Possible Odyssey purchase - 5 speed AT good or bad?

[bfg9k]

My wife and I are considering a used 2002ish Honda Odyssey purchase to accomodate our new soon-to-arrive baby. We frequently travel with my mother & sister in law, and our Saab wagon won't seat 6! We'd sell my Subaru wagon to finance the Honda. I've seen mixed things about the Honda 5-speed transmissions here on BITOG. What're the things to look for/avoid on this transmission? Is this the only major issue with this car? Since I've had such a great experience with the Specialty Formulations Autoglide in my two cars I'd probably switch a Honda over to the SF Honda formulation. Thanks!

 

[tdpark]

Make sure the oil jet recall has been done. Look to see that the previous owner has done the proper maintenance on the fluid. Lastly, use Honda ATF as Honda has been good about fixing past warranty but you will void any consideration if you use non honda atf. Goto www.odyclub.com they have a ton of info on the ody. Lot of people have gotten good will tranny replacement after their trannys failed. But like I said, you should use Honda ATF to cover yourself.

 

[Schmoe]

The 02 setup is a 6th generation Honda, but they had 4 speed AT, so if you got a 5 speed, you must have the 7th generation setup. Check records and make sure you got the "fix" for the transmission. The factory didn't start installing the fix until 03 or 04 or something like that. Still, there have been failures with the fixes.

 

[Tosh]

I like Hondas and I have a 5AT now, but I wouldn't recommend an AT to anybody else, especially used. I would like some peace of mind, as this one is wearing on my nerves. Sure, mine is covered until 7yr/100k, but then what? OT: Mazda5 seats six, comes with a stick and that nice 2.3 I4, and weighs 3300lbs. List price ~18k. Looks good on paper? Back to you.

 

[Blue_Goose]

Would this tranny be an issue in a 2004 Saturn Vue with the 3.5L and Honda 5spd AT? I haven't heard of any failures over on the Saturn boards Goose

 

[bfg9k]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I will definitely head over to www.odyclub.com and check it out. Pablo, I've been eyeing 2002 Odysseys in the $13k-$14k range. I test drove one at lunch, it drove quite nicely. Tosh, I've been through a complete tranny rebuild on my Subaru and I'm not eager to repeat it! I'm leary of the Mazda5 since that engine with an AT and a full load of passengers will be working awfully hard. My wife won't touch a stick shift. Maybe I'll take a look at one later this week.

 

[vad]

quote:

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I'm leary of the Mazda5 since that engine with an AT and a full load of passengers will be working awfully hard.

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Are you gonna race it? The Mazda5 comes with a 160 hp engine. It's a very capable one considering the vehicle's weight. A great bargain, too. The 5 drives like a car, not a minivan. You'll actually enjoy driving it. Take it a for a spin. You'll see what I mean.

 

[The Critic]

Mazda trannies are lame ducks, I've heard. ALL Odysseys except the 99 have the 5-spd automatics, I believe. The oil jet recall only addresses <1% of all problems, its no big secret. Most of the 5-spd autos fail before 100K due to problems with the clutchpack, etc...from what I've been told. The warranty has been extended to 100K, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Check to see if the transmission has been replaced before under warranty with the REVISED unit...the revised unit will NOT have an oil jet covering the fill plug hole. BTW, change the fluid with OEM ATF-Z1 ONCE...when you get the van...then don't bother touching it again until you have the transmission replaced...the original transmissions simply don't last and are not worth it.

 

[bfg9k]

What about the Ford Freestars? Edmunds.com sez the 2004's (the re-designed year) are going for about $14k.

 

[Pablo]

MW - pretty strong statements. I was under the impression that the problem was remedied 2004 and up. I was also under the impression one of the main problems is just plain inadequate fluid volume for the size/power/heat. My 2006 tranny is NOT the same as a 2003 tranny when I look at the exploded view. (I don't have the links here). For example the 2006 has a decent size modular filter cartridge holder cast into the housing. Earlier units just had a small inline (afterthought) filter. Still I'd love to increase my ATF volume with another filter and a cooler or two. Yes I will use Amsoil ATF, also.

 

[ccs2k1]

quote:

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Originally posted by Michael Wan: Mazda trannies are lame ducks, I've heard. ALL Odysseys except the 99 have the 5-spd automatics, I believe. The oil jet recall only addresses <1% of all problems, its no big secret. Most of the 5-spd autos fail before 100K due to problems with the clutchpack, etc...from what I've been told. The warranty has been extended to 100K, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Check to see if the transmission has been replaced before under warranty with the REVISED unit...the revised unit will NOT have an oil jet covering the fill plug hole. BTW, change the fluid with OEM ATF-Z1 ONCE...when you get the van...then don't bother touching it again until you have the transmission replaced...the original transmissions simply don't last and are not worth it.

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MW, not personal but you've got too many wrong statements. 99-01s were powered w/ the 3.0 V6 and 4 sp AT. This is the tranny that got the warranty extended to 7 yr/100k miles. The 02-04s came w/ the 3.5 V6 and 5 sp ATs. For these latter models, unless you bought an extended warranty, your powertrain came only w/ a 3 yr/36K mile warranty and the oil jet recall. What do you mean by "revised unit"? Replaced 5 sp ATs were all rebuilt. My regime on our 02 EX is to keep the AT fluid fresh. I used to flush it every 15K miles myself. Now that the oil jet is in the way, it's a PITA so I pay to have it done. 74K miles and still knocking on wood.

 

[brianl703]

How does the oil jet work? It sounds like something that is screwed in place of the fill plug. Where does the oil feed to the jet come from? The cooler lines?

 

[ccs2k1]

Here's the best link I found (final draft?). http://www.smokinsales.com/HApdfs/a04-021.pdf

 

[The Critic]

Sorry... Should've double-checked before I posted. Forgot 99-01 had 4-spd units. If I remember correctly, the 4-spd units did have their warranties extended as well...but not to the same length of time. 02, 03, and some very early build 04 models were under oil jet recall and ALSO had the extended warranty...but for the 5-spds it was to 100K. 4-spds was shorter I heard...but don't recall what mileage. Some of the 5-spd ATs that were replaced back in 02 and 03 were still the "previous style" units and later, still required an oil jet to be installed to correct the gear problem. I think Tosh on this forum is in such a situation. The newer "updated" units do not have an oil jet installed as the problem was already corrected. Sorry for the mis-info...

 

[ccs2k1]

No warranty extensions were made for the 5 sp ATs AFAIK. If that were the case, I would have demanded an extended warranty.

 

[The Critic]

I'm certainly have a really bad day today and I can't seem to get my facts straight... Funny how they have the warranty extensions for the CLs and TLs with the 5-spd Autos but NOT for the Odysseys... Quite a few people on the OdyClub forum have had their 5-spd Autos replaced on a "dealer goodwill" once outside of the 3yr/36K warranty... Stand corrected...

 

[vad]

quote:

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Mazda trannies are lame ducks, I've heard.

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You heard it wrong.

 

[The Critic]

That's what FazerZ on this forum told me...

 

[ccs2k1]

Man, you're are having a bad day! p.s. there's a long way between "good will" and warranty extensions.

 

[Pablo]

I suppose I should look mine up....my 2006 Ody standard powertrain warranty is 5 year, 60,000 miles. The dealer gave us a 7 year, 100,000 powertrain warranty (aftermarket). Amsoil ATF for me!