Watch the video to see the symptoms. We got the software update in 2018 and that got rid of one problem, that of the transmission hesitating and hunting for gears. It was still as smooth as butter. Fast forward to 2020 and about 25,000 miles later we got a really bad shutter/bump/knock when the van was shifting from 1st to 2nd gear at mid to low throttle. Turning the van on and off seemed to get rid of the symptoms for a little bit, but this isn't always feasible (ie rush hour traffic on the freeway).

After doing some research on the Odyssey forums I decided to drain and fill the transmission. The fluid that came out had a very strong burnt smell (which it shouldn't, especially after so short a time). However, the magnet on the drain bolt didn't show any signs of the transmission being damaged. I went ahead and threw in the recommended amount of fluid back in (close to 4 qt, PIA to reach the filler neck) and the issue seemed to go away.

The last time I changed the fluid was about 5,000 miles ago and all of a sudden the bump came back with a vengeance. I went ahead and did a 4x drain and fill right after that. We will see how long it goes now, but I am planning on drain and fill service @ every oil change from here on out.

It is ridiculous that Honda has done such a terrible job on these transmissions. My sister owns a 2018 Pilot w/ the 6 speed and it has the exact same issue (although it can go longer between changes, like 40k miles).

Update from Oct 26, 2023: After a lot of work, we were able to get this resolved (so far so good). The ultimate problem was caused by the shift solenoids. It took quite a bit of research to find that they were a known problem and Honda has since come out with an updated solenoid. There are two types of solenoids and both can be bad. I changed 3 of the 5 (1st->2nd, 2nd->3rd, & 3rd->4th gears) and other then 1 single issue within about 50 miles of the change we have been free of this issue ever since the repair and about 12k miles. I mean to replace the last 2 eventually, but I do all my own work and you have to remove a bunch of components to get to the solenoids. But, the plus side is that they are all accessible and mounted on the outside of the transmission. But with that said, my cost is for parts only, if you paid someone to do it, I imagine it would take a few hours of work only.

During the summer this happened about twice, and through the fall it would happen a few times a week, but now in the winter this issue happens about every 5th start. When shifting to 2nd gear, it would make a very loud sound and jump the entire vehicle very violently. I would pull over, turn off the van and start it again which for the most part would fix it, however, with it happening so often I figured it would just continue to get worse. I've taken it to multiple mechanics who couldn't get it to happen again and when it finally did referred me to a transmission shop.

I had the transmission flushed and they said if that didn't fix it I would need a new transmission costing $5,400. When it happened again I tried the dealer before paying so much for a new transmission. Dealer said there was a software update for the issue which would fix it. Worked for a week, and now it happens every other time I start the vehicle and shifts harder! Actually made it worse, so I called dealer who said the transmission just shifts hard going to second, but when I let him know it was worse he said he would call me back. Three days ago after calling dealer they still have not called me back. I see a lot of people had this issue with low miles - what fixed it for you or is it just waiting for more miles until it comes back like mine did?

Fast forward to end of December 2015 beginning of 2016. My wife informed me that the van was having some problem while shifting gears. A loud clunk could be heard and a jolt that felt like you were being rear ended at a low speed. I took the van in for an oil change to Lafontaine Honda in Dearborn after my bad experience at Victory. All the service people were helpful, but none of them had ever heard of an issue like we were reporting. A service manager located a service bulletin he said could be related. Service Bulletin 15-014 was completed that was a "software update". Fast forward a year later, and the same problem was back. Beginning of January 2017, my wife told me that the vehicle started to do the same thing. A loud clunk, RPM gauge dropped unnaturally, and it felt like being rear ended at a low speed. I took the vehicle into Lafontaine Honda on 01/16/2017 mileage 39833. The dealer called me and stated they were unable to recreate the issue, but I was due for a major service which included transmission fluid exchange. Thinking the problem was trans related, I had the service done $384.57, my cost. Not even a month later, the problem occurred again. I took it to the dealer 02/10/17, 40814 miles. The dealer found a service bulletin from August 2016.16-060. The service bulletin identifies an issue Service Bulletin 16-060 August 3, 2016 AFFECTED VEHICLES 2014-2015 Odyssey All trims All VIN range BACKGROUND "A judder from the torque converter lock-up may be felt while driving between 20 and 60 mph. The problem is typically diagnosed as a bad torque converter. American Honda investigated the judder and found that the torque converter was not causing the judder; rather, it was caused by deteriorated transmission fluid. The transmission fluid deteriorates quicker than expected when it is exposed to intermittent high heats loads under specific driving conditions. American Honda is working on a software update that will maintain the transmission fluid temperature within the desirable range under all driving conditions and eliminate the potential for this judder. American Honda will revise this service bulletin when the software update is available. Until the software is released, the judder can be fixed by flushing the transmission fluid as indicated in the FLUSH PROCEDURE. Make sure the customer is aware that this is a temporary fix and he or she will have to return once the software is available to make sure the transmission judder is resolved. NOTE: American Honda defines flushing the transmission as draining and filling the transmission with a drive cycle three times to help make sure the deteriorated fluid is removed. There are other aftermarket flush systems available, but American Honda does not recommend using them." The service bulletin was performed, and I picked the vehicle up. Drove it for about a week, and it happened again after the "repair". I lodged a complaint for what it is work with American Honda during this time frame. No real assistance just an offer of $200 bucks for my grief. I refused the offer not knowing if that would be considered a Settlement on their part. Really frustrated that they just say they are so sorry. I really don't need sorry. I need my van to work properly. I took the vehicle back to the dealer. They kept it for about a week driving 60 miles and were unable to duplicate the issue. Got the van back yesterday. My wife was driving it today, THE ISSUE+ instrument lights came on (Engine, LDW,FCW) The Display began reading the "Front Crash Warning Failed", and the D light began flashing. My wife pulled over frustrated as ever and called me. I contacted the dealer, picked up the van and took it to the dealer. They believe they may finally be able to resolve the issue. I hope so, because it is getting really old driving a two year old van that I am paying 500+ a month for, and it has more issues than my 04 Odyssey ever had. If you are having similar issues, hope this may help. I am beginning to believe that it is not unheard of for a HONDA to have any problems.

My wife and I purchased a preowned 2015 honda odyssey touring that had slightly over 29k in mileage. During the first week of driving we experienced the Judder / Hesitation issue from the transmission. For us this occurs around the 20mph and 40mph ranges. It is a definite hesitation on the up-shift throttling.Very noticeable on hills. Very noticeable when in heavy traffic and someone behind you is waiting on you to accelerate. After discovering this forum thread and others online we took ours into the local honda dealer today.

Findings..

Honda has released a series of service bulletins around this issue but has not fixed it. There is a pending software update that they have not released yet / working on. The process of flushing the transmission is only a temp fix. For the sake of transparency to other owners out there, I am sharing the full bulletin the service department operated under for the maintenance of our vehicle. This is S/B 16-060:

What follows is a retype of what I received from the service dept at the dealer explaining the 16-060 bulletin, stating the need for flush, that this is temporary, and that they are working on software:

------- Affected vehicles: 2012 Touring, Touring Elite (vin range 5FNRL5H... CB053446 thru 5FNRL5H... CB148157), 2013 Touring/Touring Elite (ALL VINs), and 2014-2015 ALL trims.

Background: A judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch may be felt while driving between 20 and 60mph. The problem is typically diagnosed as bad torque converter. Americam Honda investigated the judder and found that the torque converter was not causing the judder; rather, it was caused by deteriorated transmission fluid. The transmission fluid deteriorates quicker than expected when it is exposed to intermittent high heat loads under specific driving conditions. American Honda is working on a SOFTWARE UPDATE that will maintain the transmission fluid temperature within the desirable range under all driving conditions and eliminate the potential for this judder. American Honda will revise this service bulletin when the software update is available.

Until the software is released, the judder can be fixed by flushing the transmission fluid as indicated in the FLUSH PROCEDURE. Make sure the customer is aware that this is a temporary fix and he or she will have to return once the software is available to make sure the transmission judder is resolved.

NOTE: American Honda defines flushing the transmission as draining and filling the transmission with a drive cycle three times to help make sure the deteriorated fluid is removed. There are other aftermarket flush systems available, but American Honda does not recommend them.

------

I hope this info helps someone. I think it is important that if you have this issue, and have not taken it in to the dealer to do so. Especially if you haven't had a flush done and are overdue for one. The more of us that do this, the stronger the reminder Honda will have to finally produce the software update that is needed.

Honda, if you're reading this. Please expedite the software update. It is affecting our ability to drive normally. Hesitations like this are never good - even more so for people like myself that live in the top 10 worst traffic / congested cities, and have little ones on board to boot.

-Steve

Back in August of 2015 I had my car in the shop for a litany of issues. One of which was a jolting feeling - like the gears were catching when I began to accelerate. The dealership came back and said that everything was working 'as normal.' My van still jolts during acceleration. Well, fast forward a year...I took my vehicle in to fix my creaking sliding doors for a SIXTH time and my smelly A/C for a second time, and instead they gave my loaner out from under me! I was left at the dealership with my broken van, and couldn't get it fixed. I had to get my oil changed, so I did it while I was there and they identified that my transmission fluid is leaking. Maybe this is part of the reason for the jolting. I have been waiting over 3 weeks now to get this fixed because Honda is unable to locate a loaner vehicle for me. Incredibly frustrating and unacceptable.

Car felt like the wheel fell off, driving over train tracks, or had run somebody (or animal) over. Happened 3 to 4 times within a mile after getting off the freeway. Had it towed in. Service found nothing wrong, couldn't repeat the problem, asked if they heard about this problem before and said no (I doubt it). Said something about a computer update but the dash light never lite up to say there was a problem. Really scary, seriously felt like a wheel had fallen or had run over something large on the road. Wanted to have them check the transmission fluid for metal because it felt like the gears didn't mesh. Said they would have to charge me 85 dollars to do that. If they found metal then they would reimburse me for it. I doubt if I am getting the correct story about this and if this happens on the freeway with my wife and kids in the car this is going to really tick me off. Had made some whiny noise a couple weeks ago and took it in and they said there was no problem. This all sounds fishy to me. How could a new car have transmission problems and it can't be duplicated. I think I should take it to an independent repair shop to get an unbiased opinion.

hard clucking sound from transmission on a stop and go

Had my vehicle drove for an hour on freeway. When pulled on to a shopping center, we had a stop and go and the vehicle start to shake/jerk. There was hard clucking sound from transmission/engine like metal breaking or crushing something. The sound was really bad at that point. Stopped the vehicle over there and didn't replicate again. Took the vehicle to the dealer the next day and they were not able to replicate the issue and so no fix for it.

hard shifting low gears, both up and down shift

My wife was driving home from shopping, when the transmission started doing violent shifting in lower gears, both up and down shifts. The slamming was scary. She got the car home, left it on for me to try. I only made it to the end of the block before turning around to go home, I was afraid of doing significant damage to the transmission/engine. After doing some research on the internet I learned turning off the car resets the computer which clears the problem. Sure enough, I restarted the car and it drove relatively normal. There is a noticeable hesitation going 1st to 2nd gear when starting from a stop, but the slamming of the gears went away. The car is going to the dealership to get checked out. Will update once we get a diagnosis. Most postings on the internet indicate Honda has not found the source of issue, but transmission shift problems is one of the leading issues reported.

Update. I have had the ODY in for service 6 times since I purchased it with the same complaint... same answer, "We can't duplicate, no issues found". I finally had the mechanic ride with me so that I could duplicate the hard shift, the vibration sounds emitted by the vehicle at speeds between 3-4 gear and at speeds around 55 with acceleration.

Now they'd like for me to leave the vehicle with them for a more through drive.

I'd love to know if anyone has had their problem resolved or are we just dealing with a sh*tty vehicle?

Was driving from Las Vegas to home in Riverside CA. Bumper to bumper traffic for about 3 hours to Baker CA, no problems, we stopped at Baker for about 15 minutes (I turned the car off) we hit the road again right after we got back on interstate 15 I noticed the hard shift, and then it literally happened EVERY SINGLE TIME we slowed down below 5 mph and accelerated back passed about 10-15 mph. In that bumper to bumper traffic it must have happened about 30 times. I was so afraid the car was going to break down in the middle of nowhere at 10:30 pm on a freezing cold night. My wife so so scared for our children she needed Xanax.

My family WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER HONDA, EVER AGAIN. This cannot happen to a car with less than 7K miles. We made it home (Thank God) and I took the car into Honda the following day. While driving the car to the dealer the issue DID NOT happen (OF COURSE). Left the car and the dealer worked on it for about 1 day. The did not find anything to fix, no software updates available.

After I mentioned the Honda Service Bulletin 15-014 they checked again and said my vin number was outside the range of the bulletin. So no software update was available. I'm simply beside myself that the dealer keep saying they never even heard of transmission problems on the Odyssey. I will pick up the car tonight and continue driving my $35K time bomb. Thanks-a-lot Honda.

If this problem happens again I will come back here and post a video.

Update from Dec 1, 2015: Nothing from the dealer, not fixed.

Honda is notorious for transmission issues yet I bought my 4th Honda vehicle. I noticed the rattling noise at high speeds on the interstate. Mentioned this to the techs at my next service but they were unable to dup the noise. I have since mentioned it on my second service in which the reply was that Honda has changed it's transmission and the noise was normal. I plan to report this at my next service and will also 'test' drive a new 2016 to see if I can hear the issue, will also look to see if any used 2015's are on the lot... if this is true then I should hear the clunking/rattling noise in both vehicles and I'll call it a day. If not then I'll keep reporting, complaining and whining until either it's fixed or I decide to go and buy a Toyota.

Update from Mar 30, 2016: UPDATE: I have now owned the Van for 16 months, no change. Service folks still tell me they cannot replicate the sound. After more research about what is under the hood of this machine I am wondering if the Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) may be what I am hearing. This link is a perfect example of what I think may be happening. Any thoughts?

http://world.honda.com/automobile-technology/VCM/

This is my 5th Odyssey. (2013/2011/2009/2003) You can tell we did love the car. Got the car 04/15/15 - with 04 miles.

On 05/05/15 at 994 miles while driving on the highway slow down with the traffic, when started pick up the speed lout thumping and no power to propel the vehicle forward - was able to get of the highway and taking to the local streets. Every time at about 20 MPH , when 2nd gear should in gauge - loud thumping with loss of driving powers. Stopped turned off the engine, open the hood -check for leaks and other abnormalities - none was found. Called Honda (dealer was closed for the day)- they recommended that I take it to the service department for inspection. Drove it home with the same transmission performance (thumping and all). Next day took it to the dealer. They did not find anything out of order, all of the computer codes and such was totally normal - transmission was driving perfectly normal - head tech did the software update for the transmission. So far had no issues.

I will update on the progress. But would definitely recommend getting familiar with lemon law in your area. However had a very good 12 years with Honda Odyssey's so far...

At 1294 miles a on the same spot on the highway at the same time of day it has happened again. While getting of the highway did video recording of the incident with smartphone. Drove it straight to the other dealer who happen to be open late. Refuse to shut off the car for fear that problem will disappear. Called the dealer and Honda. The dealer was very courteous and understanding. Very nice place and very good service!!!

Back on the subject. ..Tech got in with the computer and connected to the car. Drove around for a bit. The problem was happening as we drove and the tech recorded it on the computer as we drove. Tech was sending the data to Honda for the solution. After stop and shut off the engine - all of the problem vent away.

Update from Sep 4, 2015: At about 1500 miles Honda took the car in for the repairs, got courtesy vehicle for the mean while. Got the car back 2 weeks latter with new transmission. Now at almost 6poo miles runs very smooth. After all and all Honda did good, I do however understand, that when you make thousands of vehicles mishaps do happen. Honda did good on my account so far. I will get Honda and will recommend Honda - for the value and quality!!!

After about 7,400 miles smooth driving, yesterday after driving about 100 miles between 60-75 mph I got into stop-and-go traffic for about 20 minutes. Coming out of it, and to city road driving a short distance later, this happened. The transmission seemed to shift from 1 to 2 (or was it 2 to 3, I could not tell) too early and too roughly. As if you were driving with clutch, badly! At one time I was up an incline and the car could hardly move! Shift to L bypassed this problem but when it got enough RPM, shifting back to D would have it jumping again.

This morning, it drove normal. Asked Mr. Google and it appeared many have had this problem for many years. Does not look like Honda has a fix, a proper fix, yet. Not sure how bad it will get. Note that in the first 7,400 miles driven, I hardly hit stop-and-go for more than 10 minutes until yesterday. So this might have something to do with it.

For a brand new 2015 purchased in March 2015, I've had this problem at least 4 times now. When accelerating, somewhere between 15mph and 20mph, the car jerks/lurches when switching from 1st to 2nd gear. This only happens when increasing speed, this doesn't happen when decelerating from 20mph to 15mph.

When this problem happens, it happens every time I am increasing speed from 15mph to 20mph --- but goes away when I turn the engine off. I've had the technical service bulletin 15-014 'fix' done on the Odyssey 1.5 weeks ago, but it just had this problem again today while I was on the freeway in rush hour traffic. It didn't happen when I first started up, but started doing this in the middle of the freeway in stop and go traffic.

Since this is not a reproducible problem on demand, the dealership can do nothing. And the only thing Honda has done were to do S/B 12-064 (this same problem for 2002 Odysseys?) and S/B 15-014 (which covers 2014 and 2015 Odysseys). But again, I had both these software 'fixes' installed, and the problem still exists.

I had a 2014 Honda Odyssey leased in September of 2014. When I took it in for the 5000 mile oil change I mentioned a jerking and clunking with the transmission to the Service Manager...He said that he had not heard of any transmission problems, so I showed him all the complaints on all the website. He said to ignore it because those sites meant nothing...but he would check to see if Honda had any issues reported. There was some kind of computer upgrade.

I spoke to my sales manager about how dissatisfied I was with the new Odyssey and he suggested I upgrade to the 2015. I ask if I would have the same problem and if the had fixed the issues with the 2015 transmission...so stupid me, I upgraded putting more money down for the 2015, and now I still have the same transmission issues in the 2015 as the 2014. I have 3225 miles on the 2015, and I have come to hate this Odyssey...it just doesn't feel safe. I had a 2004 that I traded in on the 2014 that had 175000 miles, and was perfect...no major problems only money spent was on regular maintenance...I have always loved the Honda Odyssey, but I am going to look for something different when my lease is up in 2018...I only hope the van last that long.

I just recently bought a 2015 Honda Ody and at around 1700 miles I also felt the double clunking when I was going at about 15mph to 20mph. I kept riding my van straight to the dealer and every time I came to a complete stop, and started up again, it will be a loud clunk when shifting from 1st to 2nd at around 20mph. My biggest mistake was to turn the engine off when I arrived at the dealer, as when you do that, it resets and the issue goes away. It has happened to me now 3 times and my van has about 2800 miles. The third time it happened was late in the day, service dept. was closed, so no luck there. I just went ahead and recorded the anomaly as I was driving it. After a few shots of it, I pulled over, re-started the van/engine and after that it continued as nothing ever happened (I also recorded that too to show the dealer).

I emailed the assistant manager at my local Honda service dept and attached the videos. Hopefully,they will come with a solution by next week. I found out that there are synchro sensors in all Honda transmissions, one for every shift. Well, it sounds like the synchro sensor that goes from 1st to 2nd is the one acting up. I mentioned that to the techs at Honda and hopefully they will look into it. Keep pushing for it, and make sure you keep a record of every time you came in to complain. Also, if you can, when it is happening and you are able to take it to the dealer, do not turn the engine off, and have a tech come ride with you right then and there, so they can see what is doing. I wish I knew this issue the first time, cause now Honda has not been able to duplicate the problem. No rhyme or reason, just does it!.... good luck!

Update from Feb 25, 2015: America Honda came out with a Service Bulletin on 2/19/2014 that hopefully fixes this issue. I just had my 4th episode, and this time I drove it straight to the dealer to find out that Honda came up with a fix! SW update. The service bulletin is titled: Hard Downshift or clunk when slowing down to a rolling stop.