[Pjones]

My hatch lifts to about 5" 10" and is just barely high enough in some cases but not others. As mentioned earlier, I can squeeze another inch if I push the hatch up. Joyceru's repair is not all that wonderful but certainly better than what it was before. Joyceru's tailgate is only back to the original design height, which I believe is lower than previous generations.

If we removed the struts, wouldn't the hatch open at least another 4" to 6"? If so, are there any aftermarket struts with a longer reach that would solve our problem? Problem is, they ain't cheap!!

If you luck out with the right size you may be able to find new gas struts at harbour freight/princess auto for around $10 each (last time I checked which was about 10yrs ago)


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[Dmako]

I'm wondering what type of struts are used? All I see is two large hinges no visible shock type struts.

 

[Hodna]

I'm wondering what type of struts are used? All I see is two large hinges no visible shock type struts.

Oops, you're right, Dmako! I was thinking of my 2002, where the struts were external . I've had way too many birthdays.

 

[Pjones]

I'm wondering what type of struts are used? All I see is two large hinges no visible shock type struts.

... sorry, I thought it might have been a design change between with the Powered lift models. Maybe it’s not as easy of a solution as I thought.


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[Y Pony]

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?

I have the same issue with my Odyssey 2019 EX. I am 6' and I have to bend down each time unless I want a black & blue mark on my forehead. I took my car to a dealership and they said there's nothing they can do. When I checked my friend's Odyssey EX-L with a power tailgate, it opens a couple of inches higher to an average height. So frustrating!!!

 

[Crood]

Same problem with the 2020 LX, We just bought it and didn't realize that it was different from the used 2016 EX-L we were also looking at and the 2020 EX-L that was in the show room. Both of those opened to an ample height.

 

[Ekalb]

If you look at the parts diagram for the Elite with power liftgate, it has a motor and different spring assembly. There maybe a way to retrofit two of the longer spring/strut assemblies but they are around $160 each unless you can find an aftermarket version with similar specs or used. Sounds like a great project for someone to try.

 

[Ed Tarney]

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?

 

[Ed Tarney]

Hello. ANyone ever get any satisfaction on this issue? We have a one year old 2019 Odyssey, manual liftgate, that opens to 66-1/2" clearance. We have had several forehead cuts and bruises on people loading or unloading things. We have had the struts replaced (twice) under warranty, but neither replacement made any difference in the height. We have measured the opening on at least 2 other vans, same models with manual liftgates, on dealer lots. THe other vans all had at least 4" and one 6" more clearance. Still getting a shrug of the shoulders from the dealer. Any suggestions?

 

[HEMIsphere05]

Just purchased a 2019 EX. We thought the tailgate was lower than normal but salesman just told us all the new Honda are like that.

 

[Ed Tarney]

You might want to have a walk through the lot with the salesman and a tape measure. Check the opening height on other similar manual liftgate. We found several that were 4 to 6 inches higher than ours, which is only 66 inches (5'6")

 

[HEMIsphere05]

You might want to have a walk through the lot with the salesman and a tape measure. Check the opening height on other similar manual liftgate. We found several that were 4 to 6 inches higher than ours, which is only 66 inches (5'6")

I'll measure mine when I get home today and let you know.

 

[HEMIsphere05]

You might want to have a walk through the lot with the salesman and a tape measure. Check the opening height on other similar manual liftgate. We found several that were 4 to 6 inches higher than ours, which is only 66 inches (5'6")

Mine is 66 inches as well

 

[Hodna]

2018 EX
Mine is about 70 inches (5'10"). I'm also 70 inches tall and if I'm standing on a slight incline beneath the open tailgate, I crack my coconut. My 2002 opened so that I had about 4 inches of clearance. If I cracked my coconut under that tailgate, that was my fault, unlike today where it was some dummy in the marketing department who signed off on a stupid design. He or she must only be about 4 foot nothing tall!!

I don't know why there are so many variations in height.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

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?

 

[Ricky Bobby]

I do have this same problem it is a pain. The only way to fix this problem is to sell the car and buy a new one.

 

[MIKE 2020]

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?

I HAVE THE LUMPS TO PROVE IT! I hate my 2020 and I'm stuck with it.

 

[smufguy]

I think I may have mentioned it before, I am 5'11 and 99.9% of the time, when I am accessing things from the back, I have my shoes on and I am at 6' at that point. Once, in the last two years I bumped my head and it was in the first month I bought the van; our very first van. Nowadays I tend to just take extra caution when behind the van and moving around with the gate up.
There should never be just one aspect of your vehicle, that you own or lease, that makes you hate it. If it does, move on from it and save the aggravation. I surely do not want an aggravated individual who hates their vehicle driving it down the road next to me; God knows what they may do with that much aggravation .

I HAVE THE LUMPS TO PROVE IT! I hate my 2020 and I'm stuck with it.

You are never stuck with it. You can always sell it if you hate it that much, problem is the return wont be there so you have to choose to stay with it to not loose investment. So no, you are stuck with it, but I understand your sentiment.

 

[cmeghea]

Hello. ANyone ever get any satisfaction on this issue? We have a one year old 2019 Odyssey, manual liftgate, that opens to 66-1/2" clearance. We have had several forehead cuts and bruises on people loading or unloading things. We have had the struts replaced (twice) under warranty, but neither replacement made any difference in the height. We have measured the opening on at least 2 other vans, same models with manual liftgates, on dealer lots. THe other vans all had at least 4" and one 6" more clearance. Still getting a shrug of the shoulders from the dealer. Any suggestions?

Same exact problem with my 2019 Odyssey EX - liftgate opens only to about 5'5''
I asked the dealer several times, they are sayind it is normal - i.e. won't do anything about it.
I wrote directly to Honda this week (owners.honda.com) after I banged my head hard against the open tailgate.
They called me today and long sory short are not willing to do anything about it. So dissapointing... I was expecting more from Honda...
So either live with it or sell the van and take the big depreciation

 

[Hodna]

Same exact problem with my 2019 Odyssey EX - liftgate opens only to about 5'5''
I asked the dealer several times, they are saying it is normal - i.e. won't do anything about it.
I wrote directly to Honda this week (owners.honda.com) after I banged my head hard against the open tailgate.
They called me today and long sory short are not willing to do anything about it. So disappointing... I was expecting more from Honda...
So either live with it or sell the van and take the big depreciation

I recently read on Wikipedia that the tailgate height was originally set by the Japanese designers so it would open in underground parking garages in Japanese cities without the tailgate hitting the ceiling. I think the later models designed by the U.S. folks were raised to conform to North American building code heights. Do you think they went back to the Japanese height? It wouldn't make any sense but it sure seems to fit the issue.

On the other hand, I was told that they lowered the center of gravity by 4 inches on the 5th generation to make cornering more stable. They likely forgot to compensate for this on the tailgate opening height. It should have been bumped up (no pun intended) by 4 inches. It seems most agree that if we had another 4 inches in height, most of us wouldn't have rosettes on our collective coconuts !