Complaint volume
393 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
393 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.
393 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 54 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 26,241 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
393 total complaints on record
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Out of nowhere I got a bunch of errors involving the addaptive cruise, lane keep assist, auto highbeams, collision avoidance, and the brake system light came on. the van has under 40K miles on it. From a quick search I can see that this is a VERY common issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Over 8 multiple safety warnings turned up on dashboard on many occasions while driving. Also, vehicle fails to issue a code on OBD and Honda rep claims they’ve never seen anything like this after showing them video proof of multiple occurrences. I’ve seen many complaints online. My wife drives this vehicle with young children and doesn’t feel safe while driving it because of it stating multiple safety warnings. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while reversing, the contact became aware that the center display failed to display an image of the rear of the vehicle, compromising the back over prevention system. The message "Network connection lost" was displayed. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V431000 (Back Over Prevention); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | I was stopped at a light at a busy intersection and when I went to drive when the light turned green, my van did nothing. It had turned off the engine when I stopped at the intersection. I tried to switch gears and it wouldn’t change. I was kind of panicking because I was holding up a ton of traffic and my toddler was in the backseat so I can’t remember exactly what was happening on my dash. I would turn the car on and off but I could not get it back into drive as the engine would not restart, but all of the electronics were still working. Finally someone offered to jump the car with one of those portable battery jumpers and that worked. I drove straight to Autozone to see if it was something their machines would pick up on but they couldn’t find anything wrong. The dealer also couldn’t find anything wrong. I believe this is related to the auto idle stop feature. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | On 3/3/2025, the multipurpose camera started failing and I was seeing warning lights all tied to this system. Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Collision Mitigation System Problem, Road Departure Mitigation System Problem, Auto High-Beam Problem, and Break System lights all came on. The problem was confirmed by the Honda dealership claiming there was an internal short that caused the issue. The component hasn't been inspected beyond this initial diagnosis. My family's safety is at risk with this malfunction in the event that we need assistance with breaking in an emergency situation, the vehicle can no longer take steps to prevent the car from drifting outside its lane and the high beams will no longer automatically turn off because the car can no longer sense oncoming traffic. Our insurance appraiser verified that this wasn't the cause of any collision, and the dealer has stated that this system should have lasted longer than expected. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | My 2020 Honda Odyssey died at a stop light while driving on 5/12/2023. The auto on/off feature caused the van to turn off at a stop light and then there was not enough power in the battery to start the car again. It had to be towed to the Honda dealership where they could not diagnose the issue. They said the alternator was fine and the battery charged up fine. So no root cause found. Then 6/26/2023 - I drove the van for an hour to the airport and back, parked it in the garage (engine off) for about 10 minutes, and the van struggled to start but did on the second attempt. Then on 7/7/2023 - my wife took the van to the store, came back home and parked it in the garage with the engine off. She came back 5 minutes later to leave again and the van wouldn’t start. The battery was drained. Now it’s sitting on a trickle charger just so I can take it into the dealer. On 7/10/23 - I had the battery replaced and the Dealer did some sort of warranty work to help and that corrected the issue. UNTIL it died again On 11/27/23, I had to get yet again another battery as the same issues began happening and it was deemed a “bad battery”. Throughout 2024 and now into 2025 I continually have the same issues where the vehicle will stutter but still managed to kick back on after an auto shutoff. I have been to the dealer countless times and they continually tell me there isn’t anything wrong. Something is happening that causes this - whether is an electrical parasitic drain or something else. I have heard that other vehicles this has happened to but Honda claims nothing. I also had a case opened with Honda on this that never went anywhere - Case #13952151 There is clearly something wrong and not being able to diagnose it is even more frustrating given the issue. If it drains while driving - I CANNOT DO ANYTHING. I can’t even put it in Neutral to move it manually because everything is electronic!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | I am filing this complaint regarding a serious safety defect that persists in my Honda vehicle following Honda's PGM-FI Idle Stop software update. Recently, I experienced a dangerous incident on [XXX] outside Washington, DC. My vehicle completely stalled in heavy traffic, leaving me unable to start my car on the highway. The vehicle would not restart for approximately one minute, creating a significant safety hazard as traffic moved around me. Of particular concern was that during this incident it is not clear whether or not the airbag system would deploy since the car was off. This is a major safety issue and, reviewing complaints online, I am not the only customer to experience this, despite having received the software update. This is not an isolated incident. The vehicle's auto start-stop feature continues to malfunction, repeatedly shutting down when it goes into idle. This issue is also causing significant battery drain, making the vehicle increasingly unreliable and unsafe to operate. Worse, Honda indicates that this feature can act up when the battery is low, but the feature itself drains the battery. You can turn the feature off every time you get in the car, but this is not a fix. I have been informed by Honda there is no way to permanently disable the feature. I strongly urge NHTSA to investigate this matter. The current recall repair has proven insufficient to resolve the safety defect, and the malfunction creates unacceptable risks for me and my family. This issue requires immediate attention to prevent potential accidents and ensure the safety of all road users. Please require Honda to implement a repair that allows consumers to permanently disable this feature. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The multifunction forward looking camera in the top of the windshield developed an "internal fault" and either needs replacement or these safety features will fail to work. These safety features allow me to avoid accidents. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer. There are warning lamps that state that these features are no longer working. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Tailgate Control Unit failed due to water entering through the seals of roof seal which resulted in damaging the functionality of the tailgate. Failure to open. I noticed one day that the tailgate would not open (the back hatch). My Honda dealership got the vehicle in rather quickly (One week). Dealership stated they have never seen this and requested repairs of over a thousand dollars. After further research on the issue, I noticed that there are multiple class-action lawsuits with multiple law firms. This is not an isolated issue. However, I am glad that the dealership was able to get my vehicle in and fixed in an appropriate amount of time. The worry was that just one day, the back tailgate quit working and there was no manual way to open the vehicle in case of collision, fire, or water incident and used as an escape route. With multiple class action lawsuits on the same incident, I believe this incident needs to be followed up on. Solutions: Revist the type of seal Honda is using. Move the control unit to a different location within the vehicle so the control unit will not become waterlogged and damaged. Lastly, provide a manual unlocking and opening mechanism for escape out of the rear tailgate if vehicle is involved in a collision, fire, or water event. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | ENGINE | The contact’s daughter-in-law owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while his daughter-in-law was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that an unknown flashed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the sound had become louder over time. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure and stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,688. | Crash: No Fire: No | 84,688 |
| Mar 2025 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving during a snow day at approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle lost traction and crashed into a curb on the front driver's side where it came to a stop. The crash was minor. No property damage was on the curb. The air bags deployed with excessive force. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to a local independent dealer where it was diagnosed that an air bag replacement was needed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was repaired cosmetically by the insurance provider. The contact believed that the impact to the curb was minor and equivalent to going over a pothole which should not have warranted an air bag deployment. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 93,000 |
| Mar 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Regarding my 2020 Honda Odyssey vehicle, there is a manufacturing defect which allows water to infiltrate the rear driver’s side body panel, where it comes into contact with the control unit for the rear power tailgate (a/k/a power liftgate). Once water infiltrates the control unit, it causes the power tailgate to malfunction. Many consumers have reported that the malfunctions include the tailgate opening and closing without notice and while operating the vehicle, the tailgate failing to open, and the tailgate failing to close. With the control module getting wet and becoming oxidize/faulty that also makes the battery work harder which causes the car not to start, etc.. Consumers are then forced to pay out of pocket for expensive repairs only to have the replacement control unit also prone to future failures caused by further water infiltration. Honda of Tenafly is saying this is not a recall and not covered. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | STRUCTURE | The power tailgate continues giving issues. I made the first repair about 1.5 years after purchasing as a new vehicle purchase. Now a few years, after the first repair, I', seeing the same issue. The power tailgate stops working and makes all the warning lights on my dashboard light up and drains my battery. During the last repair, the tailgate power unit was replaced as water gets into the compartment and causes damage. Initially it affected the driving assistance, the power steering system and lights as they were all acting up, with the dashboard full of warning messages, when the tailgate initially stopped working. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The entire Advanced Driver Assistance System failed. My vehicle has not been inspected. The entire ADAS does not work upon startup. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Front camera failure disabled Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, and Lane Keeping Assistance. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated, with or without an occupant seated in the front passenger’s seat. Upon investigation, the contact discovered Honda Campaign Notice: 24-050, which the contact linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that his vehicle was not included in the campaign. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | SEAT BELTS,STRUCTURE | Top left rear exterior seam/seal on the top of the roof, under the black strip that runs front to back is leaking inside the left inner side/panel of the trunk, leaking water into all electrical components (break/turning lights) as well as the left rear seatbelt mechanism, soaking seatbelt, rendering it unusable. Could be a potential fatality in case of an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | I have had 3 Power Tailgate modules fail due to water leaks in the rear panel or window of the vehicle. I have had 2 leaks repaired and two modules replaced within a 6 month period (June '24 and December '24). 6 weeks later (Feb 14, 2024) have had the 3 module fail due to water intrusion following a heavy rain. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Upon starting the vehicle, the following all fail: Adaptive Cruise Control Forward Collision Warning Lane Departure Warning Lane Keeping Assistance | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | We bought this van with a clean bill of health as far as accidents and single owner prior to us. The car had a documented maintenance history but after 5K miles of driving it the active cruise control began to through all kinds of errors. I researched this issue and find that many more Honda owners with active cruise control have the same issue. A few customers say that they had their front camera replaced and calibrated for a cost of about $1,600.00 only to have the error show up again. I am writing this message to report that in my case I have found a work around. It’s not a permanent fix but points to Honda’s computer throwing a false positive error that is costing a great deal of money to Honda owners. On our van when this error happens, I force a diagnostic scan followed by a forced computer reboot and the warning lights are fixed an all equipment back to working. It’s horrible to read that Honda charges $1,600.00 to replace perfectly good parts in all their line without taking the time to truly diagnose their issues with ACC errors and do good to their customers. I hope this helps reach someone who can further investigate this issue with Hondas. In our family’s case we are lucky that I have an IT background and was able to find a fix for this issue without any costs to our family financials and avoided paying Honda to replace perfectly working components due to their lack of knowledge of how their equipment works. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | The windshield camera malfunction caused a loss of all adaptive features include: lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, regular cruise control, collision prevention, automatic emergency braking system, and automatic highbeam. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | It happened twice this month already. Once while driving, the car lost power (as if engine was never turned on), and the gear changed to N so I tried to slow down, then the power came back on, and then I was able to shift to D and continue my trip. Second one happened this morning. It was on auto-shutting idle position and when I put my foot on the accelerator, it completely lost power again (I recently changed the battery and tested in the afternoon and all working properly). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | After driving for about a minute, there is a beep and the brake system warning light comes on. Then the dash begins cycling through multiple warning messages - LKAS/ACC/CMBS/RDM - and will not stop. Now the repair shop tells us that the front multipurpose camera ADAS needs to be removed and replaced, and the ADAS calibrated. Including the fee to diagnose the issue, total cost is $2,980. Van has about 56,500 miles. We have already had it towed twice for battery replacement following similar symptoms, and had battery replaced both times. But with the new battery only 3 months old, it became clear the issue was bigger. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Infotainment system - while driving suddenly there is a cracking/ shrieking startling noise and infotainment system goes off shutting down ( network communication lost sign comes on) and the screen goes blank. No camera works. Radio and all electronic display goes off for a couple of minutes. Slowly, it begins to come back to life by itself in a couple of minutes. This happens randomly on and off. In last 4 weeks, it happened at least 15 times while driving. Honda dealership has my car for three days without a diagnosis or correction. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Vehicle was acting normally, and unexpectedly 5 warning alarms came in concurrently all related to ADAS features, creating confusion for the driver. No other abnormalities were observed. Vehicle runs and drives normally. All the ADAS features are disabled and the warning lights continue to display every time the vehicle is driven. There is no way to disable the lights and the culprit of the alarms is a bad multipurpose camera behind the windshield. Honda wants around$1500 (parts and labor) to replace the camera. A quick search finds this a common complaint amongst Odyssey owners and a recall should be issued. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |