Complaint volume
908 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Honda Odyssey Complaints
908 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Honda Odyssey, grouped by component category.
908 Total complaints
13 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
16 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, electrical system, power train. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 13 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 16 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 243 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 37,613 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, electrical system, power train?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Honda Odyssey?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Honda Odyssey
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Honda Odyssey complaints?
13 Crash
3 Fire
16 Injury
1 Fatality
20 Towed
7 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Honda Odyssey complaint categories?
ENGINE 87
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 84
POWER TRAIN 80
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 60
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 59
STRUCTURE 56
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 32
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 30
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 22
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 21
908 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | My car has stalled on multiple occasions when the auto-idle feature is engaged. A message on the dashboard flashes stating ‘collision mitigation system’ and then the car just stalls and the battery light comes on. Typically this requires turning the car off and turning back on to begin driving. Very scary and dangerous when in the middle of a busy road/traffic light/stop. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while pressing the button to automatically close the driver’s and passenger’s side sliding doors, the doors stopped halfway and failed to close properly. The contact was able to manually push the doors close. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V437000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) but the failure persisted. The dealer was contacted that stated there was nothing that could be done because the recall repair was performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was 33,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 33,000 |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission has intermittent harsh or jerky upshifts with steady acceleration, or the MIL comes on with DTC P0756. The vehicle would be unable to shift into reverse thus causing potential traffic issues by stalling on the road. The shift would not engage in reverse, appears to be stuck in neutral and slowly slides. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Our van regularly hesitates when to accelerate from a stop. Example, when turning right on red pushing the gas pedal will provide some speed to get into the roadway, then it becomes unresponsive. Letting up and pushing the accelerator will cause the van to move again after about.5 to 1 seconds. Often the accelerator has to be pushed all the way to the floor, which causes the van to move aggressively once it does start to respond causing the tires to spin out. While the performance issue is annoying, this becomes a safety issue when stranded out in traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | This vehicle (2018 Honda Odyssey) hesitates when acceleration is attempted after braking. This makes left turns in front of oncoming traffic particularly dangerous. The problem has been widely discussed on Honda/Odyssey online forums. Honda apparently has not acknowledged the problem or warned owners about it. I just missed getting hit with a car full of kids due to acceleration hesitation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Water leaking in from roof or driver side windows into rear electronics at the fuse box and the tailgate control module. When control module was removed there was gross evidence of water saturation in the control module and multiple areas of corrosion, rust and fouling of electrical components causing battery to drain dead. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | SUSPENSION | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, there was a loud bang followed by a rattling sound coming from the passenger’s side rear tire. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and parked. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the suspension spring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 101,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Five years old vehicle jerked and almost came to a complete stop. Engine transmission services warning popped up as soon as the jerk happened the first time. Another warning came up as well. Jerking happens at least every mile. Car full of young kids jerked and almost came to a complete stop on the road and highway. Multiple moving vehicles were near when this occurred, which could have resulted in a terrible accident. Honda dealer said this is due to front camshaft and sensor. No engine warning regarding this problem showed up prior to this jerking. This first appeared on June 23, 2033. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Vehicle was taken into Honda dealer due to trunk not opening and closing properly & receiving “Power Tailgate Failure” warning and rear entertainment system not working. After many hours, I was told the power tailgate control unit and floor wire harness would need replaced due to corosion from water damage ??? This was at 42,653 miles!! They couldn’t explain how the damage could have happened and Honda refused to do anything about fixing it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | I am having an identical issues as described in NHTSA ID Number 11526094. Vehicle hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Have been almost hit a couple times as it is unpredictable when this happens. This is a dangerous behavior and I cannot in clear conscience sell this minivan to another family. I have returned it to the dealer multiple times and they were eventually able to reproduce the problem and captured the behavior on diagnostic equipment. Their finding is that when the accelerator is slightly pressed, and then release (like one might do when entering an intersection to make a left hand turn) the transmission jumps to 5th gear. When the accelerator is pressed to complete the left turn, the transmission spends several seconds shifting from 4th to 3rd to 2nd before finally accelerating. This delay opens up the opportunity to get hit. The dealer concurred that this was a problem but then contacted Honda and they said this is normal characteristic with 2018 and 2019 model Odyssey's with the 9 speed transmission. This may be a normal characteristic with this model year according to Honda but it is not acceptable behavior for any type of vehicle. It is just a matter of time before an accident will happen. It happens often and seems to be getting worse over time including irregular/rough shifts while driving. See attached documentation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Our 2018 Honda Odyssey has randomly failed to start three times. No warning no advance warning messages or alerts. These appeared once after being parked overnight and twice immediately after being driven a short distance. First time was in June of 2021, second time in May of 2023 and third time in June of 2023. When trying to start the vehicle either the dash would flash with unknown information before going blank or was blank and wouldn’t crank the starter motor. We replaced the battery after the third failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | Rear hatch on our Odyssey EX-L started giving a "Power Tailgate Problem", and it would not open at all except by mechanically releasing the hatch from the emergency access panel. I replaced the rear hatch control module and the hatch could now again be opened from the outside as normal, but the power tailgate still did not function up and down, and requires manual lifting open and pushing closed. Upon inspection, the removed/malfunctioning control module appears to have failed due to water infiltration, meaning water has entered the inside of the vehicle and then shorted electrical components, potentially creating a fire hazard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN | There are no warning lights illuminating. The 2018 Odyssey inconsistently will not accelerate when needed and it puts the driver and passengers in dangerous situations if there is other traffic. When the driver pushes down on the foot pedal for acceleration, the car acts as if it can't engage for a moment (like it is thinking about what it needs to do), it briefly freezes, but then will suddenly jerk into gear and jump. It is dangerous because it can happen when trying to accelerate onto the freeway or when trying to turn onto a busy road and there is no rhyme or reason as to when it is going to happen. There have been 2 close calls in which the other drivers acted defensively preventing crashes and on 1 instance, there were children in the car. We should not have to wait for an injury to have a problem considered and corrected. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE | The problem is with the 9 speed automatic transmission system. Yes, it is available for inspection. There is a delay in acceleration which has caused the vehicle to "stall" in dangerous situations such as pulling out onto a road with traffic, making a left turn with oncoming traffic, or needing to accelerate at a green light. There have been multiple incidents when an oncoming car has had to brake to avoid a collision because I have stalled temporarily in their lane. I have also nearly been rear ended as I stall after moving forward at a green light. The vehicle accelerates too slowly from a stop, then stalls for several seconds before over correcting and too much power causes the tires to spin and the car can get a little squirrelly if I am not extra careful. It happens often but not always and is getting worse and more frequent. There are also problems with rough shifting and delayed shifting that have been an issue since I bought it in 2018. I have taken it to the dealer many times and while the issue has been reproduced, they have never been able to identify a cause. One Honda mechanic said that his 2018 Pilot acts the same way and it is "normal" for that engine. The issue was reproduced during a recent inspection from an independent mechanic who sent me to a specialty transmission shop who said the transmission was fine and suggested that it was due to a tech issue and sent me back to Honda. The mechanics at Honda have not gotten stuck in front of an oncoming car on a road test so they treat the issue as a mild annoyance. No warning lights have gone on. The severity and frequency of this problem is increasing and I no longer believe the car is safe to drive. Honda does not have a fix and I am ready to sell it but I don't think it is safe for others to drive either and I don't know what to do. It is only a matter of time until this causes an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STRUCTURE | The sliding doors do not work properly when the windows are down. When the windows are up and you open the door you hear a clicking noise locking the door in place. If the windows are down when opening the doors they do not “click” and the door can slide closed. This is a bigger issue when parked on a hill or slight decline as the door can slam shut on small kids. If the windows are down when opening the door you need to use one arm or your body to keep the door open while you buckle kids up. Or just make sure windows are up. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On Monday, March 27th While driving at various speeds, the collision mitigation system message flashed on the instrument panel without anything provoking it/no real cause. I observed while driving the vehicle, the warning message repeatedly flashed on the screen before the entire instrument panel went blank. This includes the infotainment system restarting as well, alternatively, I was driving going between 40-60mph and the all-dashboard notification lights started flickering (lane departure warning, odometer, blind spot warning, Collision Mitigation System etc.) it continues to happen randomly while driving at unpredictable times the wheel does lock up for a short time and the vehicle is temporarily not under driver control. It was able to restore, and I was able to regain control of the vehicle other times its last for several seconds. I have captured this incident on video. Additionally, there is also an issue with the vehicle hesitating while accelerating from a stop even with Auto Stop disengaged. On Thursday, June 1st same issue as described above occurred at 8:10AM when issue occurred again the vehicle steering for a 5-8 Second Period was locked and not able to move. Shortly after, I began to record the vehicle. Within a 7-8 Minute Period I was able to capture on video it happening an additional 3 Times. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When the accelerator is depressed and the vehicle is in drive, it does not accelerate. This has happened multiple times, the date provided is a representative date where others witnessed the issue and is not the first or last time it occurred. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I have 2018 Odyssey EXL . on instrument display got message "Power Tailgate Issue". The tailgate can not open either by control button or manually. I have already had this issue 2 times. I sent it to dealer and been told the power tailgate control module was intruded by water. I replaced the control module, and after several months, the issue recovered. The power tailgate can not open and close will cause my trip in danger. I hope the honda can fix this issue for the customers free. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | When driving the dash and instrument cluster will restart suddenly and the van will shift out of drive suddenly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving the vehicle as normal and stopped at a Red Traffic Light. I attempted to drive when the light changed to green. The car stuttered, the dashboard lights flashed and the car shut down. - Multiple attempts to re-start failed. No prior warning lights etc. Car just return from Dealer to address Recall Issues etc. Dealer made comments on Brake Maintenance etc which was then serviced. No Mention of Auto Stop/Start issues. - FULL failure: No brake, no steering, no radio, dashboard went blank. No lights. - FAILURE OF HAZARD LIGHTS TO WORK. - This is a SHUT down in the middle of a busy street with 2 kids in the car. NO Hazard lights working. - Mulitple near accidents from incoming traffic. No lights working??? -Spoke to mechanic over the phone. He thought it was NOT likely the battery and I needed to get a tow truck. -Tow truck not available for several hours. - Mechanic was able to send someone to me. He worked on it and eventually got it to start. - Immediately took it to the Mechanic Shop. They Tested the Battery, alternator, starter and connections. Stated No Problem detected. - Mechanic thought it could be related to the computer/Auto Stop/Start system and suggested I get it checked at the Dealership. -Spoke to the Dealership the following day and base on the description of events they also mention the Auto Stop/Start system???? -This seems to be a problem they are aware of but????? The Dealership recognize this problem base on the conversation???? It is thus well known???? - Car left at Dealership - This is EXTEMELY DANGEROUS. The car Shuts Down/Freezes in the middle of Traffic. - NO HAZARD LIGHTS WORKING?????? - This is an Accident/Deaths waiting to happen. - Why is the computer even controlling the HAZARD lights. That is a HORRENDOUS Design Error. Hazard Lights should be HARD WIRED to switch. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | several times when stopped at a light, the vehicle's auto idle engine engages and shuts the car off. When the brake has been released, the vehicle has failed to start. Most recently, this occurred while waiting in a car line of traffic and it took many different attempts to get the car engine back on - about 10 minutes before the engine could be started, resulting in myself and my children stuck on the road while we opened doors, the hood of the car, tried to start the car and turn it completely off. It was in a stuck position until it wasn't. that was the first time the vehicle wouldn't start after numerous attempts to start the engine. We have been told there is no way to fix this - only to manually turn the function off every time the car is started. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The high pressure fuel pump is not working causing a noise like a motorcycle. took to dealer they advised it is a safety issue. Could cause gas lines to blow out while driving. Part is saying it is discontinued and is on backorder. Honda dealer is the one who diagnosed the problem. No warning no check engine light | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Vehicle has roughly 32,000 miles. KEY SAFETY ISSUES [with vehicle parked, engine off and doors closed] (1) vehicle randomly and without warning locks driver out (cannot open car with key fob by pressing unlock button, cannot open car manually by entering key into door). Had to call AAA on 4 different occasions to pry open door with specialty tools. After that, had to leave window fully open in order to ensure we would not get locked out. (2) when vehicle locks driver out it also sets off the alarm, turns the car on to idle, and turns on the radio (even if its off) thus draining the battery until its dead. Why this is a major safety issue? -- Scenarios I though of (1) child/toddler getting accidently locked into car with no way to open and AAA not readily available (2) getting locked out of your car in a remote location with no cell service (mountains, desert, etc) When this issue happened the dash screen would show an error of "Auto Engine Idle Stop System Problem". I took the van to Honda and they diagnosed the problem to be a faulty keyless access control unit. Fees to replace were +/- $1,100. Honda decline to provide any cost reduction or assistance stating that warranty for the part had expired. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | SEAT BELTS | The third row seat belt latch constantly gets stuck when lowering the driver side seats down. It has bent over time and it finally broke in half. We constantly try to move it to be safe but as the driver side seats go down, they catch the passenger side seat and pull the seatbelt latch with it. It results in the latch part being crushed between the seats. It was still usable up until this weekend when it got caught again and broke the latch completely. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | SUNROOF EXPLODED - glass was contained by cover but I had to hold cover shut until I got to dealer - insurance inspected the damage - no warning before it happened | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |