york, pa.. several weeks later going down a fairly steep hill into the Lincoln highway, I had no brakes at all I could not even feel the brake peddle. Fortunately it was early in the morning and highway traffic was light. I was able to make a left turn into the highway and roll to S stop in a business parking lot. I shut off the engine until I recovered from the fright. I restarted the engine to move an actual parking place. Then I discovered that I had brakes. I assumed that being new to the Odyssey, that I had some how missed the brake peddle and that is why I did not even feel it. Thirty thousand miles later while turning into a parking place in a wal-mart lot I think the brakes did the same thing but my speed was so slow I was not sure. I drove thirty miles that day and had no concern or problem. That evening I returned to the same store and was parking in a remote area of the lot and had no brakes. Exactly like the hill incident a long time ago. I managed to steer away from everything until I got the Odyssey stopped. Again I shut off the engine and upon restarting had brakes. I drove very fearfully to the nearest Honda dealer an got there at 6am one hour before they opened to take advantage of light traffic. I told the service advisor at front range Honda in Colorado springs, co; that on at least two separate occasions I had no brakes at all and after shutting off the engine and restarting I had brakes. The service advisor wrote it up as my stating soft brake peddle. This is not the problem and not what I stated. Is Honda down playing a very serious problem? while in the service waiting area I used my laptop to research Odyssey brake problems and found a great many. They replaced the ABS module. I am shocked that an electronic component can have intermittent problems that can cause complete brake failure.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #5

Jun 232009

Odyssey

  • 4,300 miles

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

Coming down mountain and tried to stop at stop sign at bottom of mountain; brake went to floor; only source of stopping was the parking assisted brake which caused skidding. Every day driving the brake never responds until half way to the floor or lower. Took to dealership they test drove and did nothing further to check brakes.

- Lagrange, GA, USA

problem #4

Apr 222009

Odyssey

  • 2,000 miles
Backing out of parking spot and brakes failed (brakes when applied went all the way to floor) and swiped another vehicle. Took to dealership and they did nothing but test drive it.

- Lagrange, GA, USA

problem #3

Mar 182009

Odyssey

  • 2,816 miles
We purchased our 2008 Odyssey on 7/5/08. After driving it a while we noticed the brakes appeared to be soft and spongy. When I finally took it in for service, I was told it needed a new master cylinder (at 2800 miles), which they replaced. After I picked it up, I drove it a few miles and the brakes still felt soft and spongy, so I drove back to the dealership. The service manager then drove the car and told me 'that's the way the Odyssey brakes are.' While on a trip we took it to another Honda dealer and was told the same thing. We have a ridgeline and those brakes are not soft and spongy. It appears that many other Odyssey dealers have the same problem.

- Alachua, FL, USA

problem #2

Jan 062009

Odyssey

  • 500 miles
New 2008 Honda Odyssey with less than 200 miles, when the problem first occurred 1. vibration in the steering wheel while braking. Happened every time when stopping at stop light or when slowing down. The Honda service dept. Identified it to be a warped motor and they had to resurface it. They mentioned that this problem has been noticed in some other vehicles too, but they didn't know what caused the problem. 2. passenger air bag light comes up while driving even when there is no passenger in the seat. The Honda service dept. Has looked at it twice now, as recent as 2/13/2009 and have mentioned that they don't know why it happens... that it also happens in one of the service tech's Odyssey van. Their solution to address this problem was to place a heavy object on the passenger seat! on both issues, I had opened a case with Honda customer service case #: N012009-01-0701207. The first time, the cust service representative tried to shrug off the vibration issue as not an issue. On the second incident, the representative sounded concerned and mentioned that he would also be upset about these multiple issues on a new van. He assured that within 2 days, a Honda representative will contact me to follow-up on this issue. But, never did I receive any call back. Due to poor response from Honda customer service, I haven't called them back as I don't get any proper response from them. I feel that I have been sold a "lemon" and that the Honda company should take this vehicle back and provide a new/different Odyssey van.

- Venice, FL, USA

problem #1

Jan 062009

Odyssey

  • 1,200 miles
The brakes go to the floor, making it very dangerous, especially when going at the speed limit when the light changes. Several times I ended up in the intersection. The 08 Odyssey is known for this problem.

- Muncie, IN, USA

Not what you are looking for?