[chipv]

I bought my 05 EX-L a couple months ago. The power sliding doors work fine in automatic mode, but when switched to manual mode (via dash switch), they're extremely hard to slide--a lot harder than non-powered sliding doors I've used on other minivans. Is this normal?

In manual mode the door cables are still connected to the door motor, so I guess the extra sliding resistance could be due to having to overcome the motor (and gear train, if there is one).

The owners manual recommends using manual mode in certain situations, but doesn't mention having to use extra effort. The Odyssey factory service manual doesn't mention anything about sliding resistance--no maximum sliding force specs, for example. The service manual lists sliding door misalignment as a possible cause of various door malfunctions, but the section on slider door alignment just deals with making the door-to-body gaps even--it doesn't address how easily the door should slide.

If the extreme resistance to sliding in manual mode is not normal, I'd be concerned that my door motors are being overworked.

 

[jraynal]

You're correct. In manual mode, the sliders are hard to open. This is normal.

 

[ohfive!]

Well, they're relatively harder to open in manual mode, but shouldn't be that difficult.

There's a common failure of the plastic bushings in the guide, when they get worn down the doors get much harder to open. You may notice the metal bracket which goes in to the body slot will have some play - if it does, this is the problem. This also causes the difficulty in opening as the bracket will actually start to twist and jam against the track.

If you're mechanically inclined, you can replace them yourself. Hardest part is getting the cable back on. There's a thread on the procedure you should be able to find.

 

[amati5]

When we just bought our 05 EX-L, I tested the manual mode and it was just like the manual sliding door of our old Previa. It was smooth without resistance. I felt it was completely disengaged from the motor, unlike my brother's Siena, which had to have something disconnected by a shop to operate smoothly by hand.

Actually it gave me a piece of mind if the pwr doors ever go bad, the manual mode is very easy to live it.

 

[chipv]

I think ohfive! is probably right. On both center rollers (guides) on my van the plastic rollers (bushings) are still in place, but are worn and sloppy. I assumed the worn rollers would affect how smoothly the doors operated, but it didn't occur to me that they would affect sliding effort. But now when I watch the center rollers as they travel along the tracks, I can see that the worn plastic rollers are allowing the roller brackets to tip and drag on the tracks, metal-to-metal. That's got to be causing most or all of the high manual sliding effort. Guess I'll be buying new center rollers.

 

[jackrabbit000]

I'm not sure why Honda's are so hard to manually open and close. My brother has a 2011 Toyots Sienna and they open and close like normal manual doors. In other words really easy.

 

[Orillia]

I have had two of them with power doors. (2000, 2006) The doors are "heavy" in manual mode. I assumed this was because the power system mechanism uses cables and pulleys to operate the doors. The non-powered version does not have this extra stuff moving around. I used the term heavy, as there is no scraping or grinding feel or sound. They are smooth, but takes more effort in manual mode than a standard door simply because you are moving more parts when operating them. If they are smooth operating manually, and both sides are pretty much the same resistance, then I would say that is normal.

 

[eneka1]

hope this can help?
Honda Odyssey power doors - YouTube