Honda Odyssey

[Jim G. - Ohio]

My 2012 Honda Odyssey does a great job towing our 13' Companion (under 2,000 lbs.), even without brakes. I will likely be adding brakes as I plan to travel in some states that require them. Old school towing is safe towing by allowing for extra space and time to avoid getting into a dangerous situation. By letting off the gas it slows down without needing much brakes. Trailer brakes will be appreciated when coming down grades. I had the dealer install the towing package, and thought it to be reasonable. We have found the Odyssey to be such a safe and comfortable vehicle to travel and tow with. As Norm points out, towing does affect the otherwise excellent fuel mileage.

[honda03842]

We've had our Odyssey for almost 3 years and have 67,000 miles on it. The other day it wouldn't start and had to jump it with our cell phone sized jumper.

I realized that it was a battery problem. Like most newer cars it has a maintenance free battery. This is SCAM.

These batteries use up their waterwith no easy way to fill the cells.

I ripped off the Maintenance Free label revealing the six fill caps. They make it difficult to get the caps out but my trusty Leatherman came thru.

We're presently on Fogo Island, NL. No place sells distilled water but our Campground host has a dehumidifier and filled a bottle up for me. The battery took over a quarter of water.

Our CRV had the same issue after 3 years but was easier to fill. The CRV battery lasted another 3-4 years.

These are only maintenance free if you want to buy another when the water level gets low.

[honda03842]

Just returned from Newfoundland and we're entering year 4 of our Honda Odyssey ownership with 71,000 miles. It looks like we're on schedule for 250,000 miles in 10 years. So far there have been no issues other than the battery covered in an earlier post. Ginny chose the Odyssey and still firmly loves it. The only change I would like is four wheel drive for those occasional times that it would be nice to have.

The Odyssey is better than our former Honda CRV in that it is more comfortable to drive and of course has gobs of power that's rarely used.

LIke most space it gets filled with whatever. Because we have the space we carry some things we have yet to use like out 1000 watt Honda Generator. We almost used it when we were in Newfoundland when the power went out in a 14" snow storm. So far we've only started it to exercise the engine.

One feature of the Odyssey we thought we'd never use was the seating capacity however we often find we're the chosen one when going out with couples for the evening.

So far so good with the Odyssey. Simply hoping we make it to 250,000 miles without a significant repair like the CRV.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by honda03842

...
One feature of the Odyssey we thought we'd never use was the seating capacity however we often find we're the chosen one when going out with couples for the evening...

I'm LOL because I (semi-) permanently removed the second row seats in the Sienna van. Not only does that give me even more room for things like a dog crate AND a full size men's bike (and much more), it also means I never become the designated driver. One passenger and anyone who can stand the third row seats is all the people that I can carry.

[honda03842]

Hi Gordon,
I don't mind driving and people don't seem to mind the third row though heavier people can have difficulty getting back there.

We have stopped carrying bikes, Ginny's not much of a rider, particularly as we get older and of course we follow the no pet rule.

The sheer volume of these vehicles does provide a lot of options including a place to sleep.

[redbarron55]

The thing I like the most about my 2016 Town and Country is the stow and go seats that drop down to give a clear floor that will take that ubiquitous 4 X 8 sheet and also 7 passengers and no seats have to be pulled out.
Gets close to the mileage of the Odyssey, but not quite.
283 hp 17 - 18 mpg towing my heavy 16' Scamp.
Vans are the best! (In my opinion)

[Jon in AZ]

Funny... fold-in-floor seats are one reason I gave up on minivans. I haven't met one yet that wasn't torture to sit in for more than 30 minutes.

Loved our 1st generation 2000 Sienna. Comfortable seats with adjustable recline in all three rows. Modular components were easily removable by one person. Backrests folded to carry sheets of plywood without removing seats. Room for a full-size spare under the floor. I consider it the best all-around vehicle I have ever owned.

[redbarron55]

That is why they sell different cars!
Personally we rarely use the back seats, but they are really for those lets all get in and go the dinner or the movies.
But when we are out traveling and we find something that take all of the room we can drop the seats and load it in!
Different strokes for different folks and all is good.
The only possible drawback to vans might be the question of the transmissions which have given trouble in the past.
Hopefully that is fixed on the newer vans.
My wife tried all of the vans and liked the handling of the T&C best and I liked the Stow and go seats so here we are.
The Honda was #2 and she didn't like the Toyota at all.
The Honda does offer better mileage than the T&C, but I think the new Pacifica is about the same.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Loved our 1st generation 2000 Sienna. Comfortable seats with adjustable recline in all three rows. Modular components were easily removable by one person. Backrests folded to carry sheets of plywood without removing seats. Room for a full-size spare under the floor. I consider it the best all-around vehicle I have ever owned.

2015 Sienna (gen three I think).. 2ed row seats very comfortable but the larger one is very heavy and hard for one person to remove. A trolley track remains so the floor is close to flat but its easy to trip over, you still need to lift 4x8 sheets over the trolleys to get them in and a dog crate does not work so well. (I took the trolleys out which is why the seat removal is more or less permanent). Third row does fold flat into the "trunk."

Larger back-up camera makes hitching easy. Beefed up rear end helps with towing as does the manual shift option. The manual shift might be the only real advantage the Sienna has over the Odyssey. Either one is a great all around vehicle but looks out of place among pickup trucks, esp when driven by a guy without young children.

The full size spare under the floor has been known to be a problem when the cable holding it up gets rusty. Some Sienna owners have even taken to carrying their spare on the roof or in the "trunk."

The seats that fold totally flat would be my preference even if less comfortable, but overall vehicle reliability trumps all.

[redbarron55]

One thing I found out when investigating the Vans was that the towing package on the T&C includes heavy duty engine and transmission cooling etc and self leveling rear suspension.
These things are often included in the packages that Chrysler sells to the rental companies. I forget the option # but it includes the heavy duty cooling etc and the self leveling suspension, but not the hitch or the wiring.
I bought the OEM hitch and wiring harness off ebay at a good price.
The OEM hitch mounts to the factor chassis mounts that were used by the rear bumper bar that is removed.
I liked the fact that the OEM hitch is factory and higher and will not drag like some add on hitches.
I also added a cut down relay to remove the 12 volts to the trailer if the engine is not running.
The best thing about a van is that it is not a pickup truck (at least for me)

[honda03842]

All the van positives are true for us as well. We Don't often carry 4x8 sheets but have, as well as large furniture, all pluses and they are not at impossible truck heights.

We don't often drive more than 3 hours a day, but the van is the most comfortable vehicle we've driven. Ginny loves riding in it and as one of my RV friends says, "happy wife, happy life".

We average about 18-19 mpg towing, not as good as the CRV but acceptable. The Odyssey does better than our 2004 CRV for not towing mpg.

The CRV was super reliable, I'm hoping for the same here.

We absolutely love the back up camera, great for everyday driving.

We would be happier if it had a full size spare. Other than that it's been great.

[Mike Magee]

I likd my Highlander for its inner space, not quite like a minivan but it seemed close. The seats did not come out or quite fold comletely flat, but it had 4wd. And I was sick of the sliding doors after owning 2 minivans in a row prior to the HL, so 4 regular doors was a treat.

[honda03842]

Sliding doors. I've co. E to like sliding doors and given a choice, though it's probably not possible, would choose all sliders. Our's are not powered but they seem to be safer and more convenient.

[Jon in AZ]

Sliding doors are great in tight parking lots, but they tend to break much more easily. In 13 years and 180K miles, the driver's side sliding door was the only thing that ever required repair on my Sienna. Twice.

Now with the Pilot, every time I park, I turn on the recording, "Watch your doors."

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Sliding doors are great in tight parking lots, but they tend to break much more easily. In 13 years and 180K miles, the driver's side sliding door was the only thing that ever required repair on my Sienna. Twice.

Now with the Pilot, every time I park, I turn on the recording, "Watch your doors."

Jon, we're your doors powered?

[Jon in AZ]

No. And since I not only have kids of my own but also used the van for church outings, the doors did get some abuse. Sliding doors don't like to be slammed. "Gently, gently!" was the mantra then. Swing-out doors do seem to be more forgiving of rough treatment.

[redbarron55]

We have powered door because the vans that had the SWMBO required built in nav had them.
I have come to appreciate them, but still worry about the reliability.
The main drawback is when wanting to get moving uphill on wet pavement or gravel with front wheel spin.
This is due to the hitch pin weight unloading the front wheels.
A WDH would help on this, but I haven't gotten around to getting one yet.
Power is not an issue except when lighting up those tires!
Now a days the van is unloved by many who are the perfect target audiences, because mom or grand mom had one when the youngsters were young and they are NOT cool.
SUVs are popular even when the 4 wheel drive is not needed and the interior is more cramped.
Our Kids are NO VAN kids, but both the son and daughter need one!
We are not hampered so we have one and it meets our needs for a tow vehicle, people mover, garage sale pickup and plywood hauler.
As to which one Honda, Toyota, Chrysler etc is an individual choice.

[honda03842]

I've never considered a WDH, we have a very light ball, still only 200 lbs. We avoided electric doors though would like an electric rear hatch, Ginny is certain of it as we get older.

[redbarron55]

I don't know if the WDH is necessary, but the Chrysler engineers say if the trailer is over 1800 lbs one is required.
It is odd that the light duty ones are more expensive than the heavier ones.
My 16' modified Scamp at about 2800 lbs has a pin weight of close to three hundred pounds and evidently unloads the front end a little.
The Van tows the Scamp great and I am not certain that WDH is of a lot of use, but I would add one if I got a good deal somewhere

[honda03842]

My 16 is 2600 lbs, of that 200 lb on the ball. WDH didn't seem necessary on the CRV and obviously not here.

We did have differential tire pressure front to rear and higher than standard tire pressure in both front and rear. As well we shortened the distance from ball to rear axle as much as possible on both the Odyssey and CRV, picking up a couple of inches.

I know small things but in the positive direction.

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