My wife and four children, while traveling at 60mph just before rush hour on the highway in our 2003 Honda Odyssey the transmission unexpectedly shifted from 5th gear to 2nd gear of its own Accord causing the vehicle to lurch forward and the entire vehicle to shutter (as speed decreased from 60mph to 15-20mph almost instantaneously) as if hit from behind, causing a near miss collision with the vehicle following and terrifying my wife and children. This left them stranded on the side of a busy highway for over an hour while waiting for help. Upon code download at the dealership, I was informed that due to codes PO730 and PO780 replacement of the transmission, torque converter, and the PCM would be required at a cost over of $5500 for a rebuilt transmission and parts. (no actual inspection of the transmission occurred to my knowledge). This transmission has been maintained in accordance with manufacturers recommended service intervals. It was also subject to the transmission inspection recall of 2004. Transmission never had history of slipping or other issues prior to incident and had recently been serviced. There was no warning of the impending failure and might have been fatal to my entire family.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Odyssey. While traveling 75 mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power and independently decelerated to 45 mph. Inorder to stop the failure, the contact had to restart the vehicle however the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 108,000.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

My wife drove this minivan, Honda Odyssey 2003, and just before entering the interstate freeway the "check engine" light turned on, the transmission became "sleepy", RPM jumps up to 5000, smog in cabin, all lights on dashboard start blinking and the car just stopped. She panicked because this was during heavy traffic and the situation became dangerous. She slowly drove to her friends' house and left the car overnight. The next day, I checked the diagnostic codes and had P0730 and P0780 (transmission failure). Poway Honda dealership, in san diego, ca, was asking for $4,565 to replace the bad transmission with a refurbished unit. I am very disappointed with Honda's "high" quality product. This vehicle has only traveled 108,000 miles and now requires such a high repair cost. I found one private repair company that will repair this problem somewhat cheaper.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The vehicle was moving at the speed of 55-60 mph. Suddenly few jerks were noticed and vehicle failed to receive torque/speed from the engine. Engine was otherwise appear to be on and functional. Vehicle came to complete stop on a very busy highway and started rolling backwards (since the highway was up sloping), while in drive mode. Vehicle was then put in park mode. On further attempt, it would not engage in any other gears. Further diagnostics suggested "transmission failure" code P0730, which needed transmission change.

- Waukesha, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop, the vehicle would not respond. The vehicle stalled without warning and the contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the transmission hydraulic malfunctioned and as a result, the transmission would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who advised that they would contact him at a later time. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 130,000.

- Great Falls , MT, USA

Transmission fails on highway, endangering occupants due to sudden loss of speed.

- Kirksville, MO, USA

We have 74,000 miles on a 2003 Odyssey. It's always felt slipping around 40 mph. We participated in the 2004 recall with the revision to the oil cooler return line, hoping it would help this problem. No change. Around February 2012 the transmission started to take longer going from reverse to drive. We had the transmission fluid replaced on March 2, 2012. On March 6th we went in for the follow-up to check the fluid, and levels were fine. About 8 miles after that, starting up from a stoplight, the car failed to shift from either between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd, not sure which, but the car was lurching and wouldn't go above 25 mph. The dealership diagnosed the problem and said we would need a new transmission as well as a new computer (ECM).

- Centerville, UT, USA

Transmission shifting from 2nd to 3rd does not shift properly. Replaced 4th gear pressure switch as per Honda and removed and replaced transmission fluid 3 times. Nothing works. Need trans rebuilt.

- Crete, IL, USA

[xxx], houston, tx 3/3/2012 the problem began on February 15th while I was on my way to teach. I was in stop & go traffic due to an accident ahead of me. As I pressed the accelerator to move a bit, the car did not want to move, and then it hesitantly moved forward a bit, I stopped again because of the traffic. While sitting, the engine began to hum and when I needed to move forward again, the car would not move. I tried taking it out of drive and then putting it back in drive, but the car would not move. Because of another incident, I had it towed to a shop for some bodywork to be done; after picking it from the repair shop, I was on my way to the airport when the same problem of hesitation started again. After returning from my trip, I called the Honda dealer where the car has always been serviced and told them I was bringing it in. I had to pull over several times while driving to the dealership because the car would stall; after pulling over several times and waiting a few minutes for the transmission to work again; I finally made it to the dealership. After the service department checked the car out, I was told that I would need a re-manufactured transmission; cost for this was $4,458 which seemed pretty high. The service rep said Honda does not rebuild the transmission on your car because of the level of difficulty in getting to the parts, so they recommend a re-manufactured one which comes with a 36,000 mile warranty or 3 yrs. In the city of houston, 36,000 miles racks up pretty fast. This is a lot of money to spend on a problem that Honda has yet to fix. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Houston, TX, USA

Vehicle had a flashing "D" light and it didn't have the same pick up. It was taken to the dealer dch kay Honda who declared it was the 4th pressure switch $271.29 and the service advisor said, the transmission was fine that was July 21, 2011. September 22, 2011 the car is now sluggish and slamming into gears I took the car to dch kay Honda and they said, the transmission needs to be replaced $4420. The van has been sitting because I can't afford to replace the transmission.

- Long Branch, NJ, USA

Automatic transmission gear shifter has become very loose and also allows removal of the car key in any gear, rather than just in park. This lead to the car rolling away after being parked on a slight incline when it turned out that the transmission was inadvertently shifted to neutral rather than park and then the key removed.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The transmission is failing, slipping. After the D on the gear indicator started flashing. While driving the car has a difficult time going into the next gear revving up to 6000 rpms its gotten so bad at times that it wont go into reverse. Honda dealers in the area are giving me the run around as to when the 2004 recall warranty is up. Apparently my car (1 previous owner) was serviced for the recall. Doesn't Honda have to help if there is this many complaints about the same make model and year? literally google 2003 Honda Odyssey transmission and the complaints are endless in the thousands. I'm a single mother of 4 and can't afford to fix this or buy a new car.

- Niles, IL, USA

As original owner of 2003 Honda Odyssey engine buying car from weir canyon Honda in anaheim hills California. My engine block light, tcs, lit up at 153,000 miles. I have been experiencing a major transmission problem between 2nd and 3rd gear as car seem stuck and I am unable to accelerate. This is not safe at all since my van can be rear ended when it's stuck in this mode. My mechanic advises everyone from not to buy any Honda as his shop rebuilds Honda transmission all the time and makes a fortune from the poor victims of Honda owners like me. Go to www.odysseytransmission.com/home/whattodo consider yourself forewarned! if you're looking for a reliable and safe mini van, do not look at Honda Odyssey.

- Garden Grove, CA, USA

Without much or any warning my transmission failed (the dreaded P0730 code showed up on the scanner) on my 2003 Honda Odyssey ex-L van with only 100,325 miles. The van was never abused or used to tow. Transmission was rebuilt 1.30.12 by private shop Continental transmission for $1800. (torque converter blown to pieces). Honda does have limited recalls on trannys but mine was not included (only if 2nd shaft is broken & scored and burnt/ bluish color) this will documented tranny problem with 2nd generation Odyssey is very upsetting and I blame it on a poor design by Honda engineers (under sized tranny paired with a power V6 240hp heavy 4500lbs van has been a recipe for premature failure). The worst part was on 1.5.12 I just had extensive preventative maintenance done at don davis Honda (timing belt, water pump, tensioner and power steering belts) and two weeks later the transmission fails!!! other issues with the van have been, ac compressor failed May 2010 88,648 miles. Rear wiper motor failed March 2011 89,240 miles, both sliding power door rollers had to replaced. Brake switch failed (locked up), Dec 2011 98,750 miles van would not move out of park. Not real happy or confident with Honda right now!

- Hamburg, NY, USA

137,000 miles, transmission failed. All service had been completed by the dealer during the life of the vehicle, and I am the original owner. The dealer and Honda of America would not replace the transmission and the ECU. Even though there have been many similar problems with other people with the same make and model. The ECU has a tsb on it.

- Melbourne, FL, USA

On 12/16/2011, the transmission failed without warning. The tcs and engine light were on and had been on for a few weeks. On 9/27/2011, I had informed my Honda dealer, penske Honda of indianapolis, of the tcs light. They thought is was oil on the sensor and said it would finally wear off. The oil they said, was coming from the rear head bolt that had developed a leak. As it turned out, the bolt was stripped. This vehicle was never used for towing. It was a "carpool the kids to school and a two spring breaks to Florida vacations" van. At 113,000 miles, this is disappointing. Especially since we bought another Honda in 2005 and now we are afraid of failure there as well. The head bolt repair necessitates a new engine and the transmission repair was made at a private shop. I spoke with Honda Motors America's customer service and they offered no indication of help or serious consideration. I have yet to repair the engine.

- Fishers, IN, USA

Transmission failed to shift gears, caused engine to stall while driving, would not shift into or out of gear.

- Austin, TX, USA

The transmission is beginning to fail as indicated by the transmission slipping (press accelerator and engine races with no power to the wheels) for about 5 seconds at random times while traveling about 40 mph on a trip of about 5 miles. This happens on about every other trip and is increasing in frequency.

- Cypress, TX, USA

The contact owns 2003 Honda Odyssey. While driving approximately 60 mph the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated the transmission had to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 177,000.

- Delran, NJ, USA

Transmission failure at 94,000 miles caused by faulty torque converter.

- Tampa, FL, USA