Honda Odyssey

TxAg · Post by **TxAg** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:17 pm

They get pretty good reviews. If you have experience with one, how do you like it?

I understand that a new model is coming out for 2017. They are starting to make deals on the 2016s from the little bit of checking around that I've done.

Family of 4 with a medium sized dog

Please share your experiences

rob · Post by **rob** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:39 pm

I have one @12 years old (prior to the current style).... It's been great - for a minivan

Very reliable, drives well (for a minivan), incredibly flexible with kids.

bloom2708 · Post by **bloom2708** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:43 pm

It won't be relevant. We had a 2007. Nice features. We had engine trouble at 60k. The front middle spark plug fell out. All service was done at the Honda dealer. Just bad luck?

I stick with Fords now.

Ninnie · Post by **Ninnie** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:49 pm

Another 12 year old here. It's been wonderful and people are amazed by how new it feels. They really hold up.

imoapie · Post by **imoapie** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:57 pm

4 year old here, its a honda, you get in and it goes. Comfortable and best features for us are push button doors. I open the doors, kids get in. Pop the trunk hands free. Tight spots (NJ), doors open back not out. Whats not to like?

TX_TURTLE · Post by **TX_TURTLE** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 6:06 pm

My wife has driven a 2016 model for about 5 months. Very happy with it, would certainly do it again. I quoted both the Edmunds price and the Costco price. In my case Costco was better. Off the top of my head, approximately $500 below invoice.

wolf359 · Post by **wolf359** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 6:39 pm

We just bought the 2015 model last year. We also wanted to wait for the 2017 model, but the old 2005 Odyssey didn't make it. It lasted us 10 years, and about 250,000 miles.

The only caution is that our 2005 was also the first of its redesign line. It's usually better to wait until the second year of the new line. If they did anything radically different that doesn't work out, they'll fix it the next year. For example, on the 2005, they had some kind of active vibration mounts on the engine. These parts wore out much faster than typical Honda engine parts, and they redid them in later years. But we had to deal with it in our model year.

They also gave our model year a smart engine that turns off cylinders if you're not using them, increasing fuel efficiency. That didn't work -- our mileage was average. They fixed the design, and our new Honda has significant' better mileage.

So if you can wait for 2018...

A good deal on the 2016 is probably worth it.

rai · Post by **rai** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:11 pm

I have a 2011 Touring Elite which has every possible option.

We've been driving a lot long road trips to Orlando twice NY/NJ etc, lots of HW driving but also town driving with 106K miles currently.

So far we've done the front (pads) and rear brakes (pads and rotors). The rear, had to do the rotors as well since there was a noticeable vibration but besides that just typical oil changes, fluids and tires. The oil change interval is quite long like 10k miles and the gas mileage is exceptional at low-mid 20's it's not impossible to get 500 miles on a tank of gas. But we're typically in the 400 mile range for a tank of gas.

Trouble free by and large, except it's not the best car in the snow, we got stuck with less than an inch of snow (due to hills in my neighborhood). But otherwise it's no worse than a typical FWD car in snow.

Caveat, it's got a timing belt which is due to be serviced at 106k or so, it's also recommended to do the water pump at that time plus there's the serpitine belts they say this service is like $1200.

I'm probably going to sell my van shortly so I might skip this expensive service. But I've no doubt if I was keeping it we'd get 200K+ miles with ease.

Great for dog cage in back and trips to the dump.

We're only selling it because my youngest is starting to drive and we will probably get a different car for her after she gets her license.

rai · Post by **rai** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:16 pm

We also owned a second gen Oddy 1999 but that was plagued with power door issue would not always work by power but we could close them manually this problem was intermittent and never fixed but that was the prior gen car. This current gen car we have no issues whatsoever with the power doors.

Between those two Honda we got a Sienna Toyota because that had AWD, but overall we preferred the Honda especially nicer driving. But the Toyota was not bad either.

Probably at this point for me I'd rather have a Pilot because I favor AWD.

jhfenton · Post by **jhfenton** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:23 pm

We have a 2012 Odyssey purchased new in March 2012. We love it. We have had zero issues in 4 years. Zero-dealer trips other than scheduled maintenance. As rai said, the self-diagnosed oil change interval is close to 10,000 miles. (There's a percentage oil-life readout.) For us that is barely one oil change per year! It drives beautifully.

Bonnan · Post by **Bonnan** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:31 pm

Waited for Honda to build a full size mini-van during the 90's. Bought the 200O LX, still drive it. Original transmission, original timing belt and in fact original everything except what we broke. Engine uses no oil; take care and they last.
Son/DIL bought 2003 with six kids, beat the liven' day lights out of it. College student still driving with 250000 plus miles.
Really made for a Boglehead.

rai · Post by **rai** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:32 pm

Additionally our front brake pads just now needed replacmet at 106k miles, I can't swear that's the only time, but according to my records it is. The rear as I said were replaced like 60k miles but might have been incorrectly placed by the dealer leading to the rotors needing to be replaced shortly after.

arsenalfan · Post by **arsenalfan** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:38 pm

10/10 stars for 2006 EX-L with 120k miles.
Bought with our first kid - now we have 2 kids and 2 dogs. Great, dependable, reliable. Nothing but routine oil changes/tires/brakes; new timing belt and water pump around 80k. We do regular oil changes every 5k-7.5k, and aren't particularly gentle on it.
When it dies, we will probably get another - it just lets you be a huge carpool member even if your kids are teenagers - the more # of kids, the more gossip and chit chat. As a driver, tweens/teens totally forget you're there - I have learned far more about what's going on in school during roadtrips to away games/dances/etc, than at our dinnertable.

randomguy · Post by **randomguy** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 7:56 pm

imoapie wrote:4 year old here, its a honda, you get in and it goes. Comfortable and best features for us are push button doors. I open the doors, kids get in. Pop the trunk hands free. Tight spots (NJ), doors open back not out. Whats not to like?

- Its huge. It barely fits into a normal garage. It is very wide and long.
- It is NVH is poor. If you are used to a civic, it might not be too bad. Used to a Lexus ES and it is noticeable downgrade. This is in a 2011. New ones are supposedly a bit better but they always say that:)
- I hate the seat for long drives. It is fine for an hour or two but much longer and I need a break.
- Interior is wearing poorly. Leather on seats (adults only) shows a lot more wear after 5 years than I would expect (i.e. other cars look brand new) on seams and edges
-Real pain in the parking lot as there are way too many of them in the exact same color.

All that being said, if you need the space, they are hard to beat. The other minivans (haven't been in the new quest or kia but have decent amount of passanger seat time in the rest) are about the same as far as my complaints. And a luxury SUV with that space and decent NVH (things like the Q7 or qx60) are something like 15k+ more expensive.

rai · Post by **rai** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 8:16 pm

NVH is not poor, it's above average IMO, but I've got the Touring Elite which may have extra sound deadening.

The car drives smooth, it doesn't feel small bumps, I have zero wear at all on the interior after 106k miles.

Seats are ok, nothing special but not bad, we've done 15 hr days in them.

kenwollitz · Post by **kenwollitz** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 9:09 pm

We have a 2015 Odyssey with 13k miles. To me, it drives better than the Sienna and gets better mileage. A lot of room and interior flexibility.

However, we recently had an emissions wire chewed in two by a rodent. From the service techs (and with an internet search), this is a common problem caused by the soy-based wire insulation that tastes great to rodents (but is "biodegradable"). A class action suit is underway because Honda will not fix under warranty ("it's not a manufacturing defect"). I know the problem spans the 2012-2015 Odysseys, but am not sure about the 2016 models. Other manufacturers have had this problem, but the vast majority on the internet are Hondas.

This was a horrible design decision and along with other factors (reduction in reliability over time in Consumers Reports, class action suits about engine sludge and CRV vibration), I've lost confidence in Honda. With other good cars out there, I doubt I ever buy another Honda.

DTSC · Post by **DTSC** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 9:16 pm

bloom2708 wrote:It won't be relevant. We had a 2007. Nice features. We had engine trouble at 60k. The front middle spark plug fell out. All service was done at the Honda dealer. Just bad luck?

I stick with Fords now.

We have a 2008. Exact same problems, even after the engine recall.

student5 · Post by **student5** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 9:43 pm

My 2013 Odyssey had a problem with mold in the evaporator coil --too much driving on freeways with the air con. on recirculate. The service guys suggested switching off the air con. and the recirculate feature at least 5 minutes before reaching home and turning the fan on full to dry the system. It seems a lot better now.

TonyDAntonio · Post by **TonyDAntonio** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:51 pm

I still have the 1999 Odyssey we bought new and raised our family in. Great van/car. I now use it to haul junk and pick up supplies. 198,000 miles and still going strong. The 1999 was the first year Honda enlarged their van but the car still handled well, got good gas mileage and drove like a car. We didn't have the power doors so no problems there. Early on there was a transmission issue that Honda fixed (replaced the entire transmission) for no charge. The only other issue has been a couple of the individual coil packs have gone out and needed to be replaced. I now own a new Honda CRV. I've also owned a new Honda Civic. While I haven't always had Hondas I have owned a few and they've been good, solid cars.

mephistophles · Post by **mephistophles** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:42 am

Owned two Odysseys. This one for 11 years. Best car we ever owned.

arsenalfan · Post by **arsenalfan** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 4:38 am

One thing I will add about the 2006 Odyssey: it is great having it turn into a beater. As the 10-year-old family mobile now driven mostly by our nanny, we don't mind all the dings and scrapes, inside and out. In an ideal world, #1 will be learning to drive on it, but I suspect we will end up replacing it to upgrade to one with current safety features.

IMHO I do think this thread, like all internet reviews on Amazon/Yelp/etc bring out the extremes - people who love the item and/or are extroverted, or people who got lemons/bad incidents. The silent majority truck onwards.

angelescrest · Post by **angelescrest** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:44 am

It's a nice car, but I was surprised with how terrible it is at handling older roads. If you have perfectly smooth roads it's fine but if your roads aren't great, I wouldn't get one.

cutterinnj · Post by **cutterinnj** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:44 am

We have a 2007 EX-L we bought in 2010 prior to my first kid (now have 2); we are at around 120k miles now, and going strong.
Have done routine maintenance. Has had a few repairs related to recalls and some other things- that were covered in our warranty (if you buy one of these used, it may make sense to buy an extended warranty because of all the various technologies in it; one of the few times it may make sense to buy a warranty- it did make sense for us.)

I think the thing could go to 250k, but my wife wants out at 150k, so we're starting to look for another one. Will likely get another Odyssey- a Touring or Touring Elite. The one issue that I do NOT like with the Touring is that it uses some sort of special tire which is apparently VERY expensive to change. Not sure if they changed that on newer models or not.

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:19 am

Wee have a 2014 EX and it has been just great. I love the fold down flat third row seat which makes it very easy to haul lots of cargo on a vacation trip or a trip to the home improvement store. Quiet and plenty of power too; we push 30 mpg on highway driving. It is very well thought out, with everything working smoothly and efficiently inside and out. It is a big vehicle; noticeably bigger than the Dodge Caravan it replaced. It has two giant screens that for the most part feel wasted - maybe someday Honda will design a good touch user interface, but it's mostly harder to use than the old fashioned button type controls. Overall a great vehicle.

EHEngineer · Post by **EHEngineer** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:00 pm

TxAg wrote:They are starting to make deals on the 2016s from the little bit of checking around that I've done.

I have a 2014 EX-L RES, bought new in March 2014. Same as 2016 AFAIK. Options I have: rubber floor mats, wheel locks, mud flaps, door side moldings (bump guards).

Positives are everywhere in reviews, what you need to know are the negatives:

Section: Infotainment & Controls
1) The 2014-2016 Odyssey "infotainment" controls are crap. How so?
1a) touchscreens is very slow. when you are driving you have your eyes off the road way too long. dangerous.
1b) not intuitive menus/options/controls. the infotainment is like learning a whole to operating system (eg switching to mac from windows)
1c) stupid scrollling required on menus that could easily hold all options.
1d) want to turn on the compass? That's not in the manual. Try doing a google search, see if you can figure it out.
*side note: the HVAC controls work perfectly.
2) streaming audio from a phone through car audio (bluetooth) has an *expletive* 4-5 second buffer (lag). when you need to pause get a question from the back (or a drivethru) you wait 4-5 seconds. Or, if you want to stream the sound from your ipad to the car audio so all kids can hear it? The audio is 4-5 seconds behind the video.
3) connecting to the built-in USB port to charge your phone will over-ride whatever is playing and switch to your phone. A switch from charging your phone to a passenger's and you must re-configure the audio to get back to what your were listening to. Refer back to 1a) touchscreen has slow response. dangerous.
4) At some point you will not have kids in the car and you will wonder "why isn't the sound coming from the rear?" answer is not in the owner's manual. Internet search says you must power off the RES for the front audio to go to the rear speakers (even if no disk is present).
5) the RES only plays DVD. No BlueRay.
6) the AUX RES input is *expletive* composite input? Can you think of any devices that still use composite? Everything requires a converter. $
7) RES only comes with two headphones. Probably will need more, expect to spend $100+
8) Bluetooth connection upon startup is not reliable, and slow when it does work. "Do you want to select a phone to connect to?" "Connection Unsuccessful"
9) rear reading lights can't be powered off from driver's seat. Must stop exit vehicle, open rear doors, climb in and traverse seats to turn off reading lights. annoying.

Section: Interior items
1) fit and finish is bad on mine
1a) headliner does not extend under the top of the the right hand B-pillar plactic cover. Ugly rough edge showing.
1b) headliner is not tucked under the RES unit. Lump of twisted headliner protrudes.
1c) carpet in the rear cargo well is not long enough to go under the plastic cover, rough edge of carpet and its underlayment is showing.
1d) steering wheel leather is detached from it's base in areas where the shape is concave (like saran wrap on a bowl, the leather goes the shortest span and does not cover the bottom of the bowl.
2) the rear door controls are a 3-position rocker switch. this causes you to have to grope for the appropriate button area, lest you push open when the door is already open, or vice versa. slow. annoying.
3) the rear door controls are located on the left side of the steering wheel, inaccessible to the passenger, if the driver has left to pump gas, get a snack, etc.
4) All storage areas and cup holders are hard plastic. EVERYTHING RATTLES in a storage area. drives me nuts.
5) There are NO SECOND ROW ARM RESTS attached to the inside of the seats. If you want to remove the center seat for kids easy access to the rear, you lose your center arm rests. Annoying for adults.
6) There is NO CENTER ARM REST in the 3rd row seat. Must buy the touring model to get an arm rest.
7) the sunglasses holder in the front is only big enough for the smallest sunglasses. My kid's suglasses don't fit.
8) the interior is virtually all plastic. Expect the plastic to get white scuff/scratch marks everywhere If you haul anything harder than the skin of human being.
9) the rubber floor mats are flat, but the actual floor is lumpy. The outside edge of the driver mat will eventually stick up above the floor 1-2" causing you to trip on the edge a lot. It does this because of the lumpy shape of the metal floor. Super annoying.
10) The middle row seats slide back and forth (never lock) when left in the "access 3rd row" postion. If your kid gets out and leaves the seat like this it will slam forward every time you brake, and slam backwards every time you accelerate. Then you need to stop, get out, lock the seat, and get back in (cannot reach to lock a 2nd row seat from the driver's position). Please Honda, make it auto-lock.

Section: Exterior items
1) sliding door remote has 3-seconds lag, stops and beeps if receives a command during the delay (even if it is same command, ie 2 open commands one from remote and one from a door handle). Also stops and beeps if driver and rear passenger try to open the door. slow. annoying.
2) must push unlock before driver can open the rear doors. why two button pushes required? who is in charge?? annoying.
3) trim below the doors looks like step, will eventually get stepped on and probably broken. bad design. $$
4) the drivers side rear view mirror and a wide angle mirror that is convex around only 1-axis (like a cylinder, not a sphere). The strange rounded triangle shape of the mirror with the "fun-house skinny mirror" effect make this near useless if not dangerous. I bought a $5 2" spherical mirror and stuck it on top.
5) the body fit of our left hand sliding door is askew. 2mm gap at the top 10mm gap at the bottom. ugly.
6) no object detection with the rear camera. if they can detect and warn about your approach to a car in front, why not a bike in the rear?

***Still adding to this post

corysold · Post by **corysold** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:30 pm

cutterinnj wrote:We have a 2007 EX-L we bought in 2010 prior to my first kid (now have 2); we are at around 120k miles now, and going strong.
Have done routine maintenance. Has had a few repairs related to recalls and some other things- that were covered in our warranty (if you buy one of these used, it may make sense to buy an extended warranty because of all the various technologies in it; one of the few times it may make sense to buy a warranty- it did make sense for us.)

I think the thing could go to 250k, but my wife wants out at 150k, so we're starting to look for another one. Will likely get another Odyssey- a Touring or Touring Elite. The one issue that I do NOT like with the Touring is that it uses some sort of special tire which is apparently VERY expensive to change. Not sure if they changed that on newer models or not.

We have a 2011 Touring and the tire change didn't seem out of the ordinary. I think 4 Continentals were in the $600 range installed. So more than a compact, but it didn't seem crazy high, maybe it is?

lthenderson · Post by **lthenderson** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:00 pm

We have a 2007 Odyssey that we bought brand new and love the thing. It rides and drives well, has more than adequate power and has room for the five of us on long trips. We've had it in the shop for two recall notices, one for the water pump and once for the fuel sender. The only repair that I've had to do on my dime was when a car in front of me drove over a four foot long metal spike that bounced as I drove over it. It made a loud bang and my wife was worried but I said relax, the only thing back in that area is the fuel tank and we didn't explode. 10 miles later I notice we had just burned a half a tank of gas. We pulled over at a gas station and watched the rest of our gas drain out onto the road, from a safe distance of course. The rod had speared our fuel tank completely through so we had to get a tow and a new gas tank.

It is still our main trip vehicle but now that it is older, I use it a lot for the home remodeling I do. I can haul full sized sheets of plywood or drywall inside with the rear seats down and the middle ones removed. I love that fact during rainy weather and all the other guys are trying to tarp down loads and I just close the rear gate and drive away. I have no plans to get rid of it at this point and hope it will last long enough for the kids to leave so I can trade it for a small pickup and resign myself to tarping stuff during rainy weather.

michaelsieg · Post by **michaelsieg** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:00 pm

One of the best purchases we ever made. Get a model with a built-in DVD player, it makes long-distance trips much easier for the kids. We have a 2007 that we bought new and I hope it will last until they are all off for college (another 11 years...may be a bit optimistic

)

kingsnake · Post by **kingsnake** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:01 pm

2012 we bought in November 2011, 65,000 miles. No issues. Heated seats are nice. We skipped the "infotainment" system and bought 2 of those of mini dvd players for our kids and saved money too boot. Plus those mini dvd players are good for the airport and hotels.

MrNewEngland · Post by **MrNewEngland** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:53 pm

I used to be a "buy American" guy. Then my sister bought a used Accord. I borrowed it and was amazed at how tight everything felt and the lack of rattles and just how nice it was. When I found out it had over 100k miles I was really impressed because nothing felt worn on it. Later she was read ended really hard and I was shocked they didn't total the car. When she got it back from the shop it was still like brand new: drove straight, no new rattles, doors/trunk opened and closed perfectly... and ever since then I've owned nothing but Hondas. I've never had an Odyssey but I've had a couple accords and currently have a Ridgeline. I couldn't be happier with them and they've always had top notch durability and reliability.

TxAg · Post by **TxAg** » Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:32 pm

Thanks for the comments

jersey789girl · Post by **jersey789girl** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:27 pm

I have an 11 year old Odyssey with 180K miles on it, still going strong. Use it as an extra car and to haul people and things.

negreenfield · Post by **negreenfield** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:48 pm

We have an 08 EX-L. So far it's been decent, recently had A/C fixed and front axles replaced, but ours is a bit higher mileage, currently 135k. Those two things are the only things we've done other than routine stuff since we got it 5 years ago at around 60k miles. Happy so far. Hopefully we can keep it another 5 years, my goal is to keep it until all kids are out of car seats completely but that will be tough, we drive it a lot.

Edit; I just remembered we had a problem with one of hte auto doors that needed fixing a few years ago, I cannot remember the specifics, so 3 things in the time we've had it.

imoapie · Post by **imoapie** » Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:11 pm

randomguy wrote:
imoapie wrote:4 year old here, its a honda, you get in and it goes. Comfortable and best features for us are push button doors. I open the doors, kids get in. Pop the trunk hands free. Tight spots (NJ), doors open back not out. Whats not to like?
- Its huge. It barely fits into a normal garage. It is very wide and long.
- It is NVH is poor. If you are used to a civic, it might not be too bad. Used to a Lexus ES and it is noticeable downgrade. This is in a 2011. New ones are supposedly a bit better but they always say that:)
- I hate the seat for long drives. It is fine for an hour or two but much longer and I need a break.
- Interior is wearing poorly. Leather on seats (adults only) shows a lot more wear after 5 years than I would expect (i.e. other cars look brand new) on seams and edges
-Real pain in the parking lot as there are way too many of them in the exact same color.

All that being said, if you need the space, they are hard to beat. The other minivans (haven't been in the new quest or kia but have decent amount of passanger seat time in the rest) are about the same as far as my complaints. And a luxury SUV with that space and decent NVH (things like the Q7 or qx60) are something like 15k+ more expensive.

BWAHAHAH, I'm used to a box moving through air (97 jeep wrangler with lift and mud tires). You have no idea what NVH is, so I guess I am immune. LOL.

Can't compare the odyssey to Q7, I just looked up pricing on the Q7 and for that price I could have (almost) bought 2 odyssey EXLs.

ND Fan 1 · Post by **ND Fan 1** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:58 am

Very appropriate thread. We just checked out a used Honda Odyssey and think we are going to take the plunge. 2012 Touring, with 48K miles on it. Seems most here like it and the internet seems to like it. Though there are complaints on certain "consumer" sites. But not every car will be perfect, some have bad luck, not necessarily design or manufacturing issues, right?

Does an warranty makes sense? I plan on doing routine maintenance myself, and it seems I'm better of just self-insuring, this van seems to have pretty good reliability.

corysold · Post by **corysold** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:04 am

ND Fan 1 wrote:Very appropriate thread. We just checked out a used Honda Odyssey and think we are going to take the plunge. 2012 Touring, with 48K miles on it. Seems most here like it and the internet seems to like it. Though there are complaints on certain "consumer" sites. But not every car will be perfect, some have bad luck, not necessarily design or manufacturing issues, right?

Does an warranty makes sense? I plan on doing routine maintenance myself, and it seems I'm better of just self-insuring, this van seems to have pretty good reliability.

We had an extended warranty on a Dodge Caravan which we ended up using 4 or 5 times for various issues, totally worth it.

So we figured we get the extended warranty when we bought our 2011 Touring with 35,000 miles a few years back. Haven't had a single issue.

I know that is one anecdote, but I'm sure there is a reason Honda is more highly regarded than Dodge.

bertie wooster · Post by **bertie wooster** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:21 am

EHEngineer wrote:
TxAg wrote:They are starting to make deals on the 2016s from the little bit of checking around that I've done.
I have a 2014 EX-L RES, bought new in March 2014. Same as 2016 AFAIK. Options I have: rubber floor mats, wheel locks, mud flaps, door side moldings (bump guards).

Positives are everywhere in reviews, what you need to know are the negatives:

Phenomenal write up - thanks for this.

randomguy · Post by **randomguy** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:28 am

imoapie wrote:
randomguy wrote:
imoapie wrote:4 year old here, its a honda, you get in and it goes. Comfortable and best features for us are push button doors. I open the doors, kids get in. Pop the trunk hands free. Tight spots (NJ), doors open back not out. Whats not to like?
- Its huge. It barely fits into a normal garage. It is very wide and long.
- It is NVH is poor. If you are used to a civic, it might not be too bad. Used to a Lexus ES and it is noticeable downgrade. This is in a 2011. New ones are supposedly a bit better but they always say that:)
- I hate the seat for long drives. It is fine for an hour or two but much longer and I need a break.
- Interior is wearing poorly. Leather on seats (adults only) shows a lot more wear after 5 years than I would expect (i.e. other cars look brand new) on seams and edges
-Real pain in the parking lot as there are way too many of them in the exact same color.

All that being said, if you need the space, they are hard to beat. The other minivans (haven't been in the new quest or kia but have decent amount of passanger seat time in the rest) are about the same as far as my complaints. And a luxury SUV with that space and decent NVH (things like the Q7 or qx60) are something like 15k+ more expensive.
BWAHAHAH, I'm used to a box moving through air (97 jeep wrangler with lift and mud tires). You have no idea what NVH is, so I guess I am immune. LOL.

Can't compare the odyssey to Q7, I just looked up pricing on the Q7 and for that price I could have (almost) bought 2 odyssey EXLs.

And with 2 EX-Ls you would have 4x the noise of one q7.

You either want high quality or you don't. If you don't care, like anything in life, don't spend the money. Having low standards has saved me tons of money on wine and sound systems:) But yeah that was one of the main reason why I bought an EX-L instead of q7. There was a nice used R350 but the seating arrangement (it sat 6 in a 2x3 arrangement) was poor. And of course neither of them came with the sweet sliding doors that minivans have.

new2bogle · Post by **new2bogle** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:30 am

bertie wooster wrote:
EHEngineer wrote:
TxAg wrote:They are starting to make deals on the 2016s from the little bit of checking around that I've done.
I have a 2014 EX-L RES, bought new in March 2014. Same as 2016 AFAIK. Options I have: rubber floor mats, wheel locks, mud flaps, door side moldings (bump guards).

Positives are everywhere in reviews, what you need to know are the negatives:
Phenomenal write up - thanks for this.

We bought a 2015 EX with Navi last year around June. Agree with the negatives. But overall - the minivan is great and I would highly recommend it for a family. We have used the crap out of it in just under a year. Unclear about long term reliability of the electronic and moving components (like sliding doors) but pretty confident the mechanics will be sound for over a decade.

The minivan only uses 0w-20 oil but Honda's new sensors will tell you when to change oil based on sensing the oil - not by mileage. We've gotten about 8 months per oil change (extrapolating here).

danwhite77 · Post by **danwhite77** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:29 pm

10 year old Odyssey. Been great, all normal maintenance other than at 100k miles an automatic door needed a new roller which I replaced myself. I may not be Honda for life but they will get prime consideration next time we buy.

barreg · Post by **barreg** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 1:03 pm

The pros of the Odyssey have been covered pretty well in this thread and a lot of the negatives. We have a 2011, for which my wife is the primary driver. If you asked her, she'd tell you she is not a fan of it. To her, it's essentially a large box, which is good when you need to move either a lot of kids or a lot of stuff, but her primary complaints are that road/wind noise is excessive, things constantly rattle on the interior, and it is awful in the snow ( have to use snow tires to get any traction). Also, lots of small things, such as the handle on the glovebox, have broken or are coming apart after ~90k miles.

clutchied · Post by **clutchied** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 1:51 pm

TxAg wrote:They get pretty good reviews. If you have experience with one, how do you like it?

I understand that a new model is coming out for 2017. They are starting to make deals on the 2016s from the little bit of checking around that I've done.

Family of 4 with a medium sized dog

Please share your experiences

I like it (2012 EX-L)... it's a huge car though and drives relatively well for its size. We are having some odd transmission issues and we've had rings replaced on 1 cylinder bank(Honda just magically fixed it)....

It's really a very nice van but we only have 46,000 miles on it and that is pretty unpleasant to think about continuing costs of ownership. Engine and transmission.... yikes.