NHTSA Complaint #10440145 — 2001 HONDA ODYSSEY

BEFORE MY TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL, MY ODYSSEY WOULD SLIP GEARS AND MAKE A THUMP SOUND UPON INITIAL ACCELERATION AND SUBSEQUENT INCREASES IN SPEED. THE CHECK ENGINE AND TCS LIGHTS WOULD COME ON AND STAY LIT. AFTER THE OVERHAUL, I FOUND OUT THERE WERE BULLETINS OUT ON PARTS THAT WERE DEFECTIVE AND WITH REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSIONS ADDITIONAL COOLING AND FILTERS HAD TO BE REPLACED, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL CHANGES. A YEAR AFTER THE OVERHAUL, STARTED HAVING THE SAME SLIPPAGE AND SOUNDS FROM THE TRANSMISSION AGAIN. THIS TIME, WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING AT 70MPH, MY BACK WINDOW GETS COVERED UP BY AN OILY DISCOLORED SUBSTANCE. IT WAS TO THE POINT I COULD NOT SEE OUT THE REAR WINDOW. THE SMELL OF BURNED RUBBER OR TAR WAS COMING THROUGH THE VENT AND THE A/C OR HEAT WAS NOT ON. MY RPM NEEDLE STARTED SHIFTING UP FROM 3 TO 5 AND BOUNCING BACK BETWEEN THEM, THEN DOWN TO 2 AND THEN FINALLY BACK TO 3....WITH NO CHANGE IN SPEED. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TCS LIGHTS COME ON AND STAY LIT. MY BRAKES TENDED TO BE A LITTLE SOFT THEN A LITTLE HARD. CALLED A MECHANIC THAT I KNEW WAS AVAILABLE AND WORKED ON TRANSMISSIONS AND ASKED HIM WHAT TO DO AND HE SAID GET OFF THE ROAD FAST AND CHECK YOUR FLUID LEVELS. MY ODYSSEY HAD SPIT OUT ALL THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND SOME OIL THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE, UNDERNEATH AND BACK ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR TIRE AREA. IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE FACT THAT I WAS EXTREMELY FAMILIAR WITH MY VAN (SINGLE OWNER) AND PAID ATTENTION TO THE LAST PROBLEMS I HAD, I MIGHT HAVE LOCKED UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR AND MAY NOT HAVE LIVED TO SEE ANOTHER DAY. *TR