Problems · by component
2005 Honda Odyssey engine problems
68 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2005 Honda Odyssey cite engine, 8% of all 829 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
68
8% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I bought the 2005 Odyssey van in 12/2015. It now has 192,426 miles on it. Three or four times every year since I bought it, the engine will suddenly surge when coming to a stop sign or light, with my right foot on the brake pedal, braking and slowing the van for the stop sign or light. The engine revs to about 5000 or 6000 RPMs. It is as if the engine is flooring the gas pedal. Every time, I have been able to push the brake pedal down hard, even though the car continues to slowly roll forward, and shove it into neutral. I have to then tap the gas pedal to stop the engine accelerating. It then goes back to idling normally. Note, it even happened to me one time when I put it into reverse while parking! So very scary each and every time it happens. On [XXX], I took the van to Don Jacobs Honda Dealership, Lexington, KY. They said there were no reports of this ever happening to anyone else. They charged me $3216.06, with most of the cost for a new timing belt/water pump and a valve adjustment. When their repairs did not solve the problem, I called them. They said they would like to put a monitor on the van and drive it until the surge happened again. I told them to…”
“The engine VCM system is burning oil and destroying emissions systems on the vehicle. Catalytic converters are mainly affected as burned oil goes through the exhaust system. The check engine light comes on and the the engine starts to misfire and very abrupt engine vibrations make it into the cabin.”
“The contact owns a 2005 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power, power steering and braking functionality before the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to coast into a parking lot. The contact did not notice any warning lights being illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to her residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the drive belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had become difficult to turn with the occasional recurring loss of power steering functionality. The contact related the steering failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V039000 (Steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.”
“While servicing the timing components I notice the timing belt not damage. But the tensioner was out of place with a bolt broken and the other was missing like it was never bolted”
“ON 05 HONDA ODYSSEY TOURING AT 170,000 THE VEHICLE WILL BECOME SO POWERLESS. WONT SHIFT. LET IT COOL DOWN EVEN WITH A EXTRA TRANNY COOLER AND CLEANED THE SYLENOIDS AND REPLACED TRANSMISSION FILTER AND FLUID DID A FLUSH TO. IT STILL IS GUTTLESS. I HAVE DONE EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS TO DO, NOTHING CHANGES. DID HAVE TRANNY BLOWING OUT TRANNY FLIUID AND GOT THAT FIXED . AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE FOR A TIME FRAME AND THE FLUID GET HOT THE VEHICLE THEN LOOSES ALL ITS POWER. THIS IS BAD AND IT MUST BE RECALLED .”
“I BOUGHT THIS VAN AND IT HAD A SIMPLE PROBLEM THAT WE FIXED.. IT STILL WOULDN'T STAY RUNNING.. I DEAD ON THE INTERSTATE 3 TIMES.. I DEAD ON A MAIN HWY 5 TIMES.. HAD TO LEAVE THE VAN IN A PARKING LOT 5 TIMES.. IVE HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE HOUSE BC WE CANT GET IT TO STAY RUNNING 3 TIMS....I BELIEVE ITS ONE OF THE RECALL SINCERER .. MAYBE.. OR MAYB THE FUEL PUMP.. BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE WHAT NEEDS TO BE.. REPLACED SO I CAN ENJOY MY VAN AGAIN...”
Showing 6 of 68 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 12, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.