10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,303 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2018 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #37

Feb 222023

Odyssey

  • miles

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

On 2 occasions, the "Auto Engine Idle Stop" has caused my vehicle to completely die while stopped at a stop light. The car did not start, leaving me stalled in active traffic. Eventually the car reset itself and I was able to restart the car. After this happened the first time the battery in the vehicle was replaced. The second time this happened the battery was only 2 years old. The manufacturer should fix this problem with a recall.

- Adel, IA, USA

problem #36

Feb 212023

Odyssey

  • miles
Blindspot monitoring, emissions system problem, transmission system problem all come on at the same time when vehicle is motion. Unable to manually shift if needed. A lot of vans had recall, however ours is not on the recall list, but we highly believe it should be due to safety concerns due to transmission failure.

- Browns Mills , NJ, USA

problem #35

Feb 092023

Odyssey

  • miles
My car would not switch gears quick enough which resulted in a brief stalling when trying to cross traffic. This is just the most recent issues when it comes to faulty gear shifting in this vehicle. if it weren-??t for other cars slamming on their brakes, it would have been a bad accident.

- Las Cruces, NM, USA

problem #34

Dec 222022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

The vehicle has a very significant delay in accelerating from a stop or slow roll. Often the delay is up to 2 or 3 seconds and has caused several near misses when attempting to cross traffic. It's inconvenient and more important, a safety problem. Upon research I have discovered it is a wide spread issue among Odysseys in this generation. It seems to be an issue with cars equipped with either the 9 speed or the 10 speed transmission.

- Medford, OR, USA

problem #33

Sep 202022

Odyssey

  • miles
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 #32

Sep 142022

Odyssey

  • miles
On at least 3 occasions, the "Auto Engine Idle Stop" has caused my vehicle to completely die while stopped at a stop light. When the car shuts off/dies, the system prompts you to shift the car in park and restart the car, but on these occasions, the car did not start, leaving me stalled in active traffic. I felt very unsafe to be stalled with no way to operate the vehicle. The dealership checked the battery to ensure it wasn't a battery issue and found it to be completely fine. At the time we did not realize that it could be a problem with the Auto Engine Idle Stop feature, otherwise we would've had them check that system specifically. Further research from other customer forums online prompted us to turn this feature off, but we have to do that every time we start the car. There is no way for us to turn it off permanently. The car gives you no warning that this will happen. When you remove your foot from the break to resume driving, the car shuts off without immediately restarting, leaving you stranded. I am hoping that Honda will issue a recall on affected models. At this point they aren't offering any help other than to tell us to turn it off, but you have to remember to do that every time you start your vehicle.

- St Louis, MO, USA

problem #31

Sep 012022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

engine reves, no forward movement. Happened the first time on 80/94 east bound (traffic slowed @ 34-36 mph). 4 times now in the last two years. Seems that the speed is always the same when it happens., into Community Honda, Orland Park, IL. They say no problem. No warning signals. Husband with me the last time it happened Sept. 2, 2022 definately something dangerously wrong.

- Orland Park, IL, USA

problem #30

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 #29

Jun 212022

Odyssey

  • miles
I have taken my Honda to the dealership on multiple occasions, regarding lack of acceleration, after a complete stop. The engine does not engage after pushing the pedal down, so that my vehicle can move. It has a very long delay after coming to a stop. This is a huge safety concern, considering when making a right turn, and perceiving there is enough time to accelerate my vehicle, before another oncoming vehicle, there is a delay a potential accident will occur. This should never happen and my family has been in multiple situations where there was almost an accident. I love my Honda but this safety concern has made me rethink and potentially inform others of this matter. Please help me find a solution to this problem. I even purchased an extended warranty I hopes there may be a solution, but I-??m beginning to lose hope. I have a family of 7, and I shouldn-??t fear having to drive a stock vehicle, that my families life may be in danger due to this faulty engine delay. Please help a pleading father feel safe. Thank you and I hope to hear a response.

- Eastvale , CA, USA

problem #28

Jun 232022

Odyssey

  • miles
When coming to a stop, usually in stop / go traffic and at times when coming to a complete stop, the auto-idle stop kicks in, but then immediately shuts the engine down and shifts vehicle into park. Vehicle has to be entirely shut down and restarted to bring the engine back. We have been taking the vehicle to the dealership since we bought it a couple of years ago. Seems to be mostly occurring in warm summer months. Also affects the audio entertainment, all sounds stop. And after the most recent repair by the dealership (replacing the tuner), the display screen will not come on for 10-15 min when first starting the vehicle (including the back-up cam and warnings)

- Grayson, GA, USA

problem #27

May 062022

Odyssey

  • miles

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

Auto restart feature when enabled did not restart vehicle after coming to a stop at stoplight on multiple occasions in the last few months rendering vehicle unable to proceed. We recently saw news article about same issue with Pilots.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #26

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 #25

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 #24

Jun 012019

Odyssey

  • miles
Like many others, I am experiencing hard shifts between the 25-30 mph range. The downshifting is also very hard. While I don-??t hear clunking like I do with a gear shift, it will jerk down to a gear that seems too low and almost feels like the brakes are being applied when they are not. The most terrifying issue is the lag time between gas being applied. My engine remains idle and then jolts forward. This has almost caused an accident with oncoming traffic when I am trying to turn left. I beg of you to research this for a possible recall. Since it isn-??t a constant issue, Honda says it runs normal and nothing is wrong.

- Las Cruces, NM, USA

problem #23

Dec 242021

Odyssey

  • miles
Merging from west bound I-40 to south bound I-15, there was a slight incline. I accelerated to merge and change lane from 4 to 3, the van suddenly lost power. Engine was running and I could hear it rev up but transmission seemed to not have engaged. The car decelerated to almost 50 mph forcing me to move back to lane 4 in order to avoid being hit by an incoming 18-wheeler. It's most likely an transmission issue of old with Honda. The vehicle regained power after I let go of gas pedal for about 4-5 seconds. It happened again on I-40 near Flagstaff at high speed on my way home to Dallas from SoCal on Jan 2nd. To lose available power to wheels at high rate of speed, it's surely a safety hazzard. I don't feel safe to allow my wife to drive the vehicle. Please help investigate.

- Frisco, TX, USA

problem #22

Feb 142022

Odyssey

  • miles
The engine was making a chirping noise that was heard from within the cabin. The service department of the Honda dealer verified with Honda that the noise was due to a timing belt chirp, per Honda Service Bulletin(SB) 16-054, which applied to the year, make and model of the automobile. The SB indicates that the timing belt idler pulley is too close to the crankshaft pulley, which cause the timing belt to contact the back edge of the crankshaft pulley. This is a 2018 model with less than 14000 miles. The indication is that the belt will fail prematurely, besides making a noise that is quite distracting to the driver. Certainly, this is a design flaw needing the manufacture to recall and fix this well known and common problem with this vehicle.

- Tempe, AZ, USA

problem #21

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 #20

Oct 302021

Odyssey

  • miles
When making left or right turns from completed stops, the car some time hesitates to move or to speed up for short 2-3 seconds. This could cause accident between my car and in coming trafic.

- Porter Ranch, CA, USA

problem #19

Sep 082021

Odyssey

  • miles
There is a chirping coming from the engine area with the engine warmed up AND NOW IS RATTLING UNDER NEATH THE VAN

- Heath, TX, USA

problem #18

Sep 032021

Odyssey

  • miles
The transmission stalls and doesn-??t shift into different gears or takes a long time to shift while letting the car roll (almost causing accidents as I have no control) The van also rolled back on its own down my driveway while I was trying to park and wouldn-??t go into gear until I was able to get a complete stop. The speed is also affected as it will not speed up when Pulling out from a stop And then it will speed too fast which makes it hard to not get hit by traffic going at a steady speed. This is not a one time incident, it-??s now a non stop issue every time I drive. This happens at all speeds and now can not drive past 50 mph without the engine revving.

- Fortuna, CA, USA

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