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How-to Shift in Neutral without power, Odyssey 2018?

100K views 63 replies 25 participants last post by  David E Watson  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Greetings,

How do we put the transmission into neutral without power on the Odyssey 2018?

As it happens, my van would not start, and it only has 5600 km.

I called Honda Roadside Assistance and waited for a tow truck.
The transmission must be neutral to move the vehicle onto the flatbed safely. Unfortunately, we could not do so without power and thus had to tow the van by lifting the front wheels. It is not recommended in the 2018 owner's guide, p.141, Emergency Towing.

This situation was not amusing for both the tow truck driver and me. Needless to say, even Honda Roadside Assistance had no clue how to switch to Neutral.
 
#3 · (Edited)
On older Hondas, there was a key size hole for you to push car key in and "frees" shifter. If not visible next to shifter, you may need to pop bezel (trim around shifter) off. The hole may be hidden. It would not make sense for Honda to remove this type of feature. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
I asked the technician at Honda about it, and his answer was that the transmission cannot be switched to neutral unless engine is started.

Turns out, the issue with my van was loose battery connexion, which explains why the engine wouldn't start. Apparently both battery poles were loose. I took delivery of the vehicle in April 2018, with added accessories such as towing package. Perhaps the battery was disconnected when wiring was connected for the tow hitch?

Pushbutton transmissions existed on some Chrysler's back in 1950s, then went out of production.
Arrive late 2010s and Honda brings back the pushbutton transmission, and omits a powerless mode to switch to neutral. I hope to see improvement from Honda.
 
#6 ·
The following was posted by user EE4Life, on 11-18-2017. However, the links only work if you are a paying member of "Honda Tech Info". I do remember seeing a picture showing the location of the Park lock release, but I am unable to locate that now! Unbelievable that Honda Roadside Asst is unaware of this. This information needs to be published in the owners manual.

"No. For the 9-Speed A/T, you need to use the Honda lock release special tool 07AAA-TZ3A100. For the 10-Speed A/T, you can use an open-end wrench.

See the September 2015 Honda Tech2Tech video How to Release the Park Lock on a 9-Speed Transmission.

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/9-prob...ml#post1680121

Here is the service information:

How to Release Park Lock (9-Speed A/T)
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...untry=1&lang=0

How to Release Park Lock (10-Speed A/T)
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...untry=1&lang=0"
 
#9 ·
Went to start my 2018 Odyssey Elite (with just over 1000 miles on it) this morning and the van would not start. The lights came on but the car would not turn over. Because everything is electronic and could not put the van into neutral. I had a friend come over to try a jump but no help. I eventually had to call the Honda roadside assistance. As i waited I researched online and discovered this thread and the issue with putting the van into neutral. I called the dealership to confirm and they basically said they had the tool but that did little to help me. They also said the tow truck operator should know what to do. Well, they didn't. The only thing they could do was to yank it out of my garage with a winch in a long and lengthy process. Now I have skid marks all over my driveway, hydraulic fluid leaking all over my driveway, and my grass is all torn up. Overall a great day because someone thought push button controls were a desired feature and also thought there didn't need a way for the owner to put their car in neutral in a dead battery situation.
 
#13 ·
Not good that the dealer couldn't be more helpful. I have the 9 speed and found the shaft that extends on the top of the tranny. On the 9 speed, you need the tool that basically holds this spring loaded shaft in the neutral position. I don't have the 10 speed, but, supposedly, the shaft that shifts the tranny into neutral will now lock in the neutral position after rotating with an open end wrench, thus not needing the tool. This info is not in the owner's manual but SHOULD be!!
 
#31 ·
The 10spd came out in the Odyssey couple of years ago, then it went into the RDX. Not many have issues with a 10spd and a dead battery when properly maintained. Given the packaging constraints, not everything can be accomplished and the 9spd is a ZF derived and the 10spd is in-house. Besides, making things accessible to customers is not always the best either.
 
#32 ·
I think that batteries can fail even when properly maintained. In my case, the battery was fine. Honda just neglected to make a secure battery cable connection at the factory. This resulted in my car being dragged onto the flatbed in "park" because Hondlink towing could figure out no other way to load the car.

I think that saying "not everything can be accomplished" is what I am expecting the Honda folks to say. I'm a product design engineer. When we develop products have use cases that MUST be accommodated in our product designs. Being able to flatbed tow a car that has no power without damaging the car seems to me to be one of those basic "minimum viable product" use cases that Honda SHOULD have designed for. My 1999 CRV and 2002 Odyssey easily accommodated this use case.
 
#35 ·
I think that batteries can fail even when properly maintained. In my case, the battery was fine. Honda just neglected to make a secure battery cable connection at the factory. This resulted in my car being dragged onto the flatbed in "park" because Hondlink towing could figure out no other way to load the car.

I think that saying "not everything can be accomplished" is what I am expecting the Honda folks to say. I'm a product design engineer. When we develop products have use cases that MUST be accommodated in our product designs. Being able to flatbed tow a car that has no power without damaging the car seems to me to be one of those basic "minimum viable product" use cases that Honda SHOULD have designed for. My 1999 CRV and 2002 Odyssey easily accommodated this use case.
To be honest I would never allow a tow truck driver drag any car to get it onto a flat bed. That is a cheap operation of the tow truck company not having a pair of wheel dollies to put under the front tires and lift off the ground to pull up on a flat bed. You have to ask for them while calling for a tow unless you are just using a standard tow truck.
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#33 ·
Fun little tidbit: it popped a transmission warning once we got it jumped. Then I had to explain to the Honda dealer service guy how you get that dumb thing in neutral with a dead battery... while it is in there on this electrical issue, there is a mirror problem (won’t go back to regular after put in reverse) and 4 (FOUR!!!!) recall notices. What a great car. It’s 2.5 years old, 34,000 miles and it had already been in for more service than the 14-year old Hyundai Elantra with 160k miles we bought it to replace.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Batteries can surely fail regardless of how well maintained they were; I had a game of tag with another member on this forum just about the battery operating life. HMA (Honda Manufacturing of Alabama) is not known, currently, for its stellar workmanship; Honda (not too long ago) admitted that and promised to work towards getting that fixed. It was a slow decline, and thus it will be a slow progress. Fit and finish and torqueing of bolts, nuts screws, etc is basic and we all miss that about Honda where we were excited when we saw the JHM on our VIN plates.

As a product design engineer, I hope you can understand that people dont behave similar to designed or programmed systems. When people get involved, things start to go haywire; same institution, multiple representatives could provide you with multiple responses. In this case, the tow operator either forgot, was lazy, or was never aware of the procedure. There are certain documented procedures that are made available to the dealership and come with an advisory that it cannot be shared with a customer. Maybe it is one of those, who knows. Hopefully the open ticket with support about this could yield something. Also, ethics and philosophies that govern your institution or department, may not be similar or viable to another.

Yes, given a price point, vehicle intent, target market, etc not everything can be accomplished. Packaging constrains could yield a more complex system and its servicing may not be viable or attainable for all consumers. With the vehicles complexity compounding as the days go by and the number of systems that depend on each other just to get the vehicle started, it is very involving and taxing to just troubleshoot and a misstep can cause huge loss.

To sum it up, I hear you. I can understand your frustration. There is a reason why I am here trying to understand all the issues others face (though I have not faced them) so I may learn and prevent being a subject of those scenarios and blowing my lid. I have a lot of interest in learning, but I have very little patience.
 
#36 ·
Considering all things the lock on the ZF 9HP is quite accessible. Without removing anything. The tool however I can not justify the $200. “German Engineering”

On the Honda 10AT feels like a bit more involved process. I could be wrong. I don’t have a 10 speed to refer to.
 
#43 ·
It appears the Pacifica models with this zf9 has a latch under the dash that you can pull. That’s nice.
Special tool to unlock a transmission? Build a special tool because ZF gouges you price-wise for this tool? Customers shouldn't be tinkering with such things? Gimme a break! It's bad enough that if we have an electrical failure we need a special tool to unlock the 9-speed while wearing decent clothes, in the middle of winter, at -30 degrees, a howling wind, and at night no less - when Chrysler had the friggin brains to put a pull cord or rod on the inside of the car. This talk of building our on tool is admirable but there we go again, having to compensate for stupid engineering design.
 
#45 · (Edited)
Not an engineering decision, but a profitable business decision. Not customer friendly, but who cares when most drivers can’t pop the hood on vehicles.
Perhaps, but the business dudes didn't make the decision to place the neutral release way down inside the engine bay and requiring a special, expensive tool to perform the release! That's simply NOT their department. That's engineering's job and they handled it very poorly. Somehow, Chrysler engineers overcame that. Why not Honda engineers? Are Chrysler drivers the only ones who pop their hoods? Ironically, they aren't the ones who have to in this case :D!
 
#51 ·
That's simply NOT their department. That's engineering's job and they handled it very poorly. Somehow, Chrysler engineers overcame that. Why not Honda engineers?
I can't speak for the Engineers themselves, but if upper management runs things like other companies, I'm imagining the following scenario: Some engineer who couldn't cut the mustard as an engineer, was promoted to Engineering division lead because of good politicking. We all know COGM (cost of goods manufacturing) rules these days, so by not spending $ for a cable or button/solenoid, $1 was saved per unit. On the plus side, dealers are happy to tow and service your vehicle should the above scenario occur. The entire supply chain / service industry wins $. Alas, consumers must again bend over.

On spares, I agree, I'm the only one in my extended family that would consider changing out a flat tire with a spare. They'd all call for roadside assistance. But then I was raised by a dad who lived through 1929; he might have instilled in me some different insight than the parents/youth of today possess.;)