[Usingthejhn]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the Odyssey side, as I currently drive a 2005 G35 sedan, and a Nissan Titan. My wife and I are looking at buying a used Honda Odyssesy in the near future, to use for road trips and the like. I've done web searchers, and the general info I get is that the Odyssey is very reliable (it is a Honda, after all), but i'm looking at what specific years or problems I shoudl look out for. I'm looking at no older than a 2005, no more than $21K, and obviously the lowest mileage possible. I'd like to get an EX-L, but its not a sticking point for me.

thanks again,

JOHN

 

[Coopers_Dad]

I just purchased one so after looking for 4 weeks and now owning one here is the information I can provide.

My biggest rule would be to let the van get properly warm some of the "issues" such as the power steering and transmission down show up until the van has been running for 20 minutes or more.

Power Steering noise ( whine, hum etc) can usually be fixed with a flush of the system and a replacement of the resivoir. Our van didn't show the noise until we had been driving it home from the dealer over an hour away from our house. I flushed the system and replaced the reservoir and that solved the issue. The fluid was dark, thick and nasty.

Odyssey and transmission issues seem to be the most talked about problem. Again get it hot and drive it. If there are any problems they will show up as a dragging up shift or converter shuddering. Again proper maintenance can solve some these issues. I flushed our vans transmission this weekend and it's smoother and still noise free. So until I add an external cooler this summer I'm confident about it's operation.

Other than that check everything repeatedly. There is so much power assist on the vans any electrical problem could be a nightmare. Go through each door and each system one at a time to ensure they all work.

We test drove 11 vans during our search and all but one felt tight and noise free as you would expect from a Honda. If it feels funny walk away.

I'd try to buy it from a Honda dealer if you can. That way if anything comes up in the weeks following your purchase they are going to fix it for you rather than fighting with an independent garage.

Good luck .

 

[DavidGSR]

Do some research here in both the problems and concerns section and the 2005-2010 section. Being willing to pay 21K should get you a pretty decent van. Keep in mind the 2005-2007 tourings have the PAX tire issue (do some searching on that one). Edmunds, KBB, NADA will be your friends in determing what a van should cost with a given mileage.

The common issues on this generation seem to be power steering whine, soft brake / master cylinder issues, and a transmissiton shudder. So far we haven't seen any on our '10 but it only has 6K miles on it.