NHTSA Complaint #10442313 — 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY

ALTHOUGH HAVING BROUGHT THE CAR IN TO THE DEALER UNDER A POWER TRAIN/AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RECALL IN 2004 AS A RESULT OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN #04V17600, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO FAIL SOME MONTHS AGO AND THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON WITH P0730 (GEAR RATIO ERROR) BEING DECODED BY MY MECHANIC. SOME MONTHS LATER, THE TRANSMISSION WAS EVEN MORE PROBLEMATIC AND THE DIFFICULTY IN IT SHIFTING FROM SECOND TO THIRD GEAR WAS SO BAD THAT THE CAR COULD NOT BE DRIVEN (95,000 MILES). THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE WITH THE OVERHEATING OF THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THIS PROBLEM IS EVEN MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN ON A V-6 ODYSSEY, WHICH I HAVE, BECAUSE THE HONDA POWER TRAIN/AUTO. TRANSMISSION CANNOT HANDLE THE EXTRA TORQUE OF THE LARGER ENGINE. REPLACING ALL THE SOLENOIDS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND THE TRANSMISSION IS CURRENTLY BEING REBUILT BUT NOT BY HONDA AS REPLACING IT WITH A FACTORY-REBUILT HONDA TRANSMISSION WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE SAME ISSUES. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET OF TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN HONDA ODYSSEYS FROM 1999 UP TO THE PRESENT. A CLASS ACTION SUIT FORCED HONDA TO EXTEND THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY TO 100,000 MILES ON 1999-2001 ODYSSEYS . . . BUT THOSE OF US WITH NEWER ODYSSEYS HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT IN THE COLD. MY CAR IS A ONE-OWNER VEHICLE, REGULARLY SERVICED ACCORDING TO HONDA SPECIFICATIONS AND NEVER USED FOR PULLING HEAVY LOADS OR ANY SORT OF IRREGULAR DRIVING. IN FACT, THE CAR HAS BEEN 'BABIED' FROM THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. *TR