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New Honda owner: 2013 Odyssey

10K views 98 replies 16 participants last post by  93Bandit 
Have the plugs been done at 105K? If not, get them replaced. I wonder if the timing belt replacement is the 1st or 2nd replacement. If 1st, it's likely the plugs were not done yet.

Just something else to keep in mind, keep the power steering fluid fresh. Extraordinarily cheap insurance. Genuine Honda PS fluid is very cheap and you can change out the fluid in the reservoir with a turkey baster.

8K miles on an OCI isn't crazy long like phattyduck mentioned but I agree, a little longer than I would do personally. But it wouldn't stop me from buying the car either.
 
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I've put about 1,000 miles on the Odyssey so far since we've owned it and I noticed the transmission shifts are firmer than what I'm used to in older 4spd GM products. My GM vehicles are old and high miles so not a fair comparison, but I noticed the up shifts and down shifts are quiet apparent. It's not slamming or bumping, but the shifts do seem somewhat firm, kind of like a dual clutch auto trans I suppose, or maybe similar to the shift feel when manually shifting an automatic. I'm not sure if this is normal on these vans or if I should do the 3x trans drain and fill procedure. The fluid is nice and red, does not smell burnt and it is at the appropriate level.
I noticed this with my '07 as well. The shifts are much firmer than on my Toyota. I researched this when I first bought mine and it seems like this is normal with Honda transmissions.
 
I changed the trans fluid today. It was quite dark. Probably hasn't been changed in a long time. I'll probably change it again when I change engine oil next.
Good idea to let the old fluid mix with the new for a little bit and then change it again in a few thousand miles.
 
It's certainly possible it's something else, motor mounts, or axles. Tire balance, even.
 
I think LubeGuard would not hurt, would not be a bad idea to add some and see if it helps.

Based on what you're saying, I do suspect it is something else giving you this problem. I chased a similar issue when I first bought mine... I first had a wheel balancing and rotation done, then replaced one axle, then the other axle, then replaced the center axle carrier bearing. Each time the vibration got better. It is still kind of there; I need to change the motor mounts.
 
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If I could just provide a bit of advice - you just bought the van, the vibration/shudder might be annoying, but it shouldn't be a reliability issue. I would drive it for awhile, pay better attention to it, when it happens, uphills and downhills, etc... you'll start to get a better idea of where it might be coming from after a few months of driving it.

I was in denial that my motor mounts were bad until what really confirmed it for me was taking it on a long road trip and driving it for 6 hours straight in one day.
 
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I too had a bad carrier bearing - I asked my mechanic to show me the old one and it definitely wasn't rotating smoothly. I thought that fixed my vibration problem too, but I apparently also have bad engine mounts which were contributing to it. I hope this fixes yours as the 4th gen engine mounts are stronger than the 3rd gen, but pay attention to any continuing vibrations.
 
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If the carrier bearing needed replacement, the axle(s) may need to be replaced too. That would be my first suspicion.
 
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I thought the passenger axle went into a straight shaft (which then goes through the bearing). Did you replace the straight shaft too? That piece itself rarely goes bad.

Also, which brand of axles did you use?
 
Very interesting. I didn't realize they changed the axle design from 3rd to 4th gens.
 
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