The non-power tailgate on my 2019 Honda Odyssey EX only opens to, a head bashing, about 5 ft., 10 in. above ground level. The tailgates on my 3 previous EX's all opened to much more than 6 Ft. The dealer tries to tell me this is normal. I can't believe Honda would made such a horrendous engineering error. Anyone else had this problem?
Problem with opening height of tailgate on 2019 Honda Odyssey EX
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Road3133
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Hi Big Whitt,
My 2002 Ody hatch opened a lot higher. It was never a problem for anyone. During the first test drive of my 2018, the salesman said they lowered the 2018s by 4 inches to increase maneuverability and to provide safer cornering. Logically, that makes sense. I drop of 4 inches is a lot when it comes to the center of gravity, hower, it also makes me wonder if they used the same mounting hardware or struts and neglected to account for the decreased height of the 2018s. Adding 4 inches to the hatch opening would give you and your hubby a fighting chance at not cracking your collective coconuts
!
My 2002 Ody hatch opened a lot higher. It was never a problem for anyone. During the first test drive of my 2018, the salesman said they lowered the 2018s by 4 inches to increase maneuverability and to provide safer cornering. Logically, that makes sense. I drop of 4 inches is a lot when it comes to the center of gravity, hower, it also makes me wonder if they used the same mounting hardware or struts and neglected to account for the decreased height of the 2018s. Adding 4 inches to the hatch opening would give you and your hubby a fighting chance at not cracking your collective coconuts
!
That sounds like they’ve come up with a lovely explication. Kinda falls apart when the two top end models fail to have the same issue. If they can open to an acceptable height on the touring and above, then surely they can fix the height on the models below that. They have a solution they just don’t want to admit they made a mistake.Hi Big Whitt,
My 2002 Ody hatch opened a lot higher. It was never a problem for anyone. During the first test drive of my 2018, the salesman said they lowered the 2018s by 4 inches to increase maneuverability and to provide safer cornering. Logically, that makes sense. I drop of 4 inches is a lot when it comes to the center of gravity, hower, it also makes me wonder if they used the same mounting hardware or struts and neglected to account for the decreased height of the 2018s. Adding 4 inches to the hatch opening would give you and your hubby a fighting chance at not cracking your collective coconuts
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I had forgotten about the upper models having the correct height setting. Fully agreed, Pjones. The fix is super-easy. Prying open the bean counters' wallets is the hard part
!I have the same problem. I'll be contacting Honda Canada...
Idiots. I'm not anywhere near as impressed with my brand new 2019 as I was with my 7 year old 1999 when I got it. Mileage on the 2019 is worse except on long highway trips. Transmission is much clunkier. Tailgate issue... sigh.
Idiots. I'm not anywhere near as impressed with my brand new 2019 as I was with my 7 year old 1999 when I got it. Mileage on the 2019 is worse except on long highway trips. Transmission is much clunkier. Tailgate issue... sigh.
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3 Posts
Response from Honda Canada....
Thank you for your most recent email and your continued feedback regarding the design of the vehicle.
You have indicated that you believe the low clearance of your Odyssey’s tail gate is a safety hazard. We can confirm that there are no active campaigns related to safety affecting your vehicle and we would like to clarify that there is no issue with this design.
Please be assured that our engineers and design teams work towards a good balance between customer needs and build requirements. It is a fine line at times, and it is not without challenges that Honda Canada tries to appease all customer requirements.
It is important to note that, when the design cannot be modified and no safety hazards are found, it is the responsibility of the owner to be mindful of the design features and surroundings of their vehicle.
We are sorry we cannot provide a fix to your concern nor a more positive response; however, we trust you understand our position.
Here's my submission on the Honda.ca website:
This is the 3rd Honda Odyssey that I have owned (1999 EX, 2007 EX, and now 2019 EX), and I must say that there are a few things that are very disappointing.
When I looked at the Honda Odyssey in the showroom, I had no problem standing (all 5'11" of me) under the tailgate, just as I have for the last 2 decades of Odyssey use. However, since taking delivery of my 2019 Odyssey EX, I have bumped my head on the tailgate several times.
Why is the tailgate on the EX lower than that of the showroom model? How can it be raised? I am of average height; why is this design acceptable, especially given that the demonstration vehicle doesn't exhibit this problem?
Also, the transmission is not living up to my expectations. Having waited a year for it to 'learn' my rather conservative driving habits (I average 11.5l/100km of mostly city driving), it still 'clunks' into what I believe is 2nd gear at about 20km/h, and in certain circumstances (on the flat, having just driven up a small hill with a speedbump on it, accelerating from 30-50km/h after the speedbump) has a very hard shift (into 5th?). I have taken it to my dealer, who described the behaviour as 'normal'. I disagree; the EX that they use as a shuttle did not exhibit this behaviour.
I look forward to your response, and hope that your engineers are looking for a fix to these issues.
Regards,
Chris
I'll let you know if/when I get a response.
ChrisP
This is the 3rd Honda Odyssey that I have owned (1999 EX, 2007 EX, and now 2019 EX), and I must say that there are a few things that are very disappointing.
When I looked at the Honda Odyssey in the showroom, I had no problem standing (all 5'11" of me) under the tailgate, just as I have for the last 2 decades of Odyssey use. However, since taking delivery of my 2019 Odyssey EX, I have bumped my head on the tailgate several times.
Why is the tailgate on the EX lower than that of the showroom model? How can it be raised? I am of average height; why is this design acceptable, especially given that the demonstration vehicle doesn't exhibit this problem?
Also, the transmission is not living up to my expectations. Having waited a year for it to 'learn' my rather conservative driving habits (I average 11.5l/100km of mostly city driving), it still 'clunks' into what I believe is 2nd gear at about 20km/h, and in certain circumstances (on the flat, having just driven up a small hill with a speedbump on it, accelerating from 30-50km/h after the speedbump) has a very hard shift (into 5th?). I have taken it to my dealer, who described the behaviour as 'normal'. I disagree; the EX that they use as a shuttle did not exhibit this behaviour.
I look forward to your response, and hope that your engineers are looking for a fix to these issues.
Regards,
Chris
I'll let you know if/when I get a response.
ChrisP
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2 Posts
Totally agree they dont want to admit they made a mistake.
Design constraint? Why could they make it work on the higher models but not make it work on the lower models? Seems like they found a rather quick solution to this “Constraint” when it fit their own needs. If I understand correctly, as mentioned above, at least one person has had this “Constraint” resolved by installing the hinges from a Touring or Elite model onto their lift gate. If it’s that easy then where is this constraint they are talking about? I think the only constraint is that they don’t want to see their wallet get smaller when they fix the problem they created.
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Read @Chuckgoldston posts starting at post #35. He hasn’t answered my questions about how he got it resolved and doesn’t look like he’s posted part numbers. I’m guessing he doesn’t want to reveal if Honda did or did not pay for the repair. That’s just speculation but don’t see why else he wouldn’t have answered that earlier. I’m not sure why it would matter one way or the other, but maybe if he’s on he can confirm part numbers so others can get their van fixed too.
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Hi Pjones,
Cuckgoldston wrote,
Meanwhile, Dmako posted the part numbers in Post #30:
Cuckgoldston wrote,
My EX opened to 5 feet, 11 inches right from the factory. So, I assume there was something wrong with Chuck's tailgate hinges and struts because his first tailgate only opened to 5 feet, 6 inches. All Honda did was restore the tailgate to original factory specs, which are still too low for many people. These same people still want to know why the powered tailgates go so much higher. I guess Chuck didn't receive any special treatment.
Meanwhile, Dmako posted the part numbers in Post #30:
There's something wrong for sure, Dmako. With Honda's earlier impeccable quality control, all EXs would open to the same height. Not now. There's a lot of things wrong with stuff coming from the Alabama plant. To be fair, I don't really know if it's an assembly error or just plain sloppy engineering. Honda should fix this.
The hinges aren't the only thing that controls the height of the tailgate. Is there something heavy in the rear? Trailer hitch, pallet of bricks, etc?
Might be a good idea to also compare measurements from the ground to a location on the rear bumper. The struts/springs could also be causing this...
Might be a good idea to also compare measurements from the ground to a location on the rear bumper. The struts/springs could also be causing this...
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