[Proulx06]

2011 EX-L RES with 4k miles.

Seems that my power doors occasionally don't work. This typically happens in the morning (after it's sat overnight in my ~50 degree garage), and happened today. The doors are unlocked and the switch on the dash it set to allow the power functionality. If I try the remote, they don't open. If I try just pulling the door handle out, they don't work. And even when I use the buttons on the left dash, they don't open.

On these days, the only way to open the door is to flex a little muscle and open them up manually, to the chagrin of my proud and independent 4 year old, who goes bananas because he can't do it.

By the time I get where I'm going (most often daycare), they open right up.

Any idea what's up? Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Shazzam]

That is a new one. Ours have been working flawlessly since new (only 2 1/2 weeks though).

 

[Proulx06]

We've had the vehicle since early December (so about four months). I won't say this issue happens frequently, but probably five or six times since then.

 

[destroyer]

Theres settings on how the doors lock and unlock. You have to change them within the menu. refer to your manual. I had the same problem. Then i changed the settings. I set mine to always unl;ock every door when I shift in park

 

[bar10dah]

This past weekend I disconnected my battery to add an accessory. While the battery was disconnected, someone attempted to open the driver side sliding door, but stopped mid pull. So, the door wasn't unlatched and didn't open. Upon reconnecting the battery, everything worked except that door. I had forgotten about that door being partially pulled on. The remote didn't work, the handle (inside and out) didn't work, neither did the dash switch or the pillar switch. So, I manually opened and closed the door. By the way, it's much easier to manually open and close it if you pull on the handle and pull on the rear of the door at the same time, if pulling on the handle alone isn't doing the job. I was ready to take it to the dealer for troubleshooting when I tried the sliding door switch on the dash one last time. Suddenly, it sprung to life and operated normally.

Any idea if when your doors stop working someone was pulling on the door handles? Could be as simple as resetting the switches by manually operating the doors one complete cycle. Hope this helps in some way.

 

[kenchills]

2011 EX-L RES with 4k miles.

Seems that my power doors occasionally don't work. This typically happens in the morning (after it's sat overnight in my ~50 degree garage), and happened today. The doors are unlocked and the switch on the dash it set to allow the power functionality. If I try the remote, they don't open. If I try just pulling the door handle out, they don't work. And even when I use the buttons on the left dash, they don't open.

On these days, the only way to open the door is to flex a little muscle and open them up manually, to the chagrin of my proud and independent 4 year old, who goes bananas because he can't do it.

By the time I get where I'm going (most often daycare), they open right up.

Any idea what's up? Anyone else experiencing this?

Hi!

I have exactly this same problem in my 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite.
It drives my wife nuts in the morning. Once the doors start working, they work flawlessly the whole day. After it sits overnight, most times the sliding doors won't open by themselves in the morning.
She has to get into the car and press the ignition button for the doors to get power to open. After that it's fine.
Can I ask if you ever found a resolution to this problem?

Thanks!

 

[hbcsc153]

Hi kenchills!

We have the same model as you do, and live close by (Granada Hills). Our sliding doors sometime does not work using any switches or handles. Even the switches next to the driver does not work. What seems to reset the system is to disable and enable the sliding door switch (next to the driver), and than the sliding doors work. There is another thread about this issue with at least another person with the same problem. It does not happen very often, and as expected does not happen when I go to the dealer.

Regards,

Emil

 

[kenchills]

Finally, FINALLY found the solution to this vexing problem!!!

Took the car to the dealer twice about this problem. To no avail, since they could not reproduce the problem.
Both times it was hot summer days, and the problem did not manifest itself at all. Dealer was totally unwilling to do anything, even with my multiple videos showing the problem many mornings. It was an exercise in wasted time and futility. This is when I knew I had to deal with the problem myself, even if the fix had to come out of my own pocket instead of Honda warranty.

As with all of us with this strange problem, the problem manifests itself mostly after sitting for hours during cold nights or days. It affects both sliding doors equally......in that no handle, button, or remote will automatically open either door.
I utilized this forums' links to find wiring diagrams for the entire sliding door and keyless entry system. I analyzed the wiring diagrams for quite a while trying to figure out where the fault might be. It could not be with the individual door controllers, electric hinge, or wiring, as they are pretty much independent according to the wiring diagrams. The only control commonality between the two doors was the master Power Door On/Off switch on the left side of the driver's dash. I also remembered that the sliding doors usually started working after messing with this switch.
Looked up the Honda part number and found that this switch was relatively cheap (< $25 most places online), so I wasn't really risking much by buying it outright.
Bought it, replaced it, and sliding doors have worked 100% reliably ever since!!!!

Here is the Honda part number for your 2011+ Odyssey if you suspect you have this specific problem:

35385-TK8-A01



This switch is a combo assembly of driver's left and right sliding door control, and master switch for sliding door on/off.
You don't even need any tools to replace it, just a flexible arm to reach under the dash and push the switch assembly out. Once you push it out, you can detach the wiring harness by pushing down the locking tab and removing the harness connector. Super simple.

After busting the old switch open, I can see exactly what the failure was. The master on/off switch is simply a metal contact that slides back and forth on a Printed Circuit Board. This contact pulls down to ground both door controller's master enable, thereby enabling or disabling both sliding doors. The reason this problem manifests itself at night or in the cold is that the metal traces on the PCB get worn, and as the PCB, metal contact, and plastic shrinks ever so slightly in the cold after sitting for a while, it loses ability to hold a strong connection thereby disabling both sliding doors.
Ever notice how this problem NEVER manifests itself when your Odyssey is nice and warm inside? This is why.
IMHO, this appears to be an economical switch design by Honda that will not stand up to extended use. My advice is to switch it to ON or OFF and leave it that way. Doesn't look like it will stand up well to constant switching.

Anyways, this is what worked for me. I don't make any claims that it will help your specific problem, so please don't message me if this doesn't work for you. However, I truly hope it helps somebody avoid the frustration that this problem has caused my wife and I with the sliding doors on our 2014 Odyssey.
Good luck to all!!

 

[hbcsc153]

Hi kenchills!

Thank you for figuring this thing out. Makes sense that the problem is at the switch. I live pretty close to you, and have seen it only once over the Summer. I will see if I can get the dealer to replace it for me. I am cheap.

Regards,

Emil

 

[kenchills]

Hi kenchills!

Thank you for figuring this thing out. Makes sense that the problem is at the switch. I live pretty close to you, and have seen it only once over the Summer. I will see if I can get the dealer to replace it for me. I am cheap.

Regards,

Emil

I'll bet as the weather turns colder, you'll see this problem pop up more often. Perhaps then it would be a good time to go to the dealer?

I do wish you luck, as my dealer would not replace or repair anything unless the problem would manifest itself in front of them. Didn't matter how many videos I could show them of it not working.
You know, I am cheap too!
However $25 and a little research was a bargain to me to make this problem go away.

Best wishes!

 

[dhoney02]

I need advice on fixing my passenger side rear door. It was open and my wife backed it up while in the garage and it got jammed by the garage door. I removed the fuse and turned off the door and manually opened and closed it a few times, but now when we try to electronically open it, it gets 3/4 open, then beeps, and closes its self. It seems to manually slide correctly and doesn't appear to have any damage to the track. Any suggestions?

 

[John Clark]

I need advice on fixing my passenger side rear door. It was open and my wife backed it up while in the garage and it got jammed by the garage door. I removed the fuse and turned off the door and manually opened and closed it a few times, but now when we try to electronically open it, it gets 3/4 open, then beeps, and closes its self. It seems to manually slide correctly and doesn't appear to have any damage to the track. Any suggestions?

You've got some damage in there somewhere. How many times does it beep before it reverses? If it's three beeps that indicates either emergency stop operation or trap detection. Reversal happens when one of three things occur:

Emergency stop operation. This is usually initiated by the operator with either the dash switch, remote transmitter, inner or outer door handle. It's probably not this but since you have damage it could be anything.

Trap Detection. This is triggered by one of three things.

1. Door speed detection. The door control unit monitors pulses form the sliding door motor. If the pulses indicate that the door is slowing down (i.e. binding up, or jammed up) the control unit stops the door, the beeper beeps three times, and the control unit reverses the door.

2. Sliding door motor current detection. If the current suddenly increases more than a certain amount for conditions (i.e. sitting on a hill, etc.) the control unit will reverse the door.

3. Pinch sensor detection. This is for closing only so I don't think this is the problem.

My guess is something is binding up your door to cause the control unit to see that it's binding and reversing the door. You're going to have to find the cause of that binding and repair it.

 

[Blue_Water_Rush]

Theres settings on how the doors lock and unlock. You have to change them within the menu. refer to your manual. I had the same problem. Then i changed the settings. I set mine to always unl;ock every door when I shift in park

I did the same thing with setting all the doors to unlock when shifter is moved to park.

The only problem I am having in relation to the power activated functioning is the driver side door will occasionally open back up when it reaches an "almost" closed state. A couple beeps then it opens back up, as if it senses something in the door jamb (such as a child's arm). It is an intermittent condition as sometimes it works fine, so I don't know if it will be difficult to troubleshoot.

 

[John Clark]

I did the same thing with setting all the doors to unlock when shifter is moved to park.

The only problem I am having in relation to the power activated functioning is the driver side door will occasionally open back up when it reaches an "almost" closed state. A couple beeps then it opens back up, as if it senses something in the door jamb (such as a child's arm). It is an intermittent condition as sometimes it works fine, so I don't know if it will be difficult to troubleshoot.

Is it beeping three times and then reversing? This can be a problem with the pinch sensor at the front or it can be a problem with the rear center roller. How many miles?

 

[thegoldenhand]

I have this exact same issue with my 2012 TE. I've always had this issue since I bought it as a Honda Certified in 2015. I took it to Honda this week and they said they'll replace the control unit. They could not give me a reason why they thought it's the control unit and not the actuator. The problem only happens on the passenger side sliding door when it sits overnight or a for few hours. Good thing I still have the warranty so we shall see.

 

[Steve1234]

Thanks to “kenchills”, I was able to get to the problem quickly…
See picture for the Figures 1,2,3,4
Figure 1, 2, 3, 4 before my mod… Figure 3 I stretched the spring 1/16 of an inch longer. That really didn’t make a difference. The problem was another Honda defective design. The movable part Fig, 2 & 3 was suppose to slide across the traces in fig 1 but the problem lays in a plastic house fig. 2, 3. The contact legs in fig 4 would get stuck in the plastic housing causing the fig 4 contact legs to stick/stuck UNEVENLY in such a way, it barely was making contact with the BOTH traces. I modified it with a razor blade by cutting wider channel so that the fig 4 contact legs would move up and down more freely (hence it would NOT get stuck unevenly. ) I put it all back together again and went a step further; I put a drop of super glue on the outside of the switch next to the red mark (to stop from moving the switch and maybe screwing up what I just moded). I personally don’t have a reason to turn off this option (on/off option). So far, with cold weather here, I’ve had no more recurring problems with my sliding doors not fully working (for over a week now… I love it).
NOW, if you have children, you still might still want the option of off and on and therefore don’t use the glue part.

Update as of February 2022: My permanent fix is STILL WORKING! Love it.
As to those that are concern about manually working on the door for service, I would think you can work on the door via disconnecting the battery and then manually sliding the door open to service the door if needed.

 

[John Clark]

Nice fix. The Off/On function isn't just for locking out/in the kids. It also allows you to move the doors manually, if necessary.

 

[phattyduck]

Nice fix. The Off/On function isn't just for locking out/in the kids. It also allows you to move the doors manually, if necessary.

Useful for maintenance/cleaning and if (errrr... when) the door cables snap.

-Charlie

 

[j_smit]

Finally, FINALLY found the solution to this vexing problem!!!

Took the car to the dealer twice about this problem. To no avail, since they could not reproduce the problem.
Both times it was hot summer days, and the problem did not manifest itself at all. Dealer was totally unwilling to do anything, even with my multiple videos showing the problem many mornings. It was an exercise in wasted time and futility. This is when I knew I had to deal with the problem myself, even if the fix had to come out of my own pocket instead of Honda warranty.

As with all of us with this strange problem, the problem manifests itself mostly after sitting for hours during cold nights or days. It affects both sliding doors equally......in that no handle, button, or remote will automatically open either door.
I utilized this forums' links to find wiring diagrams for the entire sliding door and keyless entry system. I analyzed the wiring diagrams for quite a while trying to figure out where the fault might be. It could not be with the individual door controllers, electric hinge, or wiring, as they are pretty much independent according to the wiring diagrams. The only control commonality between the two doors was the master Power Door On/Off switch on the left side of the driver's dash. I also remembered that the sliding doors usually started working after messing with this switch.
Looked up the Honda part number and found that this switch was relatively cheap (< $25 most places online), so I wasn't really risking much by buying it outright.
Bought it, replaced it, and sliding doors have worked 100% reliably ever since!!!!

Here is the Honda part number for your 2011+ Odyssey if you suspect you have this specific problem:

35385-TK8-A01



This switch is a combo assembly of driver's left and right sliding door control, and master switch for sliding door on/off.
You don't even need any tools to replace it, just a flexible arm to reach under the dash and push the switch assembly out. Once you push it out, you can detach the wiring harness by pushing down the locking tab and removing the harness connector. Super simple.

After busting the old switch open, I can see exactly what the failure was. The master on/off switch is simply a metal contact that slides back and forth on a Printed Circuit Board. This contact pulls down to ground both door controller's master enable, thereby enabling or disabling both sliding doors. The reason this problem manifests itself at night or in the cold is that the metal traces on the PCB get worn, and as the PCB, metal contact, and plastic shrinks ever so slightly in the cold after sitting for a while, it loses ability to hold a strong connection thereby disabling both sliding doors.
Ever notice how this problem NEVER manifests itself when your Odyssey is nice and warm inside? This is why.
IMHO, this appears to be an economical switch design by Honda that will not stand up to extended use. My advice is to switch it to ON or OFF and leave it that way. Doesn't look like it will stand up well to constant switching.

Anyways, this is what worked for me. I don't make any claims that it will help your specific problem, so please don't message me if this doesn't work for you. However, I truly hope it helps somebody avoid the frustration that this problem has caused my wife and I with the sliding doors on our 2014 Odyssey.
Good luck to all!!

Hi! So glad I found your thread - thank you for digging into this! We just bought a used 2016 Touring Elite over the summer and now have noticed this exact problem since the mornings are getting colder (we live in PA). With a 2yo and a 4yo, and a pregnant wife, this drives her insane with the morning daycare runs. Both doors don't work when loading up at the house, but work once at daycare and the rest of the day (will be curious as winter sets in if they will work as the day stays cold though). Was your fix permanent? Or did the issue arise again over time?