Problems with 2003 Honda Odyssey POWER TRAIN

Transmission oil overheating while driving in the freeway causing it to leak and burnt the transmission on all gears and a costly repair of $2400. *tr

We were driving on a freeway in a hilly area between san jose and sacramento, ca. 2003 odyssey mileage was ~120k and speed was 60 miles/hr. all of a sudden the vehicle became jerky and gears wont engage and speed dropped tremendously. i narrowly averted a rear end accident and pulled the vehicle aside. after sometime, i was able to drive but still could notice the gears slipping and drove on the last lane. i search on net and found lots and lots of honda odysseys have transmission issues, but no recall has been made. i feel honda should take moral responsibility on their part and replace the faulty parts. and more importantly i request nhtsa to prevent further accidents/loss of lives on our highways due to transmission failures of 2003 honda odysseys which imo are a ticking time bomb. *tr

i parked the car in the driveway to pick up my 4 yr grandson. i left the car, with keys in hand, but left the car door open. i turned my back to the door to walk around the back of the car, and noticed the car was rolling backwards toward the street. i turned quickly in the direction of the steering wheel attempting to insert my right leg to press the brake. i hopped a few times on my left leg, as the car door was pushing me backwards. unable to reach the brake, the force of the car door slammed me to the ground on my right buttock and right side. the bottom of the door scraped over my left knee, leaving two gashes and bruised knee, scraped up over my left arm and shoulder, compressing my shoulders, clavicle, chest cavity and base of skull (shoulder to shoulder measuring 19") so they would fit beneath the door (12" clearance).the bottom of the car door is crimped where "it gave" into the pressure of pushing my body into the ground. the car continued to roll across the street, up over the curb, and finally stopped with the rear wheels on the sidewalk and the front wheels still in the street against the curb. no tires rolled over me. when my daughter entered the car to reposition and park it, she found the car in reverse, and i had the keys in my hand. a neighbor had difficulty inserting the key, but was able to start and park it. i drove the van to mohawk honda, with blood dripping from abrasions. they gave me a ride home while they replaced ignition cylinder, gave me 2 new keys, told me there were no recalls, and charged me $555. when i asked if this should be reported somewhere, i was told no. i saw the nhtsa article in the newspaper today 10/6/12. i have a no fault claim, head ct scan, continuing pt and therapy dealing with ptsd and constant head and neckaches .a brother of my son's classmate was killed 4 days ago as a dodge caravan rolled over him in his driveway. he was 11 yr. *tr

I can take my key out of the ignition while in drive. because of the setup of the shifter, and the short space between gears, it's not apparent that the car's not in park, and fairly common for me to remove the key while in drive. i've not had this problem with other cars. several times i've taken the key out and the car started rolling a little before i stepped on the brake and put the key back in and shifted to park. about 4 or 5 weeks ago i parked at a strip mall in front of a store, and when i came back out my car was backed up against the car on the other side of the aisle, having rolled back about 15 feet. fortunately there was no damage. another time my wife went shopping and came out and the car had been in drive the whole time (about an hour) but fortunately the parking lot was flat. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph the rpm increased excessively causing the vehicle to stall. the vehicle was towed to a transmission shop who inspected the vehicle and stated there was a recall and it should go to the dealer for the repairs. the vehicle was then towed to the dealer who stated the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign id number: 04v176000: (power train: automatic transmission). the manufacturer was notified who stated the recall was repaired back in 2005 and they offered no other assistance. the failure mileage was 170,000.

While i was driving my engine light came on and soon after my tcs light came on. i was on the highway and when i slowed down to get off on an exit and tried to go up in gear my van stalled and would not go past 25 to 30 mph. i took it to an auto place to check the engine light and these codes came up p0740 torque converter clutch circuit malfunction and p0730 incorrect gear ratio. *tr

I was driving carpool to the local school along a very crowded four lane highway when my transmission failed completely. it felt as if the car was in neutral. it was a bit scary, but we were able to coast across two lanes of traffic and into a parking lot. the transmission would not engage in drive, drive3, or reverse. after turning the car off for about 15 minutes, i was able to get the car to drive slowly in a very low gear. i drove it about a mile to my local mechanic. he checked the codes and got p0730 (incorrect gear ratio), and p0740 (torque converter malfunction). after doing some research and consulting with his transmission expert, he determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. i am the second owner of this odyssey. bought it from a friend in april of 2012. i have all of their dealership service records. according to those records, the original transmission was replaced at 7500 miles in june of 2004. as such, that means there are less than 97,000 miles on the transmission. the car has been driven gently in the city and on the highway. it has never towed anything. i talked to american honda today and was told that they could not help because i am the second owner. however, when pressed, the agent did admit that they do help some second, third... fourth owners, but it is case by case. in my case the answer was "no". i asked what would have to be different in my case for them to help me and she simply said it was case by case. basically we went in circles for the next five minutes.the conversation was polite, but frustrating. i then asked if i could speck to a supervisor. the supervisor suggested i talk with the local dealership, have them diagnose the problem and see if they would make a recommendation for assistance to american honda. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated while driving 45 mph when she noticed that the vehicle was shifting gears independently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. the dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and the current mileage was 136,000. the vin was not available.

Was driving from desoto state park back home to tuscaloosa when the transmission began to slip between 2nd and 3rd and then again between 4th and 5th. ended up having to drive home doing 40 mph on back roads. rebuilt the transmission to the tune of $4000. two years and 40,000 miles later the transmission failed again...same exact issue. this is a well known problem to every mechanic i have dealt with. this issue has existed since the car hit the market. this needs to be investigated. now i have a gigantic paperweight sitting in my driveway. the vans value is less than it will cost to fix. pease investigate.

The transmission started slipping while our family was heading for a vacation going 75 mph on freeway in the middle of nowhere. van jerked incredibly, then wouldn't shift into anything higher than 3rd gear. we made it to a freeway exit (not a town, just an exit) where after stopping for a minute we discovered that the van wouldn't go into reverse. we were able to turn it around by pushing and managed to make it to a small town limping along on the side of the freeway going 40 mph with our hazard lights on. repair shop has quoted us at least $3700.00 to fix it. *tr

2003 honda odyssey. consumer states transmission overheated, began shifting erratically and the check engine light illuminated. *tgw the consumer stated he turned the vehicle off, to allow it to cool off. when he turned it back on, the engine light was still on, but he was able to drive the vehicle home. it was still shifting erratically, but it did not overheat again. he took the vehicle to an auto parts store to have the check engine light code checked. the code came up as a p0740; torque solenoid circuit. the consumer did some research on the code and discovered that his model and year had a recall on the transmission and several class action lawsuits had been filed due to the problem. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer and it was determined that the vehicle needed a new transmission. the dealer couldn't say if the problem was definitive to the recall. honda informed the consumer the vehicle was inspected in 2005, where an oil jet cooler was installed on the transmission. the consumer then examined his vehicle, and discovered there was no oil jet cooler on the transmission. the van remained in overdrive and would not shift into 2nd or 3rd gear.*jb

Transmission went out on us while driving to florida, took the van to trans pro in dothan alabama. the tech who looked at the van said that we had no 1st or 5th gears. the discs had melted due to over heating, and that this was a common problem with honda mini vans. it cost us over $2700 to fix money we didn't have. i think honda should pay us in full for the repair. i will never buy a car/van from them again. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. while driving at approximately 30 mph, the transmission locked and a loud noise was heard. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection where it was diagnosed that the transmission exploded. the vehicle was repaired. the contact was made aware of nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train); however, the vin was not included. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000. updated 08/09/17*lj updated 9/20/2017*cn

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate to 60 mph and the transmission failed. the accelerator pedal was abnormally able to be depressed into the floorboard. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who advised the contact to allow the vehicle to cool down first and then it should run as normal. the dealer was notified and they informed the contact that the vehicle was already repaired once under nhtsa campaign id number: 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission) and provided no further assistance. the vehicle was not further repaired. the failure mileage was 117,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle would not accelerate. the contact was able to stop on the side of the road. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. the dealer stated that the transmission needed to be repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and stated that they would cover 10 percent of the repair costs. the failure mileage was 74,500 and the current mileage 74,900. the vin was not available.

Sudden catastrophic failure of transmission due to loss of fluid, internal heat build-up and total disintegration. *tr

Vehicle lost transmission at 65 mph while attempting to pass another vehicle. there was no warning, the transmission was working one minute with complete failure the next. no gear grinding noise, only indication was the loss of power and the high revolutions of the motor. fortunately, there was no accident and we were in a safe place, able to coast to the side of the road. *tr

Transmission failed! *tr

I was traveling with family on the highway, going 75 mph and suddenly saw a flume of smoke behind my car. i notice the rpm jumped to 5 and i stepped on the brake to immediately. it smell like some liquid was burning. pull the car over onto the exit and look to find the transmission fluid had leaked and spray onto the exhaust and muffler - causing the smell. towed it back to my house and call honda but they said it's over 100k and they will not cover any repair cost. it's obviously a manufacturing defect but they will not repair it. just the week before, i brother-in-law's van (exact same make and model - and about same mileage had to same problem - oddly enough almost at the same place on the highway. it's very unlikely that two identical vans broke down almost at the same spot with the same problem was a normal break down. honda knows the problem but would not admit to it and will not recall it. i would like for you to tell honda to recall the transmission and fix my car and my brother -in-law's. it's not only a defective transmission, it also a hazardous - what if it had caught on fire - when the fluid spray out. please mandate honda to recall the transmission of the 2003 odyssey. thanks. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the transmission seized. the vehicle was merged to the shoulders, turned off and once restarted, the transmission failure was no longer present. the dealer was notified of the issue who advised that they would inspect the failure and inform the contact of the outcome. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 130,000.

Difficulty shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear... i called honda care services and i was told that my vehicle is out of warranty and they can't shoulder the cost which is unacceptible given that this van had been recalled for transimission issue and many owners had failed transmission. i like honda vehicles and recommended to my family and friends but after this incident i will never buy another honda product again. *tt

I bought this honda odyssey brand new. after driving it for 89322 miles the transmission failed. i brought the car to the dealer that i purchased it from. the dealer was "honda on grand" in elmhurst illinois. they wanted to charge me $6000+ to replace the transmission. i believe that this transmission should be replaced at no charge. i believe that this transmission is under recall from honda, but i have not received anything from honda about my transmission. *jb

While driving my transmission would not engage. this caused an extremely unsafe situation due to the car being suddenly unresponsive while driving in 40 mph traffic. it could have easily caused an accident resulting in serious injury or death. thankfully i was not hurt, however others might not be that lucky. the transmission no longer functions. after doing further research i see that honda has had many issues with their transmissions that they have not addressed. someone at the nhtsa needs to look into this before people get killed due to a faulty transmission design. *tr

My wife and four children, while traveling at 60mph just before rush hour on the highway in our 2003 honda odyssey the transmission unexpectedly shifted from 5th gear to 2nd gear of its own accord causing the vehicle to lurch forward and the entire vehicle to shutter (as speed decreased from 60mph to 15-20mph almost instantaneously) as if hit from behind, causing a near miss collision with the vehicle following and terrifying my wife and children. this left them stranded on the side of a busy highway for over an hour while waiting for help. upon code download at the dealership, i was informed that due to codes po730 and po780 replacement of the transmission, torque converter, and the pcm would be required at a cost over of $5500 for a rebuilt transmission and parts. (no actual inspection of the transmission occurred to my knowledge). this transmission has been maintained in accordance with manufacturers recommended service intervals. it was also subject to the transmission inspection recall of 2004. transmission never had history of slipping or other issues prior to incident and had recently been serviced. there was no warning of the impending failure and might have been fatal to my entire family. *tr

I parked my van on my sloped driveway, setting the emergency brake. as i was getting out, the van started rolling backward. as i was trying to stop it, i tripped and my left leg was run over by the front left tire. i had an open fracture of my fibula and crush injuries on my shin area (and multiple bruises and pulled muscles elsewhere). i realized later that the van was still in "drive". i had been able to get my keys out without putting it in "park". [i have tested it since then and i still can remove my keys while the van is in "drive" or "neutral"] on testing the emergency brake, i found that it would not hold unless it was pushed all the way to the maximum position. even though it sounded and "felt" engaged, it did not hold. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop, the vehicle would not respond. the vehicle stalled without warning and the contact was unable to restart the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the transmission hydraulic malfunctioned and as a result, the transmission would need to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who advised that they would contact him at a later time. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure and the current mileage was 130,000.

Transmission fails on highway, endangering occupants due to sudden loss of speed. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. while traveling 75 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power and independently decelerated to 45 mph. inorder to stop the failure, the contact had to restart the vehicle however the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure could not be duplicated. the vehicle was not repaired. the current and failure mileages were 108,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle shifted into second gear independently with the engine light illuminated. there was a recall under nhtsa campaign id number 04v176000(power train). the failure occurred over a hundred times in the past year. the vehicle was not taken to dealer for diagnostic testing. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 159,333.

We have 74,000 miles on a 2003 odyssey. it's always felt slipping around 40 mph. we participated in the 2004 recall with the revision to the oil cooler return line, hoping it would help this problem. no change. around february 2012 the transmission started to take longer going from reverse to drive. we had the transmission fluid replaced on march 2, 2012. on march 6th we went in for the follow-up to check the fluid, and levels were fine. about 8 miles after that, starting up from a stoplight, the car failed to shift from either between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd, not sure which, but the car was lurching and wouldn't go above 25 mph. the dealership diagnosed the problem and said we would need a new transmission as well as a new computer (ecm). *tr

[xxx], houston, tx 3/3/2012 the problem began on february 15th while i was on my way to teach. i was in stop & go traffic due to an accident ahead of me. as i pressed the accelerator to move a bit, the car did not want to move, and then it hesitantly moved forward a bit, i stopped again because of the traffic. while sitting, the engine began to hum and when i needed to move forward again, the car would not move. i tried taking it out of drive and then putting it back in drive, but the car would not move. because of another incident, i had it towed to a shop for some bodywork to be done; after picking it from the repair shop, i was on my way to the airport when the same problem of hesitation started again. after returning from my trip, i called the honda dealer where the car has always been serviced and told them i was bringing it in. i had to pull over several times while driving to the dealership because the car would stall; after pulling over several times and waiting a few minutes for the transmission to work again; i finally made it to the dealership. after the service department checked the car out, i was told that i would need a re-manufactured transmission; cost for this was $4,458.00 which seemed pretty high. the service rep said honda does not rebuild the transmission on your car because of the level of difficulty in getting to the parts, so they recommend a re-manufactured one which comes with a 36,000 mile warranty or 3 yrs. in the city of houston, 36,000 miles racks up pretty fast. this is a lot of money to spend on a problem that honda has yet to fix. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*tr

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

137,000 miles, transmission failed. all service had been completed by the dealer during the life of the vehicle, and i am the original owner. the dealer and honda of america would not replace the transmission and the ecu. even though there have been many similar problems with other people with the same make and model. the ecu has a tsb on it. *tr

Without much or any warning my transmission failed (the dreaded p0730 code showed up on the scanner) on my 2003 honda odyssey ex-l van with only 100,325 miles. the van was never abused or used to tow. transmission was rebuilt 1.30.12 by private shop continental transmission for $1800. (torque converter blown to pieces). honda does have limited recalls on trannys but mine was not included (only if 2nd shaft is broken & scored and burnt/ bluish color) this will documented tranny problem with 2nd generation odyssey is very upsetting and i blame it on a poor design by honda engineers (under sized tranny paired with a power v6 240hp heavy 4500lbs van has been a recipe for premature failure). the worst part was on 1.5.12 i just had extensive preventative maintenance done at don davis honda (timing belt, water pump, tensioner and power steering belts) and two weeks later the transmission fails!!! other issues with the van have been, ac compressor failed may 2010 88,648 miles. rear wiper motor failed march 2011 89,240 miles, both sliding power door rollers had to replaced. brake switch failed (locked up), dec 2011 98,750 miles van would not move out of park. not real happy or confident with honda right now! *tr

While driving on the toll way at 65 mph the tcs & engine malfunction lights illuminated and the d (drive) indicator began flashing. as this was happening the vehicle began losing speed and pressing on the accelerator increased the engines rpms but the vehicle was still slowing down. i coasted to the side of the highway with the engine running and discovered no forward or reverse movement when shifting gears. the vehicle was towed to a honda dealer that night. the next day i was contacted by the service associate and told the automatic transmission and pcm were defective and needed to be replaced at a cost of $6100.00.

Transmission failed to shift gears, caused engine to stall while driving, would not shift into or out of gear. *tr

Transmission failure at 94,000 miles caused by faulty torque converter. *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

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda odyssey. the contact stated that the transmission caused the vehicle stall while driving 35 mph. the contact stated that the vehicle would also stall while shifting gears, causing the vehicle to jerk abnormally. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and inquired about nhtsa campaign i.d. number: 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission) but the dealer advised that the vehicle was previously repaired under the recall. the contact stated that the vehicle was never repaired under the recall. the failure mileage was 82,000.

While driving my two children to school, my transmission failed in the middle of an intersection. the transmission would not catch but i had enough forward momentum to coast to the side of the road just past the light. *tr

Single owner 2003 honda odyssey lx. it was parked in garage. attempted to reverse but reverse gear won't engage with grinding noises coming. honda says it is out of warranty and not covered. this is poor workmanship if transmission fails before 100k miles. *tr

The transmission is beginning to fail as indicated by the transmission slipping (press accelerator and engine races with no power to the wheels) for about 5 seconds at random times while traveling about 40 mph on a trip of about 5 miles. this happens on about every other trip and is increasing in frequency. *tt

The vehicle was moving at the speed of 55-60 mph. suddenly few jerks were noticed and vehicle failed to receive torque/speed from the engine. engine was otherwise appear to be on and functional. vehicle came to complete stop on a very busy highway and started rolling backwards (since the highway was up sloping), while in drive mode. vehicle was then put in park mode. on further attempt, it would not engage in any other gears. further diagnostics suggested "transmission failure" code p0730, which needed transmission change. *tr

Complete transmission failure while vehicle was operating at highway speeds. *tr

While traveling from florida to virginia down i95 at 70mph in cruise control, i suddenly lost acceleration and looked up in time to see smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. i pulled over and transmission fluid continued to burn and smoke from engine compartment and then the plastic engine cover caught fire. we were able to extinguish it and have it towed to a honda dealer, where we were told the transmission overheated for an unknown reason. this van had already had three transmission cooler line recall performed after a similar incident by a previous owner that caused the transmission to need to be rebuilt. after being left with no other option, i opted to refill transmission fluid and continue to drive the can back to virginia. the van operated perfectly and had no issues for the rest of the six hundred plus mile trip home. i am of course now scared to drive it anywhere even though it runs like it never had a problem. it gave no indication of trouble before this sudden overheating either. this could have been much worse especially since we were traveling with three small children including a baby. *tr

Transmission suddenly began slipping - no warning lights appeared -- occurs intermittently -- have read about many similar cases with the honda odyssey transmission ---honda should be fixing/replacing this defect for its customers! *tr

Hi, honda had a recall on the 03 odyssey transmission for chipping of metal, over heating, etc. right now my car will not engage from reverse to drive for 10-15sec and while driving will accelerate for no reason, which i believe are very major safety issues. spoke to honda customer care and they will not take care or fix these issues case#[xxx] on 1229/2011. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

I was driving the car along and it felt as though it went into neutral. the motor continued to show revolutions on the tachometer but the car slowed down to a stop. i coasted into a shopping center parking lot and turned the car off. i waited about five minutes and started the car again. i was able to put the car in drive and proceed for about three minutes and the same thing as above happened. i called my husband and he came to my location in a different car. i followed him for about four miles while he drove the honda odyssey, 2003 and observed the same thing two more times until we reached a garage where our cars had been worked on before. the next day on saturday, my husband drove his car to the garage and took the honda to the dealership less than a mile from where it was parked all night on friday, december 9. *tr

Attempting to move the vehicle from our driveway to the street, the automatic transmission failed on our 2003 honda odyssey ex. the clutch would not immediately catch in either reverse or drive. once it did engage, in either direction, the engine and transmission would shake and jerk the entire vehicle. we drove the vehicle about 2 miles to a local repair shop. the mechanic told us we needed to replace the transmission and also install an electronic control module. the repair will cost us $4,700. while he noted the vehicle otherwise looked in excellent mechanical condition, transmission failures were very common for honda odysseys manufactured for the 2002-2004 model years. further research shows hundreds of complaints around honda's automatic transmission for both this vehicle and other models. what other information does dot/nhtsa need to move toward a recall? *tr

I pulled into my garage and stopped my van. i turned the key to the off position without realizing i had not yet shifted into park. i was able to remove the key from the ignition while the vehicle was still in drive. i have been able to replicate this issue several times, each time being able to remove the key from the ignition while the vehicle is still in drive. i have been fully stopped with my foot on the brake each time. *tr