Problems · by component
2020 Honda Odyssey structure problems
32 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Odyssey cite structure, 7% of all 492 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
32
7% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
What owners say about the structure
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The power tailgate on my 2020 Honda Odyssey EX-L will not stay open sometimes. After it is raised it sags and soemtimes closes on its own, with a beep. This happened mutltiples times over the past year and a few times in XXX where it has closed on my young children while they were near or loading into the vehicle, and it hit me on the head. Nobody was seriously injured, but a heavy tailgate closing on a child's head or neck could cause serious harm. Honda service bulletin 22-018 (XXX) describes this condition and says to replace the right tailgate spring (74981-THR-A01) and clips. Honda has not issued a recall. I opened Honda Customer Care case XXX. The dealer told me Honda needs a paid $250 diagnosis before it will consider goodwill, which I declined. I am concerned this is a safety defect affecting other Odysseys and ask NHTSA to review it.”
“after a heavy rain, the automatic tailgate opening/closing function stopped working. Trunk can only be opened manually. warning message on dashboard: POWER TAILGATE PROBLEM. water intrusion. cracked seals.”
“The electronic module for rear power tailgate quit working due to water getting inside module. This causes rear lift door to malfunction. Ive seen online there's been a class action lawsuit for this and the door can open randomly. This has not happened to mine. It just quit working and beeps excessively. I had it repaired and it happened again 7 months later. It has been diagnosed by honda dealership. Thanks”
“While traveling from Florida to our home in Pennsylvania in December 2022, we were on [XXX] and after going over a pothole, the side curtain airbag, and the driver seat side airbag inadvertently deployed. It was very traumatic and we are fortunate that we were able to pull off the side of the highway without getting hit by vehicles., The repair, which totaled over$16,000 was done by GERBER COLLISION AND GLASS Easton, PA. we personally are trying to recoup our out of pocket expenses of $781.08 from HONDA. And now, a month ago, May 2026,(almost 4 years after our incident) we received a SAFETY RECALL notification from explaining the exact issue we had.NHTSA Recall number26V227. we can provide photos and documentation, invoices, out of pocket expenses, etc if necessary but we have no idea how to include them on this form.”
“Power tailgate won't stay open. It is a known issue (Honda service bulletin 22-018) and has tried to close while people are underneath - including my small children. I have knocked my head into it numerous times since the issue started. It almost always slowly closes, and sometimes it beeps a few times then closes automatically and if I'm under it I have to forcefully hold it open. A small child would not be able to.”
“Sliding doors sometimes do not close all the way and then reopen automatically. You cannot press the sliding doors to close and walk away. You have to stay to make sure they close because often times it will kick back and reopen. You have to manually help push the sliding door to close. Elite trim has no way to make the doors be able to be closed manually, if needed. Took it to Honda, they said they have never heard of doors not closing and reopening so they could not help me, but I have spoken to quite a few Honda Odyssey owners in parking lots and they all stated that the doors do sometimes not close all the way and return to being fully open. Maybe the motor for the doors isn’t strong enough and depends on vehicle tilt or the temperature outside, but for whatever reason the automatic doors are randomly not fully closing.”
Showing 6 of 32 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.