Honda Odyssey Review (2003-2008)

There is a command in the bible that states “Be fruitful and multiply”. As a human race many of us have rejected scriptural commands, but the need for the production of vehicles like the Honda Odyssey is proof that there is a large number of people who had no problems following a command that implied go and do it like rabbits.
The Odyssey is one of the few decent seven seater vehicles on the road and as a result is one that we do recommended to people who’s number of children are approaching double digits. It is advised that if you are reaching the point where your children number the equivalent to the number of players needed in a water polo team, you should perhaps look at faithfully following a different biblical command from this point on.
As with all cars, there are a few things to watch out for, a few common faults with the vehicle.
The most severe to effect the Odyssey is a body issue. The Odyssey was and is known for rust forming around the strut towers in the engine bay. To repair this is a fairly straight forward job for any panel shop however they require the engine out of the vehicle to do the repair. Some panel shops will do this in-house but others may require you to get a mechanic to do this first and then tow the vehicle to them. This can make the repair rather expensive.
Whilst the vehicles were covered by manufactures warranty the dealers were covering this repair under the warranty. Now many of the vehicles are out of warranty the owners are facing this expensive repair and having to fund it themselves.
The next most common thing with the Odyssey is an engineering error when it came to the front brakes. The front brakes warp giving a harsh shudder through the steering wheel when braking.
Take a car that is designed to carry seven people. Western culture today means this is more than likely seven people rating somewhere on the obesity scale and put go-cart front brakes on it.
The front brakes are far too small for the car and overheat very rapidly. This cooks the front brakes, causing this fault. Currently no decent solution has been found. Our best results have come from using a disc rotor design called a kangaroo paw however they still do give warpage and a steering shudder in extreme cases.
Honda Odyssey reviewThe Odyssey was also known for a few common mechanical faults these include the front engine mounts failing, starter motors failing and drive shaft seals leaking.
We do not advise you use this car for towing. Some owners have towed with them and we have witnessed some transmission problems caused by the extra load. A little bit of common sense is required. A four cylinder car with a known brake fault should not be dragging a caravan around the country.  Additionally installation of the tow bar on an Odyssey is exceptionally troublesome.
These are the common things to keep an eye out for on the Odyssey when looking to buy one. We do recommend them as they are a very good car, even when they get a fair few kilometres on them and are great if you are in need of a reliable cost effective seven seater vehicle.

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