Loweguy5 (how many cars will I buy this month before my wife leaves?) said:
I don't know where the concern about Honda vans came from. We had a new 2015 Odyssey EXL and it was really fabulous. Mountains of room, decent highway fuel economy and the driving position didn't suck.
I think the much older ones had a concern about transmissions, but if it's had a good service history I would take a chance on a Honda any day.
This is my personal experience, so take it for what it's worth (small sample size, etc.).
'01-04 are the ones that are famous for transmission issues (although I still see reports of vans with zillions of miles on their original transmissions, so who knows). '05-06 have a 5spd auto transmission that is by all accounts a bit upgrade over the '01-04. In '07, they received the Ridgeline transmission, which was another significant step up. In the '11 redesign, they introduced a new 6spd transmission which is the best of the bunch in terms of reliability. The lower trim models had the old 5spd, and then Honda eventually (I believe in 2014) switched all trim models over to the 6spd auto through '17.
We had an '05 Odyssey, which we had from 36k up to 164k over an 11 year period. We sold it because the transmission blew. I changed the transmission fluid every 30k (3x drain and fill, so roughly 12 qts. of only Honda's correct ATF fluid), and even changed the built-in filter, which no one changes. It was never used to tow, etc. Also had multiple issues with the power sliding doors over the years (I fixed them all myself). The transmission experience definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, especially when I had done all the preventative stuff. Being an EX, we had no issues with the VCM, or the expensive motor mounts that go with it. The suspension was worn, but held up well, and the engine was fantastic - no leaks of any kind.
In the summer of 2020, we purchased a '17 Odyssey with 193k on it, and the transmission promptly started throwing codes (the torque convertor wouldn't lockup at highway speeds). This one has the new and improved 6spd transmission that's supposed to be more solid. Thankfully, it had a used car warranty (even with 193k on it), so they replaced the transmission with a used one with 100k that slipped from the get-go. So we're on the third transmission now, which has been good for the past 15k or so. I change the transmission fluid and filter regularly, added an additional in-line ATF cooler, and am crossing my fingers. When we bought it, we factored in if we lost either the engine or transmission we'd still be ahead of the game, and since the dealer covered both transmissions, we're still ahead of the game. I have a car repair fund set up for this car, as we knew buying with higher mileage it was a risk. The overall van is in amazing shape (not even taking mileage into account), and seems to have generally been taken care of. I believe it was used as some kind of airport limo/uber/lyft type service, which explains the 65k a year in annual mileage!
From '11-14 they had a lot of issues with the variable cylinder management system, which resulted in a service bulletin: https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/web/A13-081.pdf The issue has been seen in newer vans, as well. I disabled VCM on ours and so far it seems to be running well, I have a pending oil analysis that should be coming back any day now. It doesn't burn oil and the plugs all looked good, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they had fixed the issue by the end of that model run ('17 was the last year). We also had the famous spool valve (VTEC) leak, which did take out the alternator (they don't like having oil drip on them).
Timing belts vs. timing chains can be a pain, it's an expensive service if you're not doing it yourself. And valve adjustments for the rear bank aren't fun.
Every vehicle has their pluses and minuses, I'm familiar with the Hondas and most of their issues, so I'm comfortable with fixing it. I'm willing to take it off the road for a bit to work through the teething issues, but if you're looking for stone-cold reliability, I think the Sienna or Grand Caravan may be the better choice. Because of the piston issues, I'd avoid an '11-14 Odyssey unless their was proof of the TSB being applied, a new engine, or something like that.
I like Odysseys, they drive well, get impressive mileage on the highway, have a ton of room, and are very comfortable. They're not great in the snow (and the traction control is awful in the snow, as well), so I'd recommend getting winter tires if you're in a climate that sees a lot of snow/ice in the winter. The Airlift Rear Airbags are another great bang-for-the-buck mod that I've done on our two Odysseys, they really keep the rear squat at bay, especially if you're loaded up with people/gear.
