We have owned Hondas since I began driving. We loved them! Our Accord had well over 100k miles. We have owned 3 Odysseys. The first we had no problems with. Our second one was a 2005 or 2006 model. Once it began having electrical problems that couldn't easily be remedied, we decided to get a new one, a 2008. We have owned this one for 18 months; it has 36,000 miles on it. Both of our sliding doors rattle frequently (but not frequently enough that our service tech can hear them consistantly when we take the van in :glare:), sometimes our front driver's window rolls up too far and squeaks when the glass is pushed into the top, same driver's window rattles, and the transmission makes funny sounds when it's going between 40-50 mph (I've been told this is because the vehicle doesn't know which gear to stay in. I understand that concept, but when we got the van, it only made that sound at 43 mph. Now it sounds like this anywhere between 40-50 mph. Why would the gears change inconsistantly?), and the transmission is no longer shifting smoothly. We're not comfortable keeping this vehicle, but we can't replace it yet. We probably won't get another Odyssey because of the problems we've had with the last 2. The quality of the vehicle isn't what it used to be.
Part of the problem for us is our service techs. We take the van in to a Honda dealership for service because we have very few mechanics here who are experts on Hondas. Our service manager has told us not to follow the service recommendations in our owner's manual; we should follow his recs instead. I'm not comfortable scrapping the info I have directly from Honda in favor of spending many extra $$'s. He has also told us he can't check to see if there are any problems with 2008 Odysseys that we might want to be aware of. That info has been given to us at other dealerships without even asking for it.
I'm not sure this post makes much sense. It's late and I'm tired, but I did want to say I've been very disappointed with the last 2 Odysseys we've owned. (And if anyone has any info re: transmissions for 2008's, I'd love to hear it. The local service manager just pooh-poohs my concerns.)