2008 Honda Odyssey Brakes
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE BRAKE ENGAGED INDEPENDENTLY. THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AFTER THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER TO HAVE A DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 98,000.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN SUDDENLY FOR NO REASON THE BRAKES CAME ON BRINGING THE CARS SPEED DOWN TO UNDER 20 MPH. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO CATCH MY BREATH. AFTER A FEW MINUTES, I PROCEEDED SLOWLY UNTIL I FELT SAFE TO TRY IT AGAIN. NO FURTHER INCIDENTS UNTIL LAST MAY, AS I WAS PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT UNTO A CITY STREET, AS I APPROACHED 40MPH, THE BRAKES SUDDENLY CAME ON. NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME. HONDA SAYS THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CORRECT THIS UNTIL MARCH 2014? (IT HAPPENED 1 MORE TIME). *TR
WHILE DRIVING WITH MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR, MY 2008 HONDA ODYSSEY SPONTANEOUSLY BRAKED. I QUICKLY LOOKED TO MAKE SURE THE PARKING BRAKE HAD NOT ENGAGED AND THAT NO OTHER WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON. AFTER A MOMENT, THE BRAKES RELEASED. THEN THEY BRAKED AGAIN EVEN HARDER, SLAMMING ME AGAINST THE SEATBELT. THIS HAPPENED ABOUT FIVE OR SIX TIMES. I IMMEDIATELY SLOWED DOWN TO ABOUT 25 MILES/HOUR AND MANAGED TO LIMP THE COUPLE OF MILES LEFT TO GET HOME WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPENED, ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE THE FIRST TIME. WHEN I TOOK IT IN THE DEALERSHIP, BOTH TIMES THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE NOR DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *TR
AFTER ABOUT 5-20 MINUTES OF DRIVING WHEN I COME TO A STOP RATHER IT BE FLAT ROAD , PARKING LOT OR SLIGHT DOWN SLOPE I HEAR REALLY LOUD METALLIC LIKE GRINDING AND SQUEALING NOISE. THIS ALONG WITH MY OTHER COMPLAINT OF THE VAN BRAKING BY ITSELF HAS ME VERY CONCERNED CONSIDERING THAT THIS VAN DOES HAVE A WHEELCHAIR LIFT AND IS PRIMARILY USED TO TRANSPORT A DISABLED ADULT IN A WHEELCHAIR. *TR
WAS ON THE FREEWAY AT AROUND 60-65 MPH AND ALTHOUGH ACCELERATING I COULD FEEL THE BRAKES BRAKING EVEN THOUGH I WAS IN NO WAY APPLYING MY FOOT TO THE BRAKE. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED THIS JUST DRIVING LOCALLY TO THE STORE. WILL BE DRIVING AS NORMAL AND YOU CAN FEEL THE VAN SLOW ITSELF EVEN THOUGH I AM ACCELERATING WITH NO FOOT ON THE BRAKE. *TR
MY VAN MAKES A LOUD METALLIC GRINDING NOISE AFTER THE FIRST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OF DRIVING. REPEATED VISITS TO DEALERSHIP (AND AFTER A BRAKE PAD CHANGE) HAVE PRODUCED NO CHANGE. HONDA MASTER TECHNICIANS TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE TWICE AND HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED ISSUE AND CLAIM THAT THERE IS NO KNOWN PROBLEM OR RECALL. THEY HAVE BASICALLY SAID THAT THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING. SEVERAL WEBSITES AND DISCUSSION BOARDS POINT TO THIS SAME ISSUE AND LACK OF ACTION FROM HONDA. MY LAST CONVERSATION WITH HONDA WAS ALSO UNPRODUCTIVE - THE BEST THEY COULD RECOMMEND WAS TO TAKE THE MATTER TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP. ALL MY VEHICLE SERVICING INCLUDING EVERY RECOMMENDED OIL CHANGE AND VARIOUS LEVELS OF SERVICE HAVE BEEN AT HONDA DEALERSHIPS. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SUBSTANTIAL MANUFACTURING / MECHANICAL DEFECT AND COULD ALSO CAUSE SAFETY ISSUES GOING FORWARD. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE BRAKES INDEPENDENTLY ENGAGED. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT NO DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 23,000.
MY CAR HAS BEEN AUTOMATICALLY BRAKING AS I WAS ACCELERATING. THIS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS MENTIONED THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO SINCE THERE IS NO RECALL. I WAS DRIVING/ACCELERATING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH AND THE BRAKES AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED AS IF I HAD SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES. AFTER I LET OFF THE GAS, THE BRAKING STOPPED, BUT AS SOON AS I STEPPED ON THE GAS, IT BRAKED AGAIN, ALMOST CAUSING THE CAR BEHIND ME TO REAR-END ME. I WAS VERY AWARE THAT MY FOOT WAS ONLY ON THE GAS PEDAL - I AM ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT MY FOOT WAS NOT TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL. EVEN MY WIFE WHO WAS WATCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL NOTICED THAT IT WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE FLOOR WITHOUT TOUCHING IT. THIS WENT ON FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND SLOWLY EXIT A SIDE STREET. I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF, WAITED A FEW MINUTES, AND THE PROCEEDED BACK TO THE ROAD WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL ISSUE. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND AS I MENTIONED, THIS HAS HAPPENED TO BOTH MY WIFE AND I SEVERAL TIMES OF THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT WE HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. THE FIRST TIME THIS OCCURRED, I BELIEVE THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND HONDA DID NOTHING TO RECTIFY THE ISSUE. NOW WE ARE STUCK WITH A DANGEROUS ISSUE. THE APPLIED BRAKING ISN'T SUBTLE - INSTEAD IT IS A VERY DRAMATIC "SLAMMING" EFFECT WHILE THE ACCELERATOR IS PRESSED. I NOTICED THAT HONDA HAS RECALLED OTHER VEHICLE MODELS AND YEARS FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT - PLEASE DEMAND A RECALL SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE OUR DANGEROUS MINIVAN ANYMORE. THIS ISSUE HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE ACCIDENTS UNLESS SOMETHING IS DONE. *TR
CONTINUE TO HAVE SOFT BRAKES EVEN AFTER VSA RECALL. BRAKE DID TIGHTEN UP AND THE BECAME SOFT AGAIN. BRAKES STILL CONTINUE TO BECOME SOFT AFTER RECALL WORK. BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPLACES ALONG WITH NEW BRAKE FLUID AND BLEEDING OF BRAKE LINES. NO CHANGE AFTER WORK WAS COMPLETED. *TR
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET ABOUT 40MPH WITH MY FOOT ONLY ON THE GAS PEDAL, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BRAKES SLAMMED ON, SLOWING ME DOWN RAPIDLY. LUCKILY THERE WAS NOBODY BEHIND ME. THIS HAPPENED ON MY WAY HOME 2 MORE TIMES. THE SUBSEQUENT TIMES I WAS DRIVING SLOWER. THEE WERE NEVER ANY WARNING LIGHTS. THERE WAS NO SMELLS. AFTER THE 3 TIMES DURING THAT 1 TRIP, IT DID NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. I DROPPED THE CAR OFF AT HONDA DEALERSHIP TODAY AND AM AFRAID THAT THEY WONT BE ABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AGAIN. I AM TERRIFIED THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR. IT WAS LIKE THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF MY CONTROL. WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY, IN FRONT OF A SEMI AND THE BRAKES GET SLAMMED ON AGAIN? *TR
I BROUGHT THE ODYSSEY TO HONDA, SPOKE WITH SERVICE ADVISOR. I TOLD THE ADVISOR THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVEL WAS TOO FAR, ABOUT 75% OF RANGE TO INITIATE BRAKING. THIS WAS THE SAME CONDITION THAT THE VAN WAS IN ABOUT A YEAR AGO WHEN THE ("AIR IN BRAKE SYSTEM" RECALL WAS APPLIED). I ASKED HONDA TO BLEED THE BRAKES AND RE-APPLY THE SEALS CALLED OUT IN THE RECALL. HONDA REFUSED TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE OR APPLY THE RECALL A SECOND TIME (AS A RECALL CONDITION). HONDA DID RECOMMEND THAT I PAY FOR A BRAKE INSPECTION AND SERVICE. HONDA'S RECALL REPAIR WAS INSUFFICIENT AND HAS LEFT THE VEHICLE IN THE SAME DANGEROUS CONDITION OF LEAKING AIR INTO THE BRAKES AS IT WAS BEFORE THE RECALL. I PLAN TO BLEED THE BRAKES MYSELF RATHER THAN PAY HONDA A SMALL FORTUNE TO DO SOMETHING THEY SHOULD BE DOING FREE OF CHARGE FOR THERE FAULTY DESIGN. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF NHTSA WOULD LIKE TO EXAMINE THE VEHICLE TO DOCUMENT THE RECURRING PROBLEM, BEFORE I BLEED THE BRAKES. IN THE FUTURE I WOULD URGE THE NHTSA TO HOLD MANUFACTURERS LIABLE TO EITHER IMPLEMENT A REAL FIX, SUCH AS A NEW VSA MODULATOR THAT DOESN'T LEAK OR THAT THEY SHOULD REQUIRE THE MANUFACTURER TO APPLY THEIR 'BAND-AID FIX' RECALL OF BLEEDING THE BRAKES AND ADDING SEALS AS MANY TIMES AS THE CUSTOMER REQUESTS. BLEEDING THE BRAKES IS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX, THIS NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED ON A REGULAR BASIS, ITS NOT A ONE TIME FIX. *TR
WE WERE ACCELERATING ON A MAIN ROAD AND WE GOT UP TO ABOUT 25 MPH AND THE VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY BRAKED BY ITSELF AND WE CAME TO ALMOST A COMPLETE STOP WITH NO CONTROL. THE BRAKE PEDAL AUTOMATICALLY WENT DOWN LIKE SOMEONE WAS PUSHING THE PEDAL TO BRAKE. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO ONE BEHIND US OR WE WOULD HAVE BEEN HIT. THE BRAKE THEN AUTOMATICALLY RELEASED, NO INTERIOR LIGHTS CAME ON TO INDICATE ANY ISSUES, AND THE VEHICLE IS WORKING FINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN A YEAR ON THIS VEHICLE. *TR
WHILE CRUISING AT ABOUT 35 MPH ON LEVEL ROAD THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED, APPARENTLY THE BRAKES CAME ON AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. AT THE TIME OF THE OCCURRENCE THE LEFT REAR TIRE WAS A FEW PSI LESS THAN THE OTHER TIRES AND THE LOW TIRE INDICATOR WAS ON (27 PSI ON LEFT REAR, 33 PSI ON OTHER TIRES). *TR
BRAKE WITHOUT THE DRIVER PRESSING THE PEDAL. *TR
BRAKES AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED WHILE FOOT WAS ON THE GAS PEDAL - THE VEHICLE WAS GOING ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND THE BRAKES APPLIED FORCING YOU INTO THE SEAT BELT UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS ALMOST TO A STOP. IT HAPPENED AGAIN ABOUT 300 FEET LATER. THE BRAKES APPLIED ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL OR E-BRAKE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN 15,000 MILES IT HAPPENED - THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED WE DID NOT TAKE IT TO THE DEALER THINKING IT WAS HUMAN ERROR OR A ONE TIME ISSUE. NOW THAT IT HAPPENED AGAIN AND I FOUND 7 OR 8 OTHER ODYSSEY OWNERS FILE COMPLAINTS WITH THE NHTSA WE KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER BUT COULD NOT DUPLICATE. CALLED HONDA AND THEY SENT 3 ENGINEERS TO LOOK AT VEHICLE BUT COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING. HONDA REPLACED ALL BRAKING SYSTEM PARTS WITH NEW PARTS, PROVIDED A RENTAL CAR ALL AT NO CHARGE. THEY HAVE NO ANSWERS TO WHAT CAUSED THE ISSUE BUT PLAN ON PUTTING THE PARTS FROM MY VEHICLE ONTO ANOTHER VEHICLE SO THEY CAN DO MORE TESTS. HOPEFULLY THE NEW PARTS WILL RESOLVE THE ISSUE. *TR
I MERGED ON TO THE HIGHWAY GOING APPROX. 50MPH WHEN MY ODYSSEY MINIVAN STARTED TO BRAKE ON IT'S OWN. I LOOKED AT MY PANEL TO MAKE SURE I WAS IN 'D' (DRIVE AND NOT 1 OR 2) AND CHECKED MY EMERGENCY BRAKE, THEN THE VAN ACCELERATED AND THEN BRAKED A COUPLE TIMES THEN IT BRAKED REALLY HARD MAKING THE VAN DO A NOSE DIVE. THIS ALL HAPPENED WITHIN ABOUT A MINUTE OR LESS. I WAS NOT IN CONTROL OF THE VAN, IT DID ALL THIS ON IT'S OWN. I HAD JUST PICKED UP MY 2 YEAR OLD FROM PRESCHOOL AND I HAD MY 10 MONTH OLD REAR FACING AS WELL. IF THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD HAVE DONE, I WOULD HAVE. I HIT MY FLASHERS AND PULLED OVER. BUT LIKE I SAID, I WAS ON THE FREEWAY AND I FELT LIKE A SITTING DUCK WITH MY BABIES IN THE BACK SO I STARTED DRIVING BECAUSE THERE WAS AN OFF RAMP JUST A LITTLE AHEAD OF ME, AND WHEN I REACHED APPROX 25MPH THE VAN DOVE ON THE BRAKES AGAIN. ONCE I WAS SAFELY OFF THE HIGHWAY, I CALLED AAA AND HAD IT TOWED TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP. WE BOUGHT THE VAN 12/11 CERTIFIED USED. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL STUCK TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC FOR INSPECTION WHO LOCATED THE FAILURE AT THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,690 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 16,000.
BRAKE IS SOFT ONLY 40,000 MILE VERY SOFT BRAKE HONDA DOES NOT WANNA REPLACE PARTS SO PLEASE HELP ME ON THIS ISSUE THANKS. *TR
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Quick Summary
The 2008 Honda Odyssey has 43 Brakes complaints on file. 4 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.