Complaint volume
427 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
427 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Honda Odyssey, grouped by component category.
Buyer interpretation
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
427 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
The most common categories are forward collision avoidance,lane departure, electrical system, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Enriched records include 4 crash reports, 1 fire report, 10 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage is available on 55 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 26,837 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
427 total complaints on record
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2022 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V438000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while attempting to shift into reverse(R) in rainy weather, the rearview camera failed to operate as designed. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,000 |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | I became aware of a news article and videos of a documented security problem with Hondas where someone can use a device to unlock any Honda made in last 10 years and also remotely start the vehicle without leaving any trace of the intrusion. This poses many obvious security and safety risks to a Honda vehicle owner. Example, someone could gain access to a locked vehicle and steal contents. Or they could enter and hide in the back and attack someone. Or they could unlock the car and use the built in garage door opener to gain access to a home. Or they could even start a car remotely in a garage and cause a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning to people inside the home if the garage door remained closed. I am seeking help to get Honda to address this issue immediately and provide remedy to owners for this defect. https://gizmodo.com/new-key-fob-hack-can-unlock-and-start-hondas-remotely-1849165737 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The auto idle stop automatically turns on when the van engine is started. I was stopped at a stop sign while trying to cross a dual lane highway (55 mph speed limit). Was not aware that the auto idle stop had shut off the engine. When I had an opportunity to cross the highway I let of the brake and pressed the accelerator and the engine was attempting to start and felt like we were going to be struck by cross traffic before the engine started and we were able to cross. I am aware that this feature can be turned off. But it has to be turned off each time the vehicle is started. Needs to be a way to permanently disable this feature. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Honda Idle Stop feature is the issue. My wife drives this car and on at least 20 occasions, the car shut off when she was stopped at a stop light when Idle Stop was enabled. The car shuts off when she tried to accelerate once the traffic light turns green. The car then has to be restarted. This is a safety issue because cars behind us could easily rear-end our vehicle since the stop light has turned green and cars are moving. Honda claims that they cannot replicate the issue but it is clearly a large issue with the Idle Stop feature. It seems as if the vehicle does not have enough power to get the engine back to normal mode and therefore it shuts off. Most of the time that air conditioning is running so perhaps the extra load from that contributes. Regardless, this is something that needs to be fixed quickly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | STRUCTURE | While driving on a surface street at approximately 35 MPH on a 100+ degree afternoon, the glass moonroof suddenly exploded. I did not observe any object striking the car or the roof. The shade was closed, so glass did not enter the cabin. However, driving the car above 30mph became impossible due to air impinging on the shade and making it more likely that the shade would open and glass would fall onto me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Non-working touchscreen monitor (navigation, radio, heat/ac adjustments, everything on screen off and won’t turn on. The usb outlets, backup camera, rear tv are also all non-working. Issue with doors, van beeps twice when walking away from vehicle, like one is not shut properly even after you open and shut all doors again. Also rear sliding doors don’t shut sometimes and act like there is something in the way of it closing and reopening. Available anytime on Friday for inspection. Safety issue only with backup camera. Prefer the convenience of having one to see behind me better. Mirrors ok but camera better. Problem was fixed twice at Honda dealership in Jonesboro Ar. They said it was a recall. The solution to the recall only fixed it temporarily though. The same above issues continue to reoccur even after repair. Scheduled and went into Honda for the third time for the same issue and the dealership sent me away. This time they said they wouldn’t be able to fix again until someone (an engineer) from corporate could come out and look at my car. This hasn’t occurred and it’s been over two months. They said they have a new service manager and they are looking into it. I’ve called a number of times and I am just told their new and their trying to figure out who to contact. Issues started out with popping and crackling noise in speakers. Then the touchscreen monitor would say no audio connection. The rear tv would go on and off too. Then the touchscreen just died and nothing works now. It doesn’t even turn on. Just black screen. So I have a non-working touchscreen, navigation, radio, back up camera, heat/air adjustments, all components on the touchscreen are non-working. USB ports are non-working. Rear tv is non-working. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the warning message "Lift Gate Open" illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the lift gate was fractured. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the same local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the striker plate needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 13,000 |
| Mar 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would intermittently brake independently as the brake warning symbol would flash on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that the steering wheel would shake during the failure. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where it remained in their possession. The dealer stated that the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 32,000 |
| Mar 2022 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V438000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Continuously intermittent lose of all main dash board information to include speed, all advanced safety features, display goes totally black. Continuously intermittent lose of infotainment system. Includes radio, gps, backup camera and all other options. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | UNKNOWN My 3 year old’s hand was crushed in the sliding door. The door closed completely, latched and locked (beeped). The door did not recognize resistance when closing and did not reopen. Medical treatment is forthcoming. The picture attached was taken approximately an hour and a half after the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 10 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While parking and approaching another car in a parking lot, the van automatic braking system randomly started blinking and the brakes automatically applied, pulsating and grinding loudly for several seconds for no reason. I believe my safety and my passengers safety was at risk. The problem was random and not reproduced since it happened. The vehicle was not inspected. No warning lamps or symptoms appeared prior to this occurring and have not occurred since. It was a scary experience, I assumed it was some kind of electronic glitch. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On several occasions our honda van has slammed on the brakes without any vehicle or obstacle present. The automatic braking system has worked properly when someone ahead brakes aggressively ... but the instances i'm talking about have occur without vehicles in our lane. 1 time it was coming around a turn and i almost lost control of the steering since i wasn't expecting a hard brake. I haven't gotten it inspected or looked at. the safety feature seems to work properly but then will sense something that isn't there. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Just experienced a serious issue with our 2020 Odyssey Elite with 24,000 miles on it. Jerked forward from a stop and then would not advance beyond 1st gear. Multiple warning lights came on: check engine/ emissions/ back up camera and sensors. Dealer reported there was an electronic defect that destroyed the transmission which they claim caused the transmission to attempt to shift into two gears simultaneously. Not sure but the jerking motion may indicate that the transmission shifted into park while moving. Dealer refused to provide a loaner car and now waiting for a transmission replacement on a $50K vehicle with 24,000 miles on it. Multiple similar transmission replacements on 2020 Honda Odyssey are reported on the Odyssey Owners Forum. Had this event occurred on a higher speed or congested area a serious accident could have occurred as vehicle could not accelerate and jerked violently initially immediately followed by inability to shift to higher gears. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact's friend owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that his friend received a recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V438000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the dealer informed her that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera was foggy while reversing. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they would follow up with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | 9,000 |
| Nov 2021 | EQUIPMENT | The center infotainment display does not have any visuals anymore. It started with cameras and displays glitching in and out for about 1&1/2 years. The problem wasn’t too bad, but in Aug 2021, the radio started to not work, and then we began hearing 3 tapping noises every 2 seconds while the engine was on. Now the screen is black and has no displays at all. We brought the van in to the dealership and they said parts had to be ordered. The Honda Advisor told me that this was a problem that they are aware of that happens often with this particular model. It’s been 3 months and nothing has been done. When I called back to check on the parts and progress to see when I can get it fixed, the service department changed their narrative and now they know nothing about any issues like that. We cannot use any functions like rear view display, heat or AC controls, and anything else that are displayed on the infotainment screen. We have 4 kids all under age 6, and my fear is that one child may sneak out and walk behind our van while we are backing out. The mirrors can only see so much, but the rear camera can give a better view of anything low and short. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | While driving at approximately 40 mph with the lane keeping assist feature turned on, I attempted to turn on the cruise control. The cruise turned on, but the center instrument panel did not report that cruise was on, nor the speed at which cruise was set. Using the steering wheel controls to increase the speed or decrease the speed did not update the instrument panel. The speed stayed locked at 4:00pm with the cruise control indicator off. The instrument panel with the speed, etc locked up. Several moments later the entire panel went back and remained black for a short period of time. I had no speedometer nor other critical instruments available on my instrument panel. About 10 seconds later or so, the panel came back on and acted normal. It showed cruise was in fact on and set to 43. I promptly turned off cruise control and left it off | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | After stopping at a gas station for a rest break, both the passenger side and driver side rear power sliding doors refused to close after the passengers re-entered the vehicle. The tracks/path for the doors were checked for obstructions and none were found. After multiple repeated attempts at closing (more than ten on each side), the doors were successfully closed. After several additional hours of driving, the same scenario played out at our next fuel stop. The vehicle would have been unsafe to operate had the problem not resolved itself. The doors could not be closed by using the neither the push buttons nor the interior door handle. The dealer service center could not reproduce the problem. The vehicle has not been inspected by anybody besides the dealer service department. They stated that no codes regarding the operation of the doors were stored in the vehicles memory. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms accompanied this event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Infotainment system failure. It started by popping and crackling then the entire screen and entertainment system went black. No radio, Bluetooth, backup camera or any of the controls on the infotainment system screen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | I went to park at a curb, and when I went to stop the van jumped over the curb and almost into a building. I had to almost push the brakes into the floorboard. It was like the car accelerated on its own. I was lucky there was only a flower bed it went through and nobody was on the sidewalk. I have called multiple Honda dealerships and they said there was no recall or any problems with the acceleration. No warnings went off, this was at 7 am when this happened. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from the brakes. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed but not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,000 |
| Jul 2021 | EQUIPMENT | The audio/infotainment system controls everything in the vehicle. It has had a crackling noise coming over the speakers since I purchased the vehicle in September 2020. I had purchased it brand new and almost immediately after I took delivery realized there was an issue with this vehicle. After reviewing online posts from other owners, it became apparent that this was a widespread issue. The system just turns off while you're driving and you get a black screen that says "network connection lost" and you can't do anything with the unit. The rear-entertainment system does not work, can't adjust any settings that are controlled through the unit which as I said, everything is controlled through there, no rear-view camera, etc. I have brought it back to the dealer countless times and they said there were not any fixes for it and it is a known issue. There was one recall issued that the dealer performed but the problem still exists. The dealer told me that it was a temporary solution for the issue and Honda did not have a permanent fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | New ex-l model van with about 800 miles on it began to permeate the cabin with a gaseous odor coming from the air vents in recirculate mode and could be smelled from the outside of the vehicle as well. Initially smelled it when at idle after a 150 mile one-way trip. The vehicle had to be turned off to make the smell stop. It started again upon return and got stronger when the a/c was put in fresh air mode. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | I WAS TRYING TO COME TO A STOP AND MY CAR WOULDN'T STOP. THE CAR WAS SHAKING AND I ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THANKFULLY THERE WASN'T A CAR TO THE RIGHT OF ME SO I SWERVED AND PULLED MY EMERGENCY BRAKE. THERE WAS A LIGHT ON THAT SAID BRAKE SYSTEM IN ORANGE. THANK GOD MY TWINS WERE NOT WITH ME WHEN THIS HAPPENED. IT'S A 2020 HONDA ODESSEY WITH LESS THAN 8000 MILES. I BOUGHT I BRAND NEW! I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING TO FIX. THEY DID KEEP IT ANOTHER 24 HOURS TO DRIVE IT AROUND SOME MORE TO SEE IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I'M WORRIED SICK TO DRIVE THIS AGAIN WITH MY CHILDREN IN IT! WHAT IF NEXT TIME I AM NOT SO LUCKY TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT?!? I SAW OTHERS POST THE SAME THING ON THIS EXACT VEHICLE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,000 |
| Apr 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION | RECALL # 20V-438 INCOMPLETE. PARTS ORDERED 12/16/2020 . PARTS HAVE NOT ARRIVED AS OF 4/3/2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | 9,715 |