NHTSA Complaint #10251175 — 2001 HONDA ODYSSEY

2001 HONDA ODYSSEY MINIVAN POWER SLIDING DOORS KEEP FAILING ESPECIALLY IN ICY CONDITIONS. SEVERAL TIMES I HAVE HAD MY CHILDREN IN MY CAR WHEN THE DOORS FAILED TO OPERATE FULLY. I HAD TO CRAWL TO THE BACK THROUGH MY FRONT DOORS TO REACH MY VERY YOUNG CHILDREN TO PUT THEM IN AND OUT OF THEIR CAR SEATS. THEN I NEEDED TO DRIVE HOME IN ICY CONDITIONS WITH THE DOOR PARTIALLY OPEN NEXT TO ONE OF MY CHILDREN. IN ADDITION, ONE OF MY CHILDREN HAS A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT MAKES GETTING TO THEM AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEIR SAFETY. THESE POWER DOORS ARE SIMPLY HAZARDOUS AND THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO FIX THESE. FROM THE DISCUSSIONS ON OWNER FORUMS, THIS IS HAPPENING TO QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH THIS MODEL OF CAR ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF YEARS. AFTER SPENDING A COUPLE OF HUNDRED DOLLARS WITH THE DEALER TO TRY TO FIX THIS, THE DEALER GAVE ME A NEW 'FIX'. I NEED TO REMOVE A FUSE FOR 30 SECONDS AND THEN REPLACE THE FUSE. THE DOORS NEEDS TO BE 'RESET' I.E. IT APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN DEFECT IN A SENSOR RATHER THAN AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL PART NEEDING REPLACED. I HAVE REPLACED NEARLY EVERY PART OF ONE OF MY SLIDING DOORS AND STILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM AFTER IT HAS BEEN ICY. USUALLY MY HUSBAND CAN MANUALLY OPERATE THE DOOR AFTER THIS HAS HAPPENED, BUT I AM NOT AS STRONG AS HE IS AND I CANNOT FULLY OPEN OR CLOSE THE DOOR. RESETTING THE DOOR BY REMOVING THE FUSE FOR 30 SECONDS MAKES THE DOOR START WORKING AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT OCCURRENCE. UNTIL RECENTLY, MY DEALER DID NOT TELL ME THE TRICK WITH THE FUSE SO WHEN THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I WOULD BE FORCED TO DRIVE MY CHILDREN HOME WITH THE DOOR PARTIALLY OPEN. *TR