[rmjse]

Finally had the dealer perform TSB 19-124 on my '18 EX-L. Drove it about 20 miles and don't notice much of a difference. 0-10 mph shifting seems to be better, 30-40 mph, not so much. The dealer did reset the transmission and I'll have to drive it 500 miles for it to relearn, which will be awhile as we're not driving much these days.

As others have said, it's not a deal breaker for '18 &'19 LX-EX-Ls. The transmission is dependable and hopefully will last as long as the van itself. I got my Odyssey at a steal for $16.6k with 99k miles (KBB had it around $22k when I bought it 6 months ago). Don't pass up on good deals simply because of the 9-speed transmission.

 

[Aclement1618]

Finally had the dealer perform TSB 19-124 on my '18 EX-L. Drove it about 20 miles and don't notice much of a difference. 0-10 mph shifting seems to be better, 30-40 mph, not so much. The dealer did reset the transmission and I'll have to drive it 500 miles for it to relearn, which will be awhile as we're not driving much these days.

As others have said, it's not a deal breaker for '18 &'19 LX-EX-Ls. The transmission is dependable and hopefully will last as long as the van itself. I got my Odyssey at a steal for $16.6k with 99k miles (KBB had it around $22k when I bought it 6 months ago). Don't pass up on good deals simply because of the 9-speed transmission.

Thanks for sharing the info, curious if you notice any changes after the 500 miles.

 

[Aclement1618]

It’s a mix bag of experience for everyone. What I noticed is that shifting in steady acceleration has improved a lot as in no jerking or clicks. The key is you put your foot down and keep it steady. Any fluctuations at the accelerator the AT won’t know what to do. Down shifts are not as smooth as up shift. I do sometime hear the dog clutch 4-5th and 7-8th (more on 4-5th aka low speed rolling in the neighborhood) The real culprit is at the mechanical design of this thing.

Most people complain about slow speed driving in the 30-45mph range.

This might be placebo or I’m just crazy. During your 500mile learning period drive the van with Econ off and drive it how you expect to accelerate and such. After that learning takes place and complete go back to driving gentle and with Econ. Feel like this made a difference in my van. 🤷‍♂️ Goal is longevity. As long as it doesn’t completely poop out I am ok with it. I’ve done 2 cross country trips and had no issues got great mpg at 29.3.
All best. And keep us posted.

Dropped the van off this morning and the advisor assured me that it was normal - but they are going to do the TSB that you shared. I addressed some other issues, like early signs of warped brakes, sagging rear suspension, and dying battery with 25k. I dropped off some donuts from my local donut shop, and they were eager to help or at least eat the donuts. I’ll update when I get the van back.

 

[Aclement1618]

The van drives so much better after the TSB... it doesn’t slam into gear around 24-27 mph like it used to and I drove it how I knew I could duplicate the issue and had no problems. I’ll post updates after 500-1k miles. Time will tell.

 

[DJVAN]

I dropped off some donuts from my local donut shop, and they were eager to help or at least eat the donuts.

Talk about greasing up the works. Perhaps they needed it. It seems the service department where I bought our ODY, they have such a negative view of their customers. I hear other people dropping off and picking up their ODY's saying the similar answers I would hear, that they never heard of that problem and we could not reproduce that problem. It is as though they are little robots running on track mounted rail systems with the same prerecorded messages.

 

[fuego]

The van drives so much better after the TSB... it doesn’t slam into gear around 24-27 mph like it used to and I drove it how I knew I could duplicate the issue and had no problems. I’ll post updates after 500-1k miles. Time will tell.

That's great to hear!

 

[Aclement1618]

Talk about greasing up the works. Perhaps they needed it. It seems the service department where I bought our ODY, they have such a negative view of their customers. I hear other people dropping off and picking up their ODY's saying the similar answers I would hear, that they never heard of that problem and we could not reproduce that problem. It is as though they are little robots running on track mounted rail systems with the same prerecorded messages.

Funny you say that, I had to explain to my wife what greasing the skids meant. I said the same thing to her as we were getting the donuts.

Yah you’re right, our service department here is like talking to a wall. I don’t like their “troubleshooting” either; could not duplicate, system works as advertised yet the something is not working. Yikes.

Happy to report that our van is driving smoothly after the service bulletin and 500 miles in. Will report back if any new transmission/shifting issues arise.

 

[DJVAN]

Aclement1618,
Glad to hear it was working and the MOD (programing is what was needed) so many other people has had the opposite effect of still being bad. I am not saying all of those whom has the 9-speed has bad luck with it.

BTW, whom ever thought we needed so many speeds? What was wrong with a 3 speed? I just wondered if they did it to keep the RPM and transmission together for economy reasons.
We'll keep praying you have good luck with your ODY!

 

[JoannaJes]

I'm not a bot, but I do have a 2018 sitting in the shop waiting for a new transmission after it failed at 46,000 miles. Transmission failed on 3/14 while we a were on a spring break road trip. It's 3/23 and it still hasn't been fixed, and we have been stranded for days out of town waiting for it to be completed. Honda refused to overnight the new transmission.

I'm always a little skeptical when a newly created forum memeber immediately starts making claims of a premature (and expensive) failure.

There was someone else on this forum who would occasionally claim that his transmission failed at 75k miles. I have repeatedly asked for details by responding to his posts and sending a PM. He hasn't responded to either.

It is entirely possible that the previous poster's transmission failed, or he could be a forum bot who shows up for a few posts and disappears.

 

[fuego]

Transmission failed on 3/14 while we a were on a spring break road trip. It's 3/23 and it still hasn't been fixed, and we have been stranded for days out of town waiting for it to be completed.

This is my worst fear. So sorry to hear this. Hope you dont have to wait too much longer. Honda needs to understand there is a pandemic out there and take some responsibility.
Thank you for posting and taking the survey. This is why we have this here.

All the best and keep us updated on what Honda does. If the new transmission is any better.

Also did you get fluid change by any chance? Did the transmission act funny before all this?

 

[Aclement1618]

I'm not a bot, but I do have a 2018 sitting in the shop waiting for a new transmission after it failed at 46,000 miles. Transmission failed on 3/14 while we a were on a spring break road trip. It's 3/23 and it still hasn't been fixed, and we have been stranded for days out of town waiting for it to be completed. Honda refused to overnight the new transmission.
View attachment 161061

Ouch, that’s really unfortunate they wouldn’t at least overnight the trans given the situation. Hopefully it arrives soon and the technicians are able to quickly and correctly install the replacement.

 

[mikidymac]

Pretty normal at the moment. My coworker had the engine blow up on her new Ford Escape due to a known defect. Took 3 weeks to get the engine and one week to R&R. Ford would only approve a rental car for 5 days.

 

[JoannaJes]

We did not get any transmission fluid changed. Leading up to this, we had it regularly serviced at the Honda dealership that we purchased the vehicle from. Honda has replaced the transmission with another 9 speed transmission, and we are finally on our drive home. I would say that the transmission would lag at times when I accelerated in the past, but nothing that had bothered me enough to get it looked at.

This is my worst fear. So sorry to hear this. Hope you do t have to wait too much longer. Honda needs to understand there is a pandemic out there and take some responsibility.
Thank you for posting and taking the survey. This is why we have this here.

All the best and keep us updated on what Honda does. If the new transmission is any better.

Also did you get fluid change by any chance? Did the transmission act funny before all this?

 

[fuego]

Honda has replaced the transmission with another 9 speed transmission, and we are finally on our drive home. I would say that the transmission would lag at times when I accelerated in the past, but nothing that had bothered me enough to get it looked at.

Glad you all are on your way home. Keep us posted on how this "new" transmission behaves. If it's the exact same or improved compared to the one that failed. Drive safe!

 

[kaimanson]

@fuego great thread! Not a G5 owner but always learning about the new Gens. @JoannaJes , so u guys ended up taking the car to the nearest Honda dealership to get this done (out of the blue) while on vacation, due to it failing all of the sudden?...

 

[JoannaJes]

@fuego great thread! Not a G5 owner but always learning about the new Gens. @JoannaJes , so u guys ended up taking the car to the nearest Honda dealership to get this done (out of the blue) while on vacation, due to it failing all of the sudden?...

Yes. It failed at a gas station on a Sunday afternoon, 7 hours drive from home. Towing service took it to the closest Honda dealership in town and left the keys in the dropbox.

 

[kaimanson]

Yes. It failed at a gas station on a Sunday afternoon, 7 hours drive from home. Towing service took it to the closest Honda dealership in town and left the keys in the dropbox.

Wow...while u guys waited in a hotel until it was fixed?

 

[JoannaJes]

The failure happened at the beginning of our trip. We were on our way to Mammoth Cave and then Great Smoky Mtn. Nat'l parks. We were fortunate that we were traveling with my parents who were in their own vehicle. It wasn't big enough to hold all 6 of us, but while we waited for the tow truck, my dad and my husband drove to the rental car place and rented a car. I emptied out the van into the gas station parking lot and met the tow truck driver when he arrived. After the van was towed away my husband returned with the rental and we put our stuff back in and continued on our trip. We called the dealership it had been towed to first thing the next morning. Our hope was that they could fix the problem between Mon and Sat while we were on our regular vacation. But on Thursday we got the call that the transmission hasn't arrived yet. On Friday they said it would be there on Sat., but due to timing and the delearship being closed on Sundays, that it wouldn't be ready until Monday. So we stayed two extra days where we were at in TN, showed up on Monday to the dealership only to be told that the transmission still hadn't arrived yet, and no one had called to tell us.

Wow...while u guys waited in a hotel until it was fixed?

 

[kaimanson]

The failure happened at the beginning of our trip. We were on our way to Mammoth Cave and then Great Smoky Mtn. Nat'l parks. We were fortunate that we were traveling with my parents who were in their own vehicle. It wasn't big enough to hold all 6 of us, but while we waited for the tow truck, my dad and my husband drove to the rental car place and rented a car. I emptied out the van into the gas station parking lot and met the tow truck driver when he arrived. After the van was towed away my husband returned with the rental and we put our stuff back in and continued on our trip. We called the dealership it had been towed to first thing the next morning. Our hope was that they could fix the problem between Mon and Sat while we were on our regular vacation. But on Thursday we got the call that the transmission hasn't arrived yet. On Friday they said it would be there on Sat., but due to timing and the delearship being closed on Sundays, that it wouldn't be ready until Monday. So we stayed two extra days where we were at in TN, showed up on Monday to the dealership only to be told that the transmission still hadn't arrived yet, and no one had called to tell us.

Holy smokes!...gotta keep that story for the record. Thanks God u guys had backup; that can really put a sour taste for the Odyssey. Vacations and broken car can't go together. U guys had a lot of patience, my wife would have ask to be dropped at nearest Mazda dealership and leave on an 2021 CX-5. LoL...

 

[JoannaJes]

Update for you all—

we said an early goodbye to the Odyssey and are now the owners of a 2021 Toyota Sienna. 😆 We haven't heard from Honda corporate yet or received any sort of reparation (I will add that the dealership has verbally promised that we would).