Honda Odyssey 02 Trans slips, any others?

(I originally posted this in the forums on odyclub.com)

Bad News: Bad transmission on my 2002 Odyssey at 80,000 miles.

Good News: Both my dealer and Honda really stepped up to the plate and took care of everything, and I am extremely happy with the result.

Well, you can add me to the list of owners of 2002 Odysseys who have had a transmission problem. (Heck, based on the number of people on this forum who have had multiple transmissions replaced, I'm glad this is only my first one!)

On March 27 my wife was driving the van and saw the green "D" drive light blink on the instrument panel. When she called me to tell the news, I searched the odyclub formums to see what the heck that warning light meant. As I was searching, I feared the worst, knowing the problems that so many people have had with transmissions. From what I determined, it seemed that it was either the 4th clutch pressure switch or a bad transmission. However, even though I was aware of the well documented transmission problems on the Odyssey, I really didn't think that it was bad (yet) because I have never experienced a problem with the transmission while driving my wife's Odyssey (althouth my wife swears that she has felt it slip several times). Neither the CEL or the TCS light ever came on and it seemed to be driving just fine. In fact, when I drove the van 35 miles to the dealer, the "D" light never came on during that time.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I dropped the van off at the dealer (Sherwood Honda in Delray Beach, Florida). [I actually did not buy the van from them but, rather, bought it used from a private owner with 48,000 miles on it a couple years ago. But after reading about the transmission problems on this site, I decided to take it to the dealer for the 60,000 maintenance in order to establish a relationship with the dealer in case of any future problems. Boy am I glad I did that!

When I dropped the van off at the dealer and told them that the "D" light was flashing, the service advisor told me that the problem was most likely either a bad transmission or the pressure switch, and that if it was the pressure switch, that would not "be covered." It seems that he was already anticipting that if the problem WAS the transmission, I might not have to pay for the repair.

Well, I got a call back from the service advisor a few hours later and he advised me that, sure enough, the transmission was bad. When I had mentioned that it seemed to be driving fine for the most part, he said it was possible that I could drive up to 25,000 more miles on it without a failure, but that it was going bad. [I guess Honda does not want to risk a transmission failure while people are driving in them due to risk of injury/death and, of course, a lawsuit].

Anyway, without me even having to ask, the service advisor told me that he had already called Honda's district manager to see if Honda would pay for the new transmission, and that he was just waiting for a call back to see if it is approved. About 20 minutes later the service advisor called me back with the good news. Not only did Honda agree to pay for the new transmission, but I WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING AT ALL OUT OF MY POCKET!!! NOTHING!!! That's right, I did not even have to pay for the labor portion of the repair! On top of that, Honda (or the dealer) is paying for the cost of a rental vehicle while the van is being repaired! Oh, and he also told me that the new transmission will have a 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty on it. I am so happy with how the dealer and Honda has handled this. It is nice to see a company acknowledge a problem and really step up to the plate to fix it. Moreover, I did not even have to contact Honda myself to twist their arm to get them to pay for the repair!

Also, I am so glad that I started taking the Odyssey to the dealer as soon as it needed its next major service after I bought it used. When it came time for the transmission replacement, they never asked me for any service records or anything from the prior owner. They agreed to pay for the transmission repair with no questions asked.

I have seen a lot of people on this forum get an offer from Honda to pay for just the transmission, but not the labor. Others have had Honda offer to go 50/50 on the cost. For the sake of other Odyssey owners, I hope that my recent experience signals a change in that stance and that Honda is now more inclined to fully pay for transmission repairs instead of just sharing that cost with owners.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience so that my fellow 2002 Odyssey owners who have transmission problems in the future can rest a little easier knowing that Honda seems to be taking care of the problem. I also would like to express my appreciation for this site and its members (and to Honda and my dealer too). If not for the knowledge I have gained from this site and its members, I may have taken the van into my mechanic (rather than to the dealer) to have the transmission fixed and I might have needlessly paid thousands of dollars for a transmission repair, not knowing that the transmission problems were so prevalent and that Honda would step up the the plate and take care of it. Thank you Odyclub, and thank you Honda!!!

My 2001 Odyssey experienced the same engine light and engine code problems yesterday that have been experienced by many others in this forum. First the check engine light comes on followed by the TCS light. The OBD engine codes are P0740 (TCC failure) and P1607 (I believe ECM/TCS). Should you have these codes determined by a local mechanic.....my wife pulled into a lube shop when the lights come on.....don't let anyone reset them. I drove it to the dealership yesterday and noticed the first slip. The van has 88,000 miles on it, but I have been hearing what I thought was bearing noise for 10,000 miles or well over 6 months. Noise is louder in 4th gear, but was becoming noticable in third gear. I have been waiting to get it checked, because I guessed no dealership would replace a transmission based on a noise.

I was right. The new transmission is on order from California, and I am in a rental car at Honda's expense.

Honda did sign a class action settlement on 12/26/2006, entitled "Chris Collins versus American Honda Motor Company." As part of the settlement, the warranty is extended AGAIN to 93 months or 109,000 miles. Don't know how they got to 109,000 miles, but they did. The agreement also expands coverage to various Acuras, including some 2002 and 2003 models.

The technician tried to tell me one of the parts (ECM) might not be covered. I told them to check into it, so I could avoid calling Honda, starting a case file, and hurting feelings. 20 minutes later, I am told all is covered, my rental car is forthcoming, and do I wish to consider having my timing belt changed ($1,000 or so) while they have the vehicle. My response was we needed to crawl before we walk. Fix the tranny first.

I appreciate various posts about the 3 year/36,000 warranty on the new tranny. I will certainly verify this when my van is retrieved.

Knowledge is power. Knowing the engine codes, problems, existing litigation, etc., reduced the possibilities of headaches. Honda is making it right, but I overhead the technician talking to another owner about a transmission issue, saying Honda MAY provide assistance on his replacement, IF HE HAS SERVICED IT PROPERLY AT A DEALERSHIP. I would hate to think the company links replacement of defective products with franchise dealer fees, that may be based on total dealership revenue. My only wish was to grab the phone and talk to the customer. :thumbsup:

Yes, yet another 2002 trans failure. Until I started searching I had no idea how widespread the problem was. Here's some brief background.

02 Odyssey - currently has 49,500 miles
We purchased the van in 2004, and transferred the extended warranty to our name. It is from EFG.

We have had essentially the same experience as others here with trans slipping.
Had it into the dealer once before, they could not duplicate. Then warning lights came on, and we took it back in. Becasue of our extended warranty they were pretty quick to say trans needed replacing, and got approval from EFG to cover costs and rental car.

It is now at the dealer having replacement done. They said we were "lucky" because we are going to get a Honda rebuilt trans, instead of some other kind (which they said would normally be the case, perhaps because of going through EFG).

Questions:

1. Are we indeed getting the best possible scenario with a Honda rebuilt trans? How do we know if they are telling the truth?

2. What should we be expecting as far as warranty for rebuilt trans? At first they seemed to say it would only be covered for as long as our extended warranty remained (one more year). Then they said it would be 3/36. Should this warranty come directly from Honda?

3. Is this going to happen again? Should we just get rid of this van? Other than this issue, we have been pretty satisfied with it. And as I indicated, there are hardly any miles on it (49,000).

4. Has Honda corrected this problem in newer model years? What years would be considered a safe purchase.

Thank you for any and all help! I feel a bit overwhelmed at this point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by decaturjulie

Well the dealer got back to us and said American Honda would pay for the parts and that we would be responsible for the labor which was a whopping $900. We said no way and that in good faith we bought this car and ethically they should pay the total cost. After a few phone calls back and forth we are finally at $0 due to fix the transmission. American Honda is paying for all of it however they are saying we have two broken engine mounts that need to be replaced. Anyone have info on this? My mechanics office manager said she was told the same thing when her tranmission was replaced. I sense a shell game here. Would an engine mount be damaged by the transmission problems?

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I have the same problem--engine check light, dealer said it's covered under warranty, but there's a broken engine mount. Has anyone else had the dealer tell them there is a broken engine mount when they went in for a transmission problem? Are they trying to recover the warranty cost by making stuff up? I'm taking it somewhere else to get the mount fixed, then back to Honda for them to replace the transmission for free.

Hi,

I just had a major issue with my Oddyssey 02 transmission - I lost all the fluid in the transmission while cruising at 70mph and the dealer can not find the leak. Apparently it came out through the dipstick, but it was very sudden. I have 79K miles, the dealer just flushed the remaining transmission fluid and refilled it and said it is ok. I believe the transmission is damaged since it lost most of its fluid.

Anyone else has seen this issue?

I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey that I bought in Nov 2000. 70k miles, still under the extended warranty. We drove 800 miles for the memorial day long weekend, and the tranny started to slip while we were 300 miles away from any city. I left it replaced by a honda dealer in another state and had to fly back to get it, I drove another 800 miles home. honda picked up the rental but not the airline ticket. less than two weeks later, wife noticed there is some noise when going from 30 to 45 mph, so I took the car to a dealer, they said the trans is a defect unit :mad2: and I have to get it replaced again!!.

I purchase my 02 Odyssey used in Feb 05. Thought I was buying a really dependable vehicle. After 3 months and ~4000 miles, the tranny started slipping. I took it to local mechanic and was told I needed a new tranny. After doing a little research, I found out about the warranty and decided to pursue it. Honda America took care of the $4000 tranny for me after a little fighting. I had to pay $50 "deductible". I thought it was a heck of a deal. Now, fast forward to today. The check engine light and TCS light are now on. I have not taken it in to the dealership yet, but I have called Honda already and started a case file. I have about 60000 miles on the replacement tranny which was a remanufactured one when they put it in. Has anyone else had a second one replaced after such a long time? Thanks to everyone who has posted.

[QUOTE=PacificMama]Questions:

1. Are we indeed getting the best possible scenario with a Honda rebuilt trans? How do we know if they are telling the truth?

2. What should we be expecting as far as warranty for rebuilt trans? At first they seemed to say it would only be covered for as long as our extended warranty remained (one more year). Then they said it would be 3/36. Should this warranty come directly from Honda?

3. Is this going to happen again? Should we just get rid of this van? Other than this issue, we have been pretty satisfied with it. And as I indicated, there are hardly any miles on it (49,000).

QUOTE]

Wish I had better answers for you, but I wouldn't hold your breath on Honda at this point. Here's my timeline...

- Bought new Feb 2002
- Took to dealer twice in Oct 2005 for similar problems to everyone else. Dealer couldn't -find problem.
- After evacuating from WILMA, transmission fails 6 hrs from home in Nov 05. Local dealer replaces under extended warranty (54,000 miles). #1 dead. :confused:
- Similar problems come back in Jan 07. Dealer finds nothing first two tries.
- In Dec 07 dealer reports transmission is bad and needs to be replaced. Covered under extended warranty. (89,500 miles) #2 dead. :mad:
- Feb 08 extended warranty expires (6 yrs)
- Apr 08 problems resurface. May 08 dealer reports transmission bad and needs to be replaced. Covered under Honda parts warranty (all parts covered for 1 yr; if installed by Honda, covered for 1 yr and includes labor). (95,400 miles) #3 dead...didn't last six months! :mad2:

My personal speculation is that Honda is replacing bad transmissions without fixing the problem....they're solving the symptoms. I don't know what the problem is, but I know damn well a transmission should last longer than 6,000 miles!

I'll be looking to dump this van before next May when the 1 yr warranty expires on this transmission. I have lost faith in Honda to properly repair it and worry that the next one will fail outside of the warranty, thus costing me money!

So to answer your questions:
1. Best case scenario? Your rebuilt will last. Most likely scenario? Whatever caused the first transmission to fail will affect any future transmissions you get from Honda...
2. Warranty is on the part and is for one year. The 3/36 is on a new Honda as I understand it, meaning the warranty is for 3 yrs or 36k miles whichever comes first from the first date the vehicle entered service. Make the dealer write it down if that's they're telling you 3/36 on the replacement transmission. If you go by the warranty book for your Odyssey online, there's no discussion of warranties for rebuilt work...just the parts warranty discussed above.
3. Based on my experiences, I would argue it'll happen again...it's just a matter of when. Unless you like the idea of paying $3-5 thousand down the line, I'd cut your losses while it's still low mileage and you can get better money.

Sorry to paint such a gloomy future, but having just picked up the Ody with it's four transmission in 6 yrs today, I'm not overly optimistic at this point....

Scott

I've got a 2001 Odyssey LX with 50,000 miles. No transmission problems. I installed a Magnefine ATF filter (because there is none on the 1999-2001 Odysseys. I also drain and fill the ATF every 3rd oil change.

Want answers to ?s on the Odyssey, go here: http://www.odyclub.com/index.htm

[QUOTE=snosrfr]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PacificMama

Questions:

1. Are we indeed getting the best possible scenario with a Honda rebuilt trans? How do we know if they are telling the truth?

2. What should we be expecting as far as warranty for rebuilt trans? At first they seemed to say it would only be covered for as long as our extended warranty remained (one more year). Then they said it would be 3/36. Should this warranty come directly from Honda?

3. Is this going to happen again? Should we just get rid of this van? Other than this issue, we have been pretty satisfied with it. And as I indicated, there are hardly any miles on it (49,000).

QUOTE]

Wish I had better answers for you, but I wouldn't hold your breath on Honda at this point. Here's my timeline...

- Bought new Feb 2002
- Took to dealer twice in Oct 2005 for similar problems to everyone else. Dealer couldn't -find problem.
- After evacuating from WILMA, transmission fails 6 hrs from home in Nov 05. Local dealer replaces under extended warranty (54,000 miles). #1 dead. :confused:
- Similar problems come back in Jan 07. Dealer finds nothing first two tries.
- In Dec 07 dealer reports transmission is bad and needs to be replaced. Covered under extended warranty. (89,500 miles) #2 dead. :mad:
- Feb 08 extended warranty expires (6 yrs)
- Apr 08 problems resurface. May 08 dealer reports transmission bad and needs to be replaced. Covered under Honda parts warranty (all parts covered for 1 yr; if installed by Honda, covered for 1 yr and includes labor). (95,400 miles) #3 dead...didn't last six months! :mad2:

My personal speculation is that Honda is replacing bad transmissions without fixing the problem....they're solving the symptoms. Autopartswarehouse I don't know what the problem is, but I know damn well a transmission should last longer than 6,000 miles!

I'll be looking to dump this van before next May when the 1 yr warranty expires on this transmission. I have lost faith in Honda to properly repair it and worry that the next one will fail outside of the warranty, thus costing me money!

So to answer your questions:
1. Best case scenario? Your rebuilt will last. Most likely scenario? Whatever caused the first transmission to fail will affect any future transmissions you get from Honda...
2. Warranty is on the part and is for one year. The 3/36 is on a new Honda as I understand it, meaning the warranty is for 3 yrs or 36k miles whichever comes first from the first date the vehicle entered service. Make the dealer write it down if that's they're telling you 3/36 on the replacement transmission. If you go by the warranty book for your Odyssey online, there's no discussion of warranties for rebuilt work...just the parts warranty discussed above.
3. Based on my experiences, I would argue it'll happen again...it's just a matter of when. Unless you like the idea of paying $3-5 thousand down the line, I'd cut your losses while it's still low mileage and you can get better money.

Sorry to paint such a gloomy future, but having just picked up the Ody with it's four transmission in 6 yrs today, I'm not overly optimistic at this point....

Scott

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that just bites. when you buy a car from a reputable source you'd expect it to be at leat half decent, and not have all these problems. oh well. gotta check better next time!