Used 2003 Honda Odyssey

"frustrating experience"

"We purchased our Odyssey in '02, knowing the Honda reputation and planning on driving the van for 10 years. At 6 years and 139000 miles, we have replaced the transmission (AH gave us a "deal" with a cost of $2500) and had water pump, heat, and electrical problems with our van. At this point, I am ready to replace rather than repair it again- it hesitates when shifting. All maintainence was done with Honda dealership- expensive! I don't feel we got our $$ worth with this van."

"Cannot be killed!!"

"Been Abused in every way possible! neglect, children, dogs, hauling, long road trips, limited maint, multiple wrecks, and victim of a fallen tree!! All this and it just keeps running great. Window and door motors beginning to fail, misc electric oddities, TCS now acting up. But- overall the best vehicle I've ever known of. Bought new and would love another someday! Not sure how many of my issues could have been prevented with proper maint, but that is WHY I bought the Honda brand."

"Far too many Transmission issues!"

"The van itself is a great van, it handles great and is very comfortable and roomy for a nice growing family which is where I was when I purchased it in 2002. In fact, in my area there was such a demand for this vehicle at this time that some dealers had wait lists. I was happy with my purchase, initially. Then a couple of years later, around 36K miles on a family road trip to Yosemite the transmission completely gave out. The dealer where I had to get the vehicle towed installed a used transmission with about 6K miles on it from another Odyssey. This one cost me about $1000 and it lasted a bit longer, but when the vehicle reached about 130K miles, it, too, gave out. $4000 later, the transmission which was rebuilt and repaired, lasted for little over 1 year. Just long enough for the warranty to expire on it. So here I am again in need of another transmission and I'm done spending my hard earned money to get this fixed. I purchased this van with the intention of keeping it indefinitely, and am a firm believer that it's more economical to fix a car than to go out and purchase a brand new one. I do NOT recommend this van to anyone. In fact, I recently went into a Honda dealership to test drive the new and improved Odyssey and when I asked if the transmission problems that had plagued the Odyssey in the past had been resolved, they weren't able to give me any kind of straight answer, so I walked away.....FAR AWAY! Which is what I suggest anyone looking to buy a mini-van do from the Honda Odyssey."