I purchased a brand new 2011 Elite in early February 2011. As I drove home from the lot my TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) light came on and stayed on. I immediately drove back to the dealer service center. Initially they thought it was just tire pressure but quickly realized it was an actual error of the TPMS system. One of the techs said he has seen this on one other 2011 Odyssey and that it is triggered by smart cellular phone interference. He told me it would probably happen again if I used my cell phone in the van. So they reset the TPMS error and I turned off my cell and drove for 30 minutes with no issues. So then I turned my cell phone on, and still no issues for another 5 minutes. Then my wife called and at the exact moment my cell phone rang the TPMS went into error again.
So the service center tells me this is something they can't fix. They are waiting for a fix from Honda. When I submitted the case to Honda Corp Customer Care they say that this is not a "known issue" and that they are not actively working on a resolution for it.
My dealer insists that they have sold several Touring Elite's with reports of the same TPMS problem. 6 cases in Evansville, Indiana area. Honda Corp still does not acknowledge the issue. They tell me the dealer service center should be able to repair the issue (likely by replacing the TPMS receiver which connects to the ECU). But my dealer says they refuse to start throwing money at the problem because they believe Honda Corp will eventually acknowledge the problem and provide the best fix.
What shocks me is the lack of reports on the internet about this issue. It makes me wonder if this is really the epidemic that my dealer says it is or if it is a random defect like Honda Corp says it is.
We need for everyone who has the issue to report it at Safercar.gov so the US DOT can put pressure on Honda Corp to acknowledge the issue. I am starting to believe that Honda's answer to the problem will be "do not carry a smart phone into this vehicle - driver or passengers".
Here is the link to the complaint that I have filed:
Complaints - Search Results | Safercar.gov | NHTSA
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