2018 Honda Odyssey Power Train
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
Upon pressing the accelerator from a complete stop, the vehicle does not respond right away. The main incident was when traveling around 50 miles per hour on a highway, the van shifted into neutral on its own and the accelerator would not respond. An error message of transmission failure showed on the dash briefly. The van had to coast through traffic an eventually push off the road.
2018 Honda Odyssey (10-speed automatic transmission) What happened: The vehicle is experiencing intermittent loss of reverse and delayed gear engagement from a stop. When shifting into reverse or drive, the engine revs but the vehicle does not immediately move, then jerks into gear. The issue is worse when cold. Warning lights / codes: Check Engine Light on. Honda dealer retrieved diagnostic trouble code P0763 – Shift Solenoid C Electrical. The code returned as a hard code after being cleared. Safety risk: The vehicle hesitates or fails to move when shifting into reverse or from a stop, creating a safety risk in traffic, parking situations, and when backing up. Current status: Diagnosed by Honda dealership. Repair recommended. Honda corporate case opened.
Vehicle lags in acceleration from a slow rolling start, at random times. There is a clear 1-2 second lag in the acceleration, then a sudden harsh shift into gear. Mostly happens during turns, and if traffic is present, may cause an accident. Also when traveling at low speeds 20-35 mph, there is a transmission jutter. Have spoken with service reps at dealerships and they claim to have no knowledge of these transmission issues
The transmission failed at 108k miles. Honda is charging 10000USD for repair. They want to replace the 9 speed transmission. This transmission is notorious for failure and Honda hasn’t issued a recall yet.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated when the vehicle was shifted into park(P), the contact was unable to shift the vehicle out of park(P) into drive(D). The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V299000 (Power Train, Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 700.
The transmission is very jerky and has completely lost power before. It has refused to shift and stalled in the middle of the road. It is very scary.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that the failure has caused the vehicle to hesitate while attempting to accelerate. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions while driving on the interstate and the freeway. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the software needed to be updated and the vehicle needed to be driven approximately five thousand miles to correct the failure. The vehicle was repaired, and the transmission was replaced once before. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, the warranty department failed to return the call. The approximate failure mileage was 108,900.
As reported previously to Honda the vehicle jerks when accelerating at high speeds.It was recommended to die a transmission flush which was performed and did not resolve the issue.slow acceleration at times is also a safety issue especially on highways.
Honda issued a recall on the fuel pump December 2023. They did not have any parts available to replace mine. I had brought in my Odyssey Elite to Space Coast Honda multiple times before the recall stating my engine wouldn't crank. I was unable to get the fuel pump replaced until December 5, 2024. ONE YEAR after the recall. I am now getting Emissions System Problems and Stop Driving When Safe Engine Temperature Too Hot. The dignostics that were pulled were P219A Secondary P219A, P0420, P219A. Also, my intake manifold gaskets are leaking coolant. I have had nothing but problems with this van since April 5, 2023 with my car not starting and stalling. My kids and I were stranded at their school two times and there were multiple times at my work. I don't believe I should have to pay thousands of dollars for these items to be replaced since I believe they're an issue due to me driving on a faulty fuel pump. I even called Honda Customer Service multiple times and they told me to keep driving it even though I expressed concern for my kids and having been stranded multiple times. Both dealerships said there was nothing wrong even though I brought it in multiple times for the same issue.
[XXX]: Van failed while driving on interstate / all dash / warning lights while driving on [XXX] / car inoperable while driving / Towed to Crest Honda, Nashville TN Feb 11, 2025: Crest Honda repaired airbag and replaced negative battery connector and cable (believed to be the source of the [XXX] van operations failure. Drove it home (6-7 miles) from Honda dealer. Later that evening, started van at house - all warning lights / would not go into gear. Towed to Crest Honda Feb 12. Feb 14, 2025: Crest Honda said transmission had failed, it was not the battery connector, provided a quote $7714. In March 2025, Crest HOnda replaced the transmission for total price of $7714.65 - I paid for the transmission. The transmission failed at 117K miles. The Van has a comprehensive dealer service history, including all transmissions fluid changes. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6
2018 Honda Odyssey gear shifting switch letters are rubbing off. This caused the drive to click wrong button as they do not have letters to identify the functionality of the each button. This can cause accidents. I see many online forums customers are discussing the same issue. [XXX] [XXX] / [XXX] [XXX] This is manufacture defect and please be kind to investigate it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
9 speed transmission issue: Ever since I purchased this vehicle around 50,000 miles in February of 2021 (mileage currently at 118,048), I noticed a very obvious delay in acceleration from a complete stop. Changing to eco drive mode and sport mode changes slightly, but still has delay. Transmission fluid has been changed 3 times since owning this vehicle and everytime it has, there was no noticeable changes in symptoms. Delayed acceleration occurs more consistently at normal operating temperatures. Brought vehicle to honda dealership after purchasing. They performed a TCM software update. Problem still occurs to this day. Multiple occasions occured where me and my girlfriend are driving and attempting to make a safe left turn only to proceed, but in process of attempt, the vehicle delays while facing oncoming traffic.
My 2018 Honda Odyssey experienced a heavy snowfall in January 2025. The control panel displayed an alarm, Power Tailgate Problem , and the trunk door could not be opened. I asked a professional who pointed out that it is usually due to water intrusion into the control unit located on the rear driver's side body panel, which causes the tailgate to fail to open, close normally, or even open accidentally. They believe that this is a manufacturing defect caused by the manufacturer and there is a safety hazard. For safety reasons, I went to the dealer for an inspection. They said they could not find the cause but that the control panel was broken and needed to be replaced. I had to spend a lot of money to replace it. But I still think that the problem was caused by the manufacturer itself.
Transmission failure. We had issues with acceleration and hesitation. When brought to the dealership they didn’t find anything wrong, but then the transmission ended up failing completely.
The vehicle would make noises and stalls during accelerations and decelerations. It would struggle to shift into gear, especially from 1st to 2nd gear. When the vehicle comes to a stop at traffic lights or stop signs, it's really hard to get the car to move when accelerating. In high speed on the highway, the vehicle would struggle to increase speed when accelerating and the vehicle would automatically slow down and get weighted down. This would result in having to pull over. Sometimes, the vehicle would not be able to be put into Park, and automatically shifts to Neutral not allowing it to be put into Park mode. When attempting to put it back onto Drive, the vehicle would not go and emission and transmission warning would start flashing. The majority of the time, the emission or transmission warnings would not flash. This is very frightening because I was not able to control the speed of the vehicle, and luckily when the car automatically shift to N and came to a stop, I was able to pullover to the side of the busy highway right on time. The car has been inspected for the same issues in the last 3-4 years by the dealership for the same problem. The transmission fluid got changed and that was all. Now it's happening again.
Transmission hesitation when turning from stop. Scary when traffic is coming. Not safe and seems to be a common, known issue. https://www.odyclub.com/threads/2018-odyssey-having-1-3-second-acceleration-lag-from-stopped-or-rolling-on-9-speed-transmission.368250/ https://www.reddit.com/r/HondaOdyssey/comments/pxw7xz/2018_honda_odyssey_having_major_acceleration/ https://www.odyclub.com/threads/hesitation-on-acceleration.362860/
I bought new and have 59,000 miles on the car. During the past year or two, when I get to a stop sign and about to cross or turn into a busy road (that has no traffic signs for the cars traveling on that road), the car hesitates when I step on the gas pedal, then after a second or two, the car lurches forward (abruptly) while screeching the tires. My analysis is that there is something about making several complete stops in short succession (as a driver would do in an attempt to inch into a busy intersection of fast moving traffic in order to get a better view and position the car for a smoother merge) which triggers the car to stall for a second or two. I say this because it does not happen at any other types of intersections. The danger here is that a second or two is crucial in avoiding a crash when you are trying to merge into a gap in traffic. Then after hesitation, the car lunging forward in an uncontrolled manner can cause an inexperienced driver to loose control of the vehicle during a turn. There are many similar complaints filed with NHTSA and posted on online owner forums. Many owners have reported to Honda, but Honda’s response is that this is how the car is supposed to drive. NHTSA, where are you? We need help on this
While driving, the transmission will go into limp mode and will not drive over 40 mph. Comes on and off intermittently. Will not show error code. Was almost rear ended by semi trailer when happened
At around 25 miles per hour the vehicle has a transmission issue where the vehicle seems to hesitate, then downshift causing the vehicle to lurch forward. This happens regularly and started sometime before I acquired the vehicle with 48k miles. Honda dealer had no fix to the problem.
At critical accelerating situations (turning, merging, passing...) the minivan will hesitate, and no power is delivered to the wheels. As a result, the car does not perform as intended and can cause an accident when turning, merging, or attempting to pass. The only resolution is to remove any pressure from the accelerator and allow the car 1-2 seconds to recover, then you can usually accelerate slowly. Sometimes this has happened multiple times in the same accelerating event. This happens on 2018-2019 Honda Odysseys with 3.5l V6 with ZF 9HP transmissions. This has happened multiple times and Honda has failed to correct this issue. This is a known issue and has been part of a class action lawsuit. The most recent incident occured yesterday and the vehicle automatically shifted into Neutral and would no long drive.
When I drive the van just stops working. So I have pulled out into the street to cross traffic and on many occasions the car just won't drive like the transmission isn't in gear. It will eventually get into gear and go again but I have almost been hit before. I think my car should've been included in the transmission recall.
See attached document for complaint.
My van driving on the highway and pop up two error cods at the same time, one is transmission system problem and the other is blind spot info system problem. Check it out with code P0741. And this incident happened 7 times in the past 6 months.
The transmission has been acting weird - not shifting appropriately and jerking when shifting for about 2500 miles previous to this. The car has had routine maintenance and all recall work completed at dealership. At 86000 the transmission needs to be replaced. In addition, when it would get really wet or go through a car wash the transmission wouldn't function properly and not go into reverse at all.
The 2018 Honda Odyssey with 59,000 miles downshifts on its own when we are driving. This has happened about half a dozen times. It is disconcerting because the vehicle slows down. No one has hit us from behind. The Odyssey was at the dealer for a transmission fluid change recently. A multipoint inspection was done with no mention of the transmission or any other problems. There have been no warning lamps, messages, etc. displayed on the instrument panel. There are no service bulletins or recalls at this time.
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Quick Summary
The 2018 Honda Odyssey has 76 Power Train complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.