Wow

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: qr25de
That's bloody expensive. Are Autos normally double the price of manuals?

Unless youre an AT apologist who is trying to claim that the lifecycle cost of an AT is the same or less than an MT...

Not everyone who disagrees with you is an "apologist", and making that characterization just shows your close-mindedness on the subject. It's model-depended, and as I suggested on your CR-V thread, if you look at the life cycle costs of a CR-V, an AT is, on average, cheaper. It's an expensive clutch to replace, and in real-world terms, people have reported replacing clutches a lot more than transmissions. There are other cars for which this would be the case as well (a Subaru EAT4 vs. an MT would be another example).

On average, I'd agree that AT lifecycle cost is higher, but the real answer is "it depends".

 

[PandaBear]

If 3k is all they charge then it is a very good price in this area after the warranty is up.

Like others said it depends on what they do, and if it is a quality rebuild or not.

The 89.95 limited lifetime battery seems like a good deal. What does limited lifetime means? Is wear and tear included?

 

[yesthatsteve]

Originally Posted By: cchase
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
The older Odys were notorious but I thought this was fixed by the mid-2000s? The wife and I both drive the snot out of our 09 Odyssey and it's been fantastic. Our 02 CR-V is presently suffering from "change the diff fluid" noise but as I know that's all it is and isn't critical, no biggie. I'd LIKE to change the fluid in the Fit but the drain bolt is defying my efforts. The whole engine/trans assembly is so tiny on the Fit that when I put some torque behind my effort to get the bolt off the whole car moves...a lot...

I don't know much about the Honda transmission problems, but I really doubt a 2 year old transmission would have problems even if it was a "problem" unit in the first place.

The '01 Ody in my sig has seen the following time/mileage life cycles from its transmissions:

1. Original factory unit: 4 years, ~75k miles
2. First rebuild: 4.5 years, ~85k miles
3. Second rebuild: 2 years, ~45k miles
4. Third rebuild: 13 months, ~18k miles, and still going.

The forums at odyclub.com have a number of members with 2-years and sometimes less on a regularly-serviced transmission. They also have a few members with well over 100k on the original unit reporting no problems at all.

Aside from the three transmission rebuilds, our Odyssey has been a great car. Because of the three transmission rebuilds, my lovely wife isn't the brand-loyal Honda girl she once was.

 

[BrianWC]

Wow that sucks. We love our Odyssey. We keep thinking about what we will buy next to replace it and can't think of anything short of a Suburban. I'm fretting the timing belt replacement. I didn't know it had a belt when I bought it...

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
The '01 Ody in my sig has seen the following time/mileage life cycles from its transmissions:

1. Original factory unit: 4 years, ~75k miles
2. First rebuild: 4.5 years, ~85k miles
3. Second rebuild: 2 years, ~45k miles
4. Third rebuild: 13 months, ~18k miles, and still going.

The forums at odyclub.com have a number of members with 2-years and sometimes less on a regularly-serviced transmission.

I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was THAT bad- though I haven't investigated since I'm not considering buying one. How are they even still selling Odysseys? Why would an informed consumer buy one?

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Wow that sucks. We love our Odyssey. We keep thinking about what we will buy next to replace it and can't think of anything short of a Suburban. I'm fretting the timing belt replacement. I didn't know it had a belt when I bought it...

Caravan? Town&Country? Sienna? None have timing belts, all currently have documented reliable transmissions. A suburban is *hardly* the only choice.

 

[Boss302fan]

The Odyssey also had an issue with the tire/rims, right? They wore really faast like every 15K miles. My brother just got rid of his and he hated replacing those dealer only tires.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
The '01 Ody in my sig has seen the following time/mileage life cycles from its transmissions:

1. Original factory unit: 4 years, ~75k miles
2. First rebuild: 4.5 years, ~85k miles
3. Second rebuild: 2 years, ~45k miles
4. Third rebuild: 13 months, ~18k miles, and still going.

The forums at odyclub.com have a number of members with 2-years and sometimes less on a regularly-serviced transmission.

I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was THAT bad- though I haven't investigated since I'm not considering buying one. How are they even still selling Odysseys? Why would an informed consumer buy one?

From my perspective, it was b/c it was supposedly a resolved issue. Admittedly, I did not troll Odyclub to see if that was the case. I just looked at Consumer Reports.

 

[mechtech2]

This is why I over change my tranny fluids.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Wow that sucks. We love our Odyssey. We keep thinking about what we will buy next to replace it and can't think of anything short of a Suburban. I'm fretting the timing belt replacement. I didn't know it had a belt when I bought it...

Caravan? Town&Country? Sienna? None have timing belts, all currently have documented reliable transmissions. A suburban is *hardly* the only choice.

You are correct. I was speaking of an alternative to a minivan altogether, though. We bought the Ody when our youngest was still small enough to be hard to get in and out of the car and my wife didn't want to exacerbate the situation with having one of his sisters flipping down seats and the like. But since that era is over (knock on wood), we'll probably go back to SUV land for our next family vehicle. I'm partial to a Land Rover or even a Buick Enclave, but my wife still wants to be able to haul around the kids, the kids' friends, and tons o' cr*p (and would never drive a Buick).

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: Boss302fan
The Odyssey also had an issue with the tire/rims, right? They wore really faast like every 15K miles. My brother just got rid of his and he hated replacing those dealer only tires.


Yep, the OEM Michelins are awful. The OEM Dunlops on my Fit were awful, too. By the time I replaced them, each tire had two punctures.

I actually have General Altimax's on all three cars and love them.

 

[tdpark]

They fixed the trannys in the late 04s- i have one and have over 200k miles on the original tranny. They since upgraded the tranny in 07 i beleive. The trannys are not so much an issue anymore.

The touoring in 05 and/or 06 had the pax run flat tires and you had to go to the dealer to change them. The other models used regular tires you could get anywhere.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: tdpark
They fixed the trannys in the late 04s- i have one and have over 200k miles on the original tranny. They since upgraded the tranny in 07 i beleive. The trannys are not so much an issue anymore.



That's what I thought I had heard, as well.

 

[Chris142]

This is why I refuse to own a car with an AT. Never had any luck with them in my past in my cars and now the one in my Moms car with 75K on it and recuar services is slipping and staying in gear too long...Grrrrrr.

 

[Chris142]

This is why I refuse to own a car with an AT. Never had any luck with them in my past in my cars and now the one in my Moms car with 75K on it and reguar services is slipping and staying in gear too long...Grrrrrr.

 

[AuthorEditor]

It's hard to find a car without AT used--even small cars where I think they should all be manual. OTOH today's ATs are so efficient that there isn't really much, if any, gas mileage hit.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
It's hard to find a car without AT used--even small cars where I think they should all be manual. OTOH today's ATs are so efficient that there isn't really much, if any, gas mileage hit.


Maybe so but you spend quite a bit more on the purchase with the AT and when there is a problem you can bet it is going to cost you plenty to fix it.

I'll also never buy a car with AT. Honestly unless you live in an area with grid lock traffic every day there is not reason not to drive stick.

 

[artificialist]

People usually buy subcompacts because they need to drive a car, and have no passion for driving. That is why so many automatic and so few manual compact cars are out there.

That is why you would need a car built for pure driving pleasure to easily be able to find a manual.

 

[CBR.worm]

I think those prices are encouraging.

I was in NAPA the other day, they had a sign that said, don't replace the car, we sell engines and transmissions.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
This is why I refuse to own a car with an AT. Never had any luck with them in my past in my cars and now the one in my Moms car with 75K on it and reguar services is slipping and staying in gear too long...Grrrrrr.


I've only ever had one A/T fail before 150,000 miles- Dad's 1978 Horizon. Most have gone over 200k. Try to go 200k miles on a clutch in a M/T in something other than a compact car.

Pick the right A/T, and its just not an issue. I've always believed (and still do) that heavy front-drive cars are the worst for transmission problems, be it a minivan or a big sedan. Take my wife's 93 Vision- A/T had to be rebuilt at 160k, which I still consider too soon compared to my other vehicles.

I almost believe that the ones that are ignored and abused seem to hold up the best. Dad's old 92 5.2/A518 Dakota- given away at over 200k with never a fluid or filter change, and I saw the current owner driving it just yesterday and chatted a while. Must have close to 300k on it by now.