2003 Honda Odyssey engine and engine cooling problems

“I TOOK MY 2003 ODYSSEY FOR AC COMPRESSOR RELAY REPLACEMENT WHEN I WAS INFORMED THE FRONT ENGINE MOUNT NEEDED REPLACING. I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THIS AND I FOUND OUT THROUGH MY WEB SEARCH THAT IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH ODYSSEY MODEL. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW AND A SAFETY ISSUE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY. HONDA SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM AND READ THE COMPLAINTS ODYSSEY OWNERS HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT AND POSTING ON THE WEB HTTP://COMMUNITY.CARTALK.COM/DISCUSSION/1560611/HONDA-ODYSSEY-MOTOR-MOUNT-PROBLEM I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT HONDA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE DESIGN FLAW IN THE ENGINE MOUNTS AND HAVE NOT TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY.”

“AS ORIGINAL OWNER OF 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY ENGINE BUYING CAR FROM WEIR CANYON HONDA IN ANAHEIM HILLS CALIFORNIA. MY ENGINE BLOCK LIGHT, TCS, LIT UP AT 153,000 MILES. I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A MAJOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEM BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD GEAR AS CAR SEEM STUCK AND I AM UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. THIS IS NOT SAFE AT ALL SINCE MY VAN CAN BE REAR ENDED WHEN IT'S STUCK IN THIS MODE. MY MECHANIC ADVISES EVERYONE FROM NOT TO BUY ANY HONDA AS HIS SHOP REBUILDS HONDA TRANSMISSION ALL THE TIME AND MAKES A FORTUNE FROM THE POOR VICTIMS OF HONDA OWNERS LIKE ME. GO TO HTTP://WWW.ODYSSEYTRANSMISSION.COM/HOME/WHATTODO CONSIDER YOURSELF FOREWARNED! IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE AND SAFE MINI VAN, DO NOT LOOK AT HONDA ODYSSEY. *TR”

“I WAS DRIVING MY CAR TOLD THE DEALERSHIP MY CAR JERK HE TOLD I NEED A FUEL INJECTION. I PAID FOR A THAT SERVICE . WAS DRIVING MY KIDS HOME FROM SCHOOL WHEN THE CAR JERK 3 TIME REPEATLY SO BAD WE ALL GOT SCARED. MY HUSBAND DROVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY DID A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND TOLD ME IT WAS THE TORQUE CHAMBER IN THE TRANSMISSION WOULD COST 4500.00 DOLLARS TO FIX . AS A HARD WORKING AMERICAN I FEEL DUPED AND STUPID. I FEEL THEY SOLD ME A LEMON. I THINK CONSUMER SHOULD BE TOLD IF THEIR IS A PROBLEM WITH THE VECHILE BEFORE PURCHASING IT. *TR”

“2003 ODYSSEY APPROXIMATELY 67K MILES DEVELOPED FLUID LEAK IN PAST WEEK. VEHICLE HAD BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY. WHILE DRIVING WITH FAMILY COOLANT LEAKED ONTO EXHAUST SYSTEM CAUSING SMOKE AND HAD TO PULL OFF INTERSTATE. ENGINE HAD OPERATED NORMALLY AND THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS OR ABNORMAL TEMPERATURE GAGE READINGS. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO LOCAL HONDA DEALER. DIAGNOSED AS LEAKING HEAD GASKET. UPON REMOVAL OF THE CYLINDER HEAD, THE HEAD BOLTS PULL FROM THE BLOCK PORTS WITH THE BOLT THREADS. APPARENTLY HEAD BOLTS HAD BECOME LOOSE GIVEN THE THREAD FAILURE IN THE BLOCK AND ALLOWED LEAKAGE OF FLUIDS IN THE CYLINDER HEAD. HONDA STATED THAT THE ENGINE WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF 3K++. APPARENTLY THIS SAME ISSUE HAS OCCURRED TO SEVERAL OTHER 2003 ODYSSEY OWNERS ACCORDING TO ON-LINE SEARCH. THE DEALER WAS AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN THE FAILURE OF THE BOLTS AT THE GIVEN MILEAGE. IT APPEARS THAT THIS COULD BE A DEFECT IN THE BLOCK DESIGN OR MANUFACTURE AND COULD LEAD TO PREMATURE ENGINE FAILURE. HONDA SHOULD ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND EGR VALVE DEFECTS WHICH HAVE ALSO BEEN A CONTINUAL PROBLEM WITH THE 2003 ODYSSEY. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN…”

“WHILE DRIVING MY DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL, ACCELERATING FROM 35 TO 40+, TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP! EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!!! COULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT SINCE WE WERE MERGING ONTO A BUSY HIGHWAY. NEXT DAY, ANOTHER LOCK UP + SLIPPING BETWEEN 25 & 35 MPH AND @ 50 PM. TRANSMISSION SLIPS AND GEAR SHIFT WILL GET STUCK IN PARK, REVERSE & DRIVE. RPM REVS HIGH. HONDA DEALER DIAGNOSED TODAY AS "INTERNAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE" 164,000 HIGHWAY MILES, SERVICED @ DEALER, BABIED WITH OIL CHANGES, ETC. NOW $4,000 QUOTE FOR TRANSMISSION 3 YRS/36,000 MILE WARRANTY. I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL HONDA OWNER SINCE 1990, BUT WILL NOT CONSIDER BUYING ANY FUTURE HONDAS. *TR”

“KNOWN TRANSMISSION FAILURE FOR 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. NOTED AND CASCADED BY AMERICAN HONDA. REPAIRS COULD BE DONE UNDER GOODWILL AT HONDAS DISCRETION. COVERAGE WAS EXTENDED TO 7 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES. IT APPEARS THAT INTERNAL DAMAGE COULD HAPPEN BEYOND THE SAID YEARS/MILEAGE RANGE FOR WARRANTY REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT. FROM A CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE, IT IS A CLAUSE OR LANGUAGE USED TO LEVERAGE HONDAS GOODWILL DISCRETION. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN MADE PUBLIC BY THE NHTSA, WHILE HONDA SETTLED OUT OF COURT, YET DID NOT TAKE FULL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE KNOWN AND VALIDATED TRANSMISSION DEFICIENCY. GEAR SLIPS BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR IN THE RANGE OF 20-30MPH. ENGINE LIGHT AND TCS LIGHT TURNS ON, AS WELL AS THE DRIVE LIGHT FLASHING (INSTEAD OF BEING SOLID LIGHT). ACCELERATING AFTER A COMPLETE STOP IS VERY DIFFICULT WHEN CROSSING THE INTERSECTIONS. REPAIRING THE PRESSURE SWITCH ON 11/2/11 DID NOT RECTIFY THE SITUATION.”