Doesn't sound normal to me. I have a '06 also and the tranny shifts really smooth or normal both up and down, no clunks or aggressive shifts. VCM operation is basically seemless and can't notice it at all.

 

What did you used to drive? Sometimes that colors how we perceive things. How many miles on the van? (always report this folks) What is the current level and condition of the fluid? If you brake hard enough to dip the front of the van, the grade logic can be evoked causing stiff downshifts. (desirable if done on purpose) It is a computer controlled transmission, (as is the entire van) so flashing software is not out of the question. We know is actually part of the repair procedure for 02-04 vans. At this point the dealer is stuck with "it not broken enough to replace" And you have good documentation if it does, even beyond warranty.

 

My dad bought the 2005 Odyssey EX-L and experienced very rough shifts between the first, second and third gears (it sounded like the car was huffing and puffing in agony), within the first few weeks of purchase. The first visit to the dealer was uneventful; the servicing people denied any problems with the van and told us we didn't know what we were talking about.

The light went off in the third week and we had to bring it back into our Honda dealership. That's when we had to leave it for ANOTHER week at the servicing department, when they told us we had "total transmission failure". They had to order and replace our a brand new transmission on our Odyssey, and tweak the torque so it would be 1000RPM in idle.

It's been 3 years, and our new transmission has been good to us, but familiar transmission and engine sounds are coming back. (We told the dealer to check the Active Noise Control nodules, but they obviously told us they didn't notice a thing.

What really frustrates me is how arrogant and entrenched in denial these servicing consultants and mechanics are.

 

Our 05 down shifted when coasting to a stop on flat roads or even sometimes uphill . , NOT while braking so I doubt if the nose dive has anything to do with it. It does this more often when the van is light. The only thing I've been doing to reduce this is to keep the tires pressure up (38 on Yoko TRZ, 36 on OEM) and It works every time. If Honda design this to gain something, it's not worth it at all.

 

My dad bought the 2005 Odyssey EX-L and experienced very rough shifts between the first, second and third gears (it sounded like the car was huffing and puffing in agony), within the first few weeks of purchase. The first visit to the dealer was uneventful; the servicing people denied any problems with the van and told us we didn't know what we were talking about.

The light went off in the third week and we had to bring it back into our Honda dealership. That's when we had to leave it for ANOTHER week at the servicing department, when they told us we had "total transmission failure". They had to order and replace our a brand new transmission on our Odyssey, and tweak the torque so it would be 1000RPM in idle.

It's been 3 years, and our new transmission has been good to us, but familiar transmission and engine sounds are coming back. (We told the dealer to check the Active Noise Control nodules, but they obviously told us they didn't notice a thing.

What really frustrates me is how arrogant and entrenched in denial these servicing consultants and mechanics are.

1000 rpm idle is not normal? Should be around 750 rpm or so in and out of gear in neutral?

 

1000 rpm idle is not normal? Should be around 750 rpm or so in and out of gear in neutral?

I agree. It would seem to me if the idle is set a 1000 rpm, going from P to D would create a "clunk" not to mention it would be trying to move the vehicle a little faster "on it's own" at idle. Why did they do this? I didn't understand the "torque" part of your answer.

 

I agree. It would seem to me if the idle is set a 1000 rpm, going from P to D would create a "clunk" not to mention it would be trying to move the vehicle a little faster "on it's own" at idle. Why did they do this? I didn't understand the "torque" part of your answer.

Raising the idle sometimes hides other problems like rough idling. Definitely it is not good for the tranny IMHO.

 

Raising the idle sometimes hides other problems like rough idling. Definitely it is not good for the tranny IMHO.

A good mechanic will not just advance the idle speed to compensate for stalling issues....that's my point. They should fix the real problem.

 

Second, when stopping the transmission seems to downshift aggressively. Sometimes the downshifts are so hard the van actually lurches and shudders.

The transmission in our '05 also downshifts noticeably when braking, but not consistently. At times (like braking when going down a slight incline), the downshifts are so hard/agressive that it feels like someone threw out an anchor; actually makes me want to let off on the brakes a bit.

We also had the fluid changed last November, but it made no difference to the downshifting.

I would say that the downshift points are set too high, meaning that it seems it "should" downshift at lower speeds to avoid that power-braking/anchor feeling.

This is really the only complaint we have about our Ody, and it isn't noticeable all the time, so we have grown to live with it. I would agree that in a perfect world, it shouldn't work this way.

 

Re: Re: Rough Tranny Shifts

The transmission in our '05 also downshifts noticeably when braking, but not consistently. At times (like braking when going down a slight incline), the downshifts are so hard/agressive that it feels like someone threw out an anchor; actually makes me want to let off on the brakes a bit.

We also had the fluid changed last November, but it made no difference to the downshifting.

I would say that the downshift points are set too high, meaning that it seems it "should" downshift at lower speeds to avoid that power-braking/anchor feeling.

This is really the only complaint we have about our Ody, and it isn't noticeable all the time, so we have grown to live with it. I would agree that in a perfect world, it shouldn't work this way.

That's the "grade logic" built into the programming of the tranny. I don't like it either. Would rather use up brake pads intead of clutches and solenoids.

 

Re: Re: Re: Rough Tranny Shifts

That's the "grade logic" built into the programming of the tranny. I don't like it either. Would rather use up brake pads intead of clutches and solenoids.

I think that it's actually called "job security" for both Engineers and mechanics alike....

 

Re: Re: Re: Rough Tranny Shifts

That's the "grade logic" built into the programming of the tranny. I don't like it either. Would rather use up brake pads intead of clutches and solenoids.

This is probably a long shot, but is there a way to disable the grade logic?

 

What did you used to drive? Sometimes that colors how we perceive things. How many miles on the van? (always report this folks) What is the current level and condition of the fluid? If you brake hard enough to dip the front of the van, the grade logic can be evoked causing stiff downshifts. (desirable if done on purpose) It is a computer controlled transmission, (as is the entire van) so flashing software is not out of the question. We know is actually part of the repair procedure for 02-04 vans. At this point the dealer is stuck with "it not broken enough to replace" And you have good documentation if it does, even beyond warranty.

The van has 43,000 miles. Prior to this van we had an '03 Yukon XL and a 00 Ody prior to the Yukon. Frankly, I wish we'd never sold the 2000 Odyssey. Other than a few early glitches with the sliding doors, it was flawless. We sold it to some friends who have racked up close to 140k miles and are still on the original tranny. And I thought that generation of Ody had the lousy transmissions...

The grade logic makes sense - I had forgetten that was part of the Ody tranny programming. I wish Honda could smooth out the downshifts some. My diesel Ford truck honestly shifts smoother in tow/haul mode (w/ 10k of trailer behind it), than this Ody does.

 

Would someone please explain grade logic? I noticed that when I'm coming to a stop, at times I feel the tranny shift down. It seemed odd to me, cause I've had lots of automatics that didn't do that. I just came out of a Freestyle with a CVT, so I may be particularly sensitive to shifting, as CVT's don't shift. However this is my first Honda, so I am learning.

 

Grade logic:
When the brake is pressed and the front of the vehicle is tilted down, a Honda automatic downshifts.
A Honda automatic operates like a auto clutch stick shift. It is barely related to any other automatic transmission made. It will not seem like automatics one has had before.

I also think that it is possible that Honda stiffened the shifts on purpose. Remember, the smoother an automatic shifts, the more the clutch packs are being worn each shift.