Owners have filed 11,244 complaints on the Honda Odyssey, covering 1995–2026. The system named most often is Electrical System (1,028 reports). Worst years by volume: 2018, 2019, 2002; cleanest: 1997, 2026, 2017. 394 reports describe a crash, 117 a fire, 14 a death. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Honda Odyssey
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 11,244 Odyssey complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 1,028 Read
When driving my odyssey, normally in the 30-50 mph range, all or most of the dashboard indicator and warning lights will flash intermittently for a brief second or two. The numerous (25 + ) times this has happened is frightening because one thinks the van has stalled. There seems to be no pattern or connection such as…
I purchased a brand-new 2025 Honda Odyssey in June 2024. The vehicle currently has approximately 18,000 miles. The Auto Idle Stop system has repeatedly shut the engine off at traffic lights and failed to restart it. When this occurs, the engine does not crank, the dashboard remains illuminated, the radio and other…
While driving from [XXX] to [XXX], all of the safety systems started to fail. We had driven about 45 minutes from our starting point. As the system started to fail, they would flash across the screen on the dashboard saying each one that was failing. We pulled over to the side of the road, and my husband popped the…
Power Train 449 Read
When attempting to accelerate after completing a stop, there was no response from the vehicle when the accelerator was pressed for 2-3 seconds, then the vehicle suddenly lurched violently forward and hit the rear end of a vehicle in front causing severe damage to the cars
On several occasions, I thought I put the car in park, only to have the car start rolling again, even if I got out of the car or took my foot off the brake. On one occasion, it rolled into my garage entry door to my home. Caused hundreds of dollars damage to my door , and minor damage to the front bumper. Warning…
I'm an owner of 2018 odyssey ex with 9-speed trans. This is my third odyssey I own. I have two 2016 and one 2018. I'm very disappoint about this 2018 trans and the lack of attention from honda regarding this known issue. From the part saleperson to the advisor, all noted the issue with these 9-speed transmission.…
Forward Collision Avoidance 402 Read
My wife was driving our 2025 Honda Odyssey on [XXX] on a neighborhood road around [XXX]. She came to a stop sign and stopped to turn right. Upon accelerating to turn right, the emergency braking system activated slamming on the brakes and bringing the vehicle to an immediate stop. There were no other cars, pedestrians…
At speed less than 25 mph, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) did not work. At cross roads this CMBS will not work when a vehicle comes from the side. This will work only if it detects the vehicle's presence in front for more than 3-5 seconds. Will not activate during sudden presence of vehicle at any speed
My wife was driving the vehicle, the vehicle unexpectedly came to a halt, displaying the "BREAK" sign on the instrument dashboard and emitting a beep. As a consequence, the car following her collided with the rear end. This incident occurred on a city street at an approximate speed of 35mph, and fortunately, none of…
Engine 400 Read
While driving in normal traffic, when I come to a complete stop and keep my foot on the brake, the Auto Idle Stop system activates as designed. However, when I release the brake to continue driving, the engine intermittently fails to restart properly. Instead, it repeatedly attempts to restart, cycling on and off…
An engine rod blew a hole in the engine block while traveling on the highway. This resulted in loss of engine power while others traveling at highway speeds around me. Additionally the vehicle was smoking heavily and smelled of burning . The vehicle only had 64000 miles with an adequate maintenance record
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, she noticed through her rearview mirror that her vehicle's trunk had caught fire without warning. The contact pulled over and was able to extinguish the fire with her shoe. The contact did not suffer any injuries and a police…
Air Bags 228 Read
I was in a motor vehicle accident, and when the airbags deployed. A woman, who leaned into the passenger side of my vehicle to see if I was hurt, said she could smell something burning and saw the sleeve of sweatshirt jacket on fire. Had she not checked on me, the sleeve of my sweatshirt may have burned all the way up…
My van was involved in the honda odyssey recall from 2013 regarding missing rivets in the drivers airbag. I brought it in to honda and they repaired and inspected the airbag immediately in 2013. I recently was in a major accident in which the airbag did not deploy at all. Luckily, my only injury was whiplash and ptsd.…
The contact owns a 2004 honda odyssey. While backing into the driveway, the vehicle made an abnormal noise and accelerated backwards. The contact shifted into drive and the vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact attempted to engage the brakes; however, the brakes failed and the vehicle crashed into a parked…
Structure 156 Read
2018 honda odyssey caught fire while operational**** on 24th april 2019, on her way to drop our kid to school, my wife was driving our 2018 honda odyssey. All of a sudden, this vehicle got smoke at first and then caught fire while it was operational. My wife pulled over and took the kid out immediately. The passing by…
Sunroof glass explode/shattered in the highway. Second time since I bought it
Vehicle had charging system light go on (battery light). Battery was not charging and there was a noise near the alternator. Next day, light goes off, battery is charging now, no noise. Two days and 40 miles later, no other lights and no other noise. Vehicle enters highway, makes it about 3 miles when the cruise…
Service Brakes 141 Read
Soft/spongy brake pedal that when pressed longer it will sink to the floor making it uneffective
I left my home to go to the house of prayer for prayers and when I came to the stop sign to turn right, my vehicle didn't stop and continued forward which led to crossing the street and over the curb and through the grass of almost fifty feet into the lake. I almost drowned and called 911 to assist me out of the…
Vehicle Make/Model/Year: 2022 Honda Odyssey Date of Incident: 5-1-25 Mileage at Incident: 30,000 Summary of Incident: While my 2022 Honda Odyssey was fully stopped in traffic with my foot firmly on the brake pedal, the vehicle unexpectedly lurched forward and struck the car in front of me. Just before or during the…
Fuel/propulsion System 126 Read
Up and down engine
Gasoline fuel vapors enter the passenger cabin of my 2026 Honda Odyssey while driving. The problem began XXX, the day after a dealer oil change, and has recurred repeatedly, growing stronger each time. It is worst in high ambient heat (100 to 116 F), with the fuel tank above half full, and after extended idling or…
My car, 2025 Honda Odyssey intermittently develops a raw gasoline odor inside the passenger compartment, particularly when traveling over bumps/rough pavement. Honda dealer inspected the vehicle and could not identify a leak or reproduce the problem
Odyssey years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Electrical System, Engine | — | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System | 3 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags, Structure | 2 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags, Unknown Or Other | 2 | 3 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 16 | 6 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 13 | 3 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 8 | 3 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 15 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 13 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 11 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 10 | 8 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 6 | 6 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 31 | 5 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 36 | 13 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 24 | 10 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 16 | 7 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 35 | 5 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 41 | 9 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 36 | 4 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 14 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 20 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 8 | 6 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Electrical System | — | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,568 |
| Average complaints per series | 7.2 |
| Worst single series | 65 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 7.2 hides a worst series at 65. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Odyssey?
By complaint volume, 2018, 2019, 2002 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Odyssey years are the cleanest?
1997, 2026, 2017 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Honda Odyssey have?
11,244 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2026. Of those, 394 describe a crash and 117 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
Mark ForCar as a preferred source and our data shows up first in your Google results. One click, no account.