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2018 owners, how about an update!

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bandit400

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Several people have already purchased their van and driven it for a week or more.
So, how about giving a mini review?

Looking for:
- likes / dislikes
- suprises, good or bad
- effectiveness of new climate control
- real world fuel economy
- other? Feel free to add to the list

No need to write an auto magazine review, just looking for a little feedback.
Cabin watch/talk, magic slide, intercom, etc have already been breathlessly talked about by the mommy bloggers and car magazines, so no need to rehash this unless there is something new that you observed.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
A few observations based on a week with our 2018 EX-L.

Surprised by the good highway mpg. Took a 500 mile trip, mostly at 70mph, and averaged around 32 mpg (on the dial and by measuring gas used). Eco Mode, ACC on, LKAS on.

Really like the mocha seats. We don't like black (too hot), or beige (too hard to keep clean), so figured we would get the gray seats. But we saw the mocha and really liked the color. Can't describe the color well but it looks good in person.

The seats are all comfortable. 6'1" person in last row had plenty of room.

We took out the 8th seat and pushed the two remaining 2nd row seats together so that entry to the 3rd row is easy.

Really like the adaptive cruise control, but wish it worked at speeds below 25. The lane keeping assistance is very nice.

The vehicle handles well and is quiet.

The Android Auto integration is very nice. Navigation prompts from Google maps show up on the speedometer display, in addition to the detailed map that appears on the "radio" display. When you say "OK, Google" the climate control fan goes to low so that the system can hear your voice. It goes back to your fan setting once the command is acknowledged.

A/C seems okay but the outside temperature has only been in the 80s so it really hasn't been tested.
 
#3 ·
The center infotainment screen is a fingerprint magnet. Under certain lights the fingerprints on there make it hard to see. My wife bought an iPad screen and cut it herself to size and that has fixed the problem mostly. Also there is no screen lock so when you use a cloth to clean the screen you will be pressing it and end up pushing diff setting or switching things etc. kind of annoying.
 
#4 ·
pennidragon said:
The center infotainment screen is a fingerprint magnet. Under certain lights the fingerprints on there make it hard to see. My wife bought an iPad screen and cut it herself to size and that has fixed the problem mostly. Also there is no screen lock so when you use a cloth to clean the screen you will be pressing it and end up pushing diff setting or switching things etc. kind of annoying.
Click to expand...
Have you tried keeping your finger on the screen for 30 seconds? That does it in some cars.

I have a 17" screen in my 2-button car and a glare free screen cover is a good idea. Keep looking on Amazon, it it will not be long before the perfect fit laser cut ones will show up.
 
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#5 ·
Bought a 2018 Touring last week for my wife. This is her 4th Odyssey, and her favorite so far by far.
The car seems to struggle a little bit with immediate acceleration, you step on the gas, and the car thinks about it for a second, then goes. The cabin watch makes everything a sort of purple color, not a bad thing, but a black jacket in the back seat looks purple in the screen. The cabin talk has this echo sound, kind of like u r in a hole talking, clear yes, but weird sound. Works in the speakers and in the headphones. The radio functions to use the RES are a lot friendlier than the 2015 model EX-L with RES. The car at highway speeds handles like a dream, shifts very easily.
The Elite comes with 19 inch wheels, all other models have 18 inch.
They moved the garage door Homelink buttons from the roof to the bottom of the rear view mirror.
No longer have to push and hold for a second or two. You push and let go, the garage door responds immediately.
Thought the power folding mirrors would fold upon lock like my Genesis does. Nope, gotta hit the button on the door.

All I can think of so far, any other questions, please post and I will respond as soon as I see it
 
#6 ·
Weird green led light above the instrument cluster. Not sure why it illuminates in green sometimes and sometimes goes out. Thought it let me know when the car was in ECON mode, but would be impossible for it to light up while accelerating up hill.
 
#7 ·
Ckreisler said:
Weird green led light above the instrument cluster. Not sure why it illuminates in green sometimes and sometimes goes out. Thought it let me know when the car was in ECON mode, but would be impossible for it to light up while accelerating up hill.
Click to expand...
That bar changes color based on your current driving style. I saw it somewhere in the owner's manual. Green indicates you're driving economically, the other colors indicate you're accelerating and braking more spiritedly.
 
#8 ·
- I love the handling. SO much better than our 2014 which was very soft around corners. Steering is more smooth. This was probably the biggest pleasant surprise. WAY more fun to drive from my standpoint.

- Love the LKAS and ACC on highway drives. Honestly doesn't bother me too much that it's not at lower speeds. Brake hold is nice as well but I think you have to initiate each drive.

- I think the seats are notablely more comfortable.

- The infotainment system is also vastly improved. So much easier to start DVDs. Very well laid out. Apple CarPlay makes me want to upgrade my truck now. And little things like saving sound settings for audio version DVD, etc.

- Magic slide is legit. No more having to trip over kids legs in car seats to get to 3rd row.

- As far as the 'gimmicky' features. We have cabin watch on with the kids quite a bit and it's been what we hoped it'd be. Cabin Talk has been helpful when kids have headphones on (we have a touring). Honda Vac is kinda weak, but we've used it. The hands free tailgate takes some getting used to. My wife can't seem to get the motion down. So not sure how much that will get used.

In the end, I'm happy with our choice to go Touring. Honestly my favorites are probably cosmetic - the LEDs and rims. Followed up by cabin watch/talk. Haven't driven the 9 speed to know if the 10 speed is worth it.
 
#11 ·
We've had our 2018 EX-L for a few days now. Things I would have liked to have seen added, but not enough to go to the Touring or Elite pricing: A small light in the storage bin of the front row console. A compass in the mirror or control panel. A couple of USB ports next to the AC outlet. These small things would have been much appreciated, but not worth the jump in price to Touring or Elite. We would not want RES or Navi. The Grandkids actually talk to us if they don't have electrontics in the vehicle ( although we don't forbid electronics LOL). And we can use our phones or Nuvi for directions. This Odyssey drives very nicely, and we're happy with our purchase.
 
#12 ·
Only had a few days, but we've put on 110ish miles. Super quiet, light years different in the tech and instrumentation. New safety features are wild and the adaptive cruise is much appreciated.


May feel just a tad smaller inside for some reason, but interior being the new mocha and limited drive time hoping that's just an illusion. Interior feels nicer/more upscale and I love the new touch screen. Very intuitive unlike the old style IMO.


Really no huge cons here... the van feels like a space ship and the 15' now feels archaic. I'm not a big fan of change though, so hopefully this opinion carries on.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the reviews so far, hoping to join the club this summer. I have two questions to clarify, thanks in advance!

1. For the magic slide, after removing the 2nd row center seat, can you then push the outboard seats toward each other in the middle and they stay in place? In other words do the seats stop wherever you put them or are there slots which are the only positions that the seats will stay in place?

2. Can you listen to the radio/CD/etc through the front speakers and have the kids in the back watch the RES with the sound through the rear speakers without headphones? According to the manual this is possible but I was hoping somebody could confirm.

Thanks!
 
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#15 · (Edited)
cmessmore said:
We've had our 2018 EX-L for a few days now. Things I would have liked to have seen added, but not enough to go to the Touring or Elite pricing: A small light in the storage bin of the front row console. A compass in the mirror or control panel. A couple of USB ports next to the AC outlet. These small things would have been much appreciated, but not worth the jump in price to Touring or Elite. We would not want RES or Navi. The Grandkids actually talk to us if they don't have electrontics in the vehicle ( although we don't forbid electronics LOL). And we can use our phones or Nuvi for directions. This Odyssey drives very nicely, and we're happy with our purchase.
Click to expand...
If are crafty you can get an add-a-fuse and some crimp connectors from Autozone, a momentary pushbutton switch to actuate on tray opening, and an LED light. Of course it involves drilling into your brand new car:)

AFAIK mp3car was selling DC DCD 12v-5V regulators aka transformers with USB power outlets. See this cutie on Amazon:
Image


Sorry, just throwing ideas.
 
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#16 ·
We have had our 2018 EX-L for a week and my wife has 250 miles on it so far.

We came from a 2008 EX-L and We also have a 2013 Accord so my comments below are in comparison are from experiences with those models and not the previous gen Odyssey.

Likes
- Steering is great. After going through 3 power steering pumps on our 2008, the electronic steering is nice. Almost too easy. Definitely less resistance then the electronic steering on my 2013 Accord.
- cabin is much quieter. Definitely the quietest Honda I have ever been in. If you pull up the spare tire hole in the middle you can see almost an inch of foam insulation.
- 9 speed transmission is very smooth. I have not felt it shift once with issue, although we still haven't really gotten on it hard.
- apple CarPlay integration is great. We love it.
- lane keep assist is amazing. I knew t would nudge you into the lane if you drifted but it actually gradually turns the wheel on turns as you drive too. The feature is great.
- seats are comfortable.
- love the fact that we finally have a button to close the sliding doors for the kids to use inside the car.
- suspension is smooth. We drove a pilot and the Odyssey back to back and the Odyssey handles bumps in roads very well.
- remote start on the same key fob, finally!

Dislikes
- miss the pull out adjustable cup holders from the 2008 we had. The cup holder is designed poorly.
- Not a fan of the headrests in the back bench being so long. I know they were like that on previous generation but my kids complained it was hitting them in middle of the back so they slid them up and then I lost 1/3 of the back window in the rear view mirror.
- Backup camera resolution seems off. My 2013 Accord has the same three camera view but the screen resolution seems poor to me in the view. My iPhone could show a crisper view.
- we have the lunar silver with the gray leather and I'm not a fan of all the dark black plastic where the kids are at or the black carpet. Already shows a decent amount of dirt.
- Still trying to figure out all the apps available for the car.

As for gas mileage, we are showing a little over 20mpg but we are preparing to drive from STL to Florida this summer in the van and will have plenty of highway time to see if we can get it up there.
 
#19 ·
I purchases the new Elite and all lights inside the car are the old orange lights like they were in the 2014. Are they supposed to be LED??

Also, did anyone notice that during night driving some of the important buttons are almost impossible to see. This includes the gear selection, auto start stop, econ mode etc. and the buttons to open the sliding doors.
 
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