10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,569 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.

2018 Honda Odyssey electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments (Page 4 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #87

Oct 052022

Odyssey

  • 80,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a collision mitigation system message would flash on the instrument panel without incident. Recently, the contact stated that while his wife was driving the vehicle, the warning message repeatedly flashed on the screen before the entire instrument panel went blank. The contact called multiple dealers about the failure but had not yet schedule an appointment for the vehicle to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #86

Jul 102022

Odyssey

  • miles
Both the dashboard and the computer shut down randomly, different warning signs pop up intermittently and the wheel locks up for a short time. It happens while driving at unpredictable times. It happened on the highway at the speed of 65 mph. and the vehicle is temporarily is not under driver-??s control. Yes, I took the vehicle for repair 3 times. Yes, the certified car dealership had identified different issues but none of them had fixed the problem. No, not by insurance or the manufacturer. No, no warning signs prior. First it happened in July, 2022

- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA

problem #85

Oct 012022

Odyssey

  • miles
Auto idle system engaged when the car was stopped waiting for a train to pass last night. When I took my foot off the brake to move forward, the car completely went dead. No engine start up after auto idle, no electrical system available for emergency flasher lights. No response from the van at all. This put us at considerable safety risk when we could not process through traffic, at night, on a dark country road. A kind passerby attempted to jump start the car for us and while the electrical system came back on momentarily, the engine would not turn over. After five attempts to jump start the van, we stopped trying. There was zero response from the van after that. We purchased this vehicle brand new in December of 2017. It has had electrical issues ever since the day we bought it. We have reported this to our Honda dealer several times over the course of the past 4+ years. Initially, the auto idle never worked. Then the sliding doors wouldn't shut all the way, reliably. They continue to cause issues and won't close all the way, without popping back open, about 60% of the time. The radio and entertainment center has malfunctioned. The collision warning has malfunctioned and alerts at times when there is nothing in the way of the vehicle. It has been several electrical issues after another. We have had multiple new batteries installed over the past 4+ years. Last night was the absolute greatest risk to our family's safety. The vehicle has experienced this "black out"/stall another time in the past year, but was temporary and came back on after a full restart of the engine. Last night, however, there was no hope to restart. The van was completely seized up and a tow truck had to drag it onto its flatbed truck, assuredly damaging our tires and transmission, potentially. We will have to have the van towed to the Honda dealer Monday morning (this incident happened last night, Saturday Oct 1, 2022.). Now we are without our primary family vehicle.

- Piperton, TN, USA

problem #84

Sep 202022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

I have an 2018 Odyssey Touring that apparently has a problem with the auto-idle stop while driving at slow speeds, many times (2 to 6 times a day) for a few weeks now. It starts with a weird noise (like a loud record scratch) through the speakers, then engine turns off, dash and radio shuts off too and immediately everything turns on again. Car don-??t go to park, it stays on drive mode. Sometimes I was able to read different messages on the dashboard or radio about -??Collition mitigation system-?? -??anti theft system-?? and sometimes -??loading-?? appears on the radio screen. This messages disappear quickly. Before this problems happened, the DVD rear screen stopped working (it-??s completely black) while the DVD can be heard playing on the speakers. Don-??t know if the two issues are related. I'm worried this can cause the car to stop at higher speeds and cause an accident, my wife usually drives this car with the kids with her. I took the car to a Honda dealership, they run diagnostic tests and it doesn't show anything. I left the car at the dealership, they will try to replicate the problem to understand what is happening.

- The Woodlands, TX, USA

problem #83

Aug 292022

Odyssey

  • miles
My 2018 Honda Odyssey elite regularly hesitates from the stopped position. This often causes a safety hazard when turning right into traffic or making a left turn because I am not able to accelerate for several seconds and the vehicle feels as if it is stalling out. It is a known mechanical defect with Honda and they do not currently have a resolution. When reported, I was told the mechanical system defects to switching through all the gears before accelerating, causing the delay. I have brought the car into the dealership regarding the issue and have been dealing with Honda headquarters with no resolution. There have been several close calls when I have made a left turn/ right turn into traffic and the vehicle hesitates for a few seconds.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #82

Aug 122022

Odyssey

  • miles
It is very common for the vehicle model to experience water intrusion toward the back lift gate because of rain. This can cause electric problems with the vehicle that can result in property damage or death. Airbags may not deploy due to water damage as well. Theses vehicles should be recalled as soon as possible. Most owner are not aware of this issue because they park vans in a garage. Please investigate this matter and issue a recall

- Brownsburg , IN, USA

problem #81

Jun 012022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

Vehicle keeps turning on accessory mode uncommanded. Resulting in draining battery. Battery is then recharged and process starts over again. Took vehicle to Honda dealership for diagnosis. Dealership diagnosed tailgate control module. Disconnected all connections to that module and problem persists. Constant discharge and recharge of battery presents a fire hazard. A automotive/mechanical engineer evaluated the problem, suggested it was the body control module and highly recommended I not park my vehicle in my attached garage until the problem is resolved.

- Warriors Mark, PA, USA

problem #80

Jul 222022

Odyssey

  • 153,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated during acceleration with the transmission message displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to a transmission specialist who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V299000 (Power Train, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 153,000.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #79

Jul 152022

Odyssey

  • miles
My wife was waiting outside in our vehicle with our kids while I was running an errand. She stated that she went to move the car and as she put it in reverse, the car rolled forward and automatically engaged itself into park. Then she stated that the van also started sputtering and shaking. She shut it off and got our kids out of the car. When I got back to the car, she was explaining it to me. I then started to troubleshoot by checking for blown fuses, bad battery connections and etc. Everything appeared as it should be. I turned the car on to the accessory mode, and it was throwing almost every code possible if not all of them. It showed emissions system, abs systems, hill start and several others. With the car still in accessory mode, I noticed the radiator fans were not coming on as they should have. Also the engine bay was hot, as in the air filter housing was hot enough that you could not keep your hand on it. After letting it cool down, I inspected the battery terminals again for any loose connections and could not find anything. We ended up having to get a tow truck to tow it to a shop to get it worked on. The van has 73k miles on it. The vehicle would not go into gear for us. It was also sputtering when running. It sounds like an electrical issue.

- Woodbine, GA, USA

problem #78

Jun 062022

Odyssey

  • miles
I was driving on the freeway at 60mph and the all dashboard notification lights started flickering (lane departure warning, odometer, blind spot warning, etc) and the car went from drive to neutral. This occurred twice while i was on the freeway on 6/6/22. This has also occurred twice before.

- Iowa Colony, TX, USA

problem #77

Jun 042022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

Sliding door not latching all of the way, opening and closing on its own

- Parma, OH, USA

problem #76

Feb 012022

Odyssey

  • miles
Anytime the temperature is below freezing (32F), the infotainment system fails to boot. This prevents us from properly defrosting windows for visibility, or using the rear-view camera while backing, or accessing many of the other features of the vehicle that are controlled by the infotainment unit. The lack of a rear-view camera is especially concerning on a van with otherwise poor rearward visibility through mirrors. Many people have car seats in their mini-van which further obstructs rearward visibility without the camera. We have visited the dealer numerous times for a fix for this issue, and there either is none, or Honda's dealers arent interested in fixing it. Essentially, we are without most of the vehicles advanced features whenever it is cold outside.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #75

Jan 122022

Odyssey

  • miles
In lower gears, there is hesitation when accelerating which causes driver to unknowing lurch forward. Sometimes peeling out. In stop and go traffic, the van does not accelerate for a few seconds when gas pedal is pressed. There is sometimes a clunking sound which causes van to lurch when accelerating at a lower gear which feels like someone has hit my van from behind. It is a safety issue because I don-??t know if the van will accelerate or not right away when I press the gas pedal.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #74

Mar 232018

Odyssey

  • miles
After leasing our car for less than 1 year - the power liftgate malfunctioned (which coincidentally there had been a recall in the past on our honda odyssey 2009 for appears to be the exact same issue.) It seems to be exactly the same thing happening again with the 2018 model we have now. So that the trunk won't open by itself. So for the past few years we had too manually lift the trunk and it's extremely heavy to lift and slow and can bang you in the head because it does not lift very high. If this wasn't bad enough a month ago the electrical power/fuse to even accomplish what I just explained electrically shorted for no reasonable explanation. So that my husband has to quite literally climb through the two rows of seats take the plastic off permanently on the manual/nonelectric trunk release from the inside of the car in order to get our trunk door to open at all. The outside of the car electrical button has no electricity running in it at all. This is terrible for a family of 5 children. There haven't been any recalls on this and I'm sure it'll be quite expensive to replace. Please look into this issue for us please. Thank you kindly. Please see below the recall in 2009 that should also be for the 2018 model as well. HONDA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 ODYSSEY VEHICLES, THE GAS-FILLED STRUTS THAT HELP TO RAISE AND SUPPORT THE LIFTGATE OF VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A POWER LIFTGATE SYSTEM MAY BE PRONE TO EARLY LIFE FAILURES DUE TO A MANUFACTURING FLAW. THE FLAW CAN RESULT IN A LEAK OF THE PRESSURIZED GAS, LEADING TO REDUCED STRUT PERFORMANCE.

- Brentwood, NH, USA

problem #73

Feb 082022

Odyssey

  • miles
The infotainment screen went dark during the trip causing loss of navigation guidance, loss of safety features such as back up camera and rear cross traffic warning. It caused loss of climate control as well as every single option related to and/or activated via infotainment display (WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth function, Navigation, etc..)

- Tacoma, WA, USA

problem #72

May 102021

Odyssey

  • miles
Car started showing all kind of errors before the milleage waranty went out, one day when car was started, we saw the following errors scroll through the dash: Road Departure mitigation system problem Power Steering System EPS problem VSA Vehicle stability assist problem Hill start assist problem Brake system error Brake Hold system problem Brake system problem I have taken the car in for these issues 3 times at a local dealership and nothing was found as a reason for the issue, they just "rolled" the errors to clear them and that seems to work for a few months. When these errors happen the car is not fully responsive and becomes a safety hazard in my view, not having all the safety features available while driving the car in this error mode is dangerous for me and my family these will happen every once in a while, and the most recent happening was today 11/19/2021.

- North Liberty, IA, USA

problem #71

Sep 082018

Odyssey

  • miles
1. The battery died after sitting still for 2.5 hours on the inserstate. (A tractor trailer had jackknifed stalling traffic). The van had been turned off after 20 mins. When traffic started moving again, the van would not start. The battery was too drained to even be jumped. People offered to help push it to the emergency lane but there was no way to get it into neutral to move it, because it has gear shifter buttons which were also disabled. 2. It was 10 pm and on a pitch black interstate in the pouring rain. It sat in the moving lane of traffic, which had picked back up to normal interstate speed, for about 25 mins until cops got there to park behind it with their lights on waiting for a tow truck. Before the cops got there, cars, tractor trailers, etc. were coming up on it rather suddenly b/c they couldn-??t see it in the lane of traffic, they were dodging it left and right at full speeds. 3. The vehicle was towed that night and then the following day to our local honda dealer where they couldn-??t determine why the battery had been drained, and confirmed it was too dead to have even been jumped. We never got an answer as to why it died. My husband had me tell him about the evening and basically re-enacted it. We believe it was the fact that even after the van was turned off after 20 mins of sitting there, that the driver door had not been opened once and that it dying had something to do with the anti theft system. We reported these findings to our local service dept. 4. There were no warnings that it had died because it had been turned off for over 2 hours, the driver door had never been opened. This happened in September, 2018. It was a very scary event and I didn-??t want to keep the vehicle knowing there is no way to get it into neutral when it-??s that dead. (The service dept confirmed that and when I asked a salesman about it, he was puzzled, also confirmed that he does not know of a way to get it into neutral once dead.)

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #70

May 262021

Odyssey

  • miles
Vehicle leaking water on backside and is causing electric issues. One of the issue is rear lift gate malfunctioning. The hatching opening on its own etc which is a safety risk.The dealer repaired this under warranty and they issue came back again almost four times so far. Now dealer is saying the issue is due to leaking water from top which they mentioned after vehicle went out of warranty and asking to contact body shop to identify the leak. The honda dealer not fixing the issue now. Please check if you received similiar issue and help with me regarding the same.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #69

May 062021

Odyssey

  • miles
Transmission hesitates when accelerating from a stop; transmission hesitates between gears while driving; transmission indecisive and slams into a gear and hesitates again when pressing accelerator - all causing loss of acceleration; all warning lights come on and have to jump the van daily to get it to start even though battery is still good and no accessories are on; if there's no power, cannot shift car into neutral to position car to jump or tow it; lose power to multiple systems and have to hold button to reset it; cannot access battery to jump or replace without removing air intake; while driving at highway speeds, unexpectedly lose acceleration like the vehicle shut off; issues with both sliding doors not opening or closing automatically; latch on gas tank door sticks and there is no manual release to open it - had to disassemble it multiple times to put gas in the car; numerous recalls in addition to the above; vehicle is now out of warranty period with unresolved safety and mechanical issues; have experienced issues since the vehicle was purchased new ~August, 2017.

- Broken Arrow, OK, USA

problem #68

Apr 282021

Odyssey

  • 37,656 miles
Vehicle was off in a parked state in my driveway. The electrical harness for the horn malfunctioned and the horn was audible for about 4 minutes. During which, the fuse for the horn was removed, though the horn did not stop being audible. After the four minutes, the horn cut off and the harness shorted out. Smoke was visible as well as the smell of burnt wire coming from the drivers side front headlight. Pulling of the fuse had no effect as the horn continued to be audible. The cause is unknown at this time and can potentially lead to a fire in the vehicles engine compartment. There was no one driving the vehicle at the time. Maintenance is preformed iaw the vehicles manual at an official Honda dealership.

- Concord, NH, USA

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