On 9/16/2003 5:33 PM wdb spake these words of knowledge:

> Hi,
> Thanks,
> I checked out that site and now I am a bit skeptical with respect to the
> Odyssey. Two things I can live without is a gas guzzeling vehicle (14 - 16
> mpg,, ouch) and a vehicle with transmission problems. Been there, done that
> with a Ford Windstar. Two trannies in 64K miles. But, I am seeing on that
> website that people are having the Odyssey transmissions fail as low as 17K
> miles. I don't know if this is common or not, but I have also read several
> posts about Honda V6 powered cars with automatics giving a ton of grief.
> Since I would use this vehicle for work as well as personal use, I can not
> have that much down time.
> The big thing is that I am not hearing from anyone with a 1999 - 2003 Odyssey
> who has over 100K miles on the thing. It makes me wonder if these vans hold up
> for the long haul. I thought it was one of the most comfortable, nicest
> handling mini vans I had ever driven, but if this one is as unreliable as the
> rest of the FWD vans, then I think I may well pass on it unless I hear that
> others are driving them over 100K without problems.
> Bill B.

I only have 60,000 miles on my 01 EX Odyssey. I haven't had any
problems yet. Of any sort.

If you go to a site that is specifically for a vehicle, and that site
has been in existence for a while, you will find stories, probably true
stories, about failures. A disproportionate number of failure reports,
because people with no problems tend not to seek out the forums for
solving problems.

If you wish to buy a vehicle that hasn't had failures, you need to buy a
vehicle that has just been designed, and hasn't been sold yet. On the
other hand, if you want a vehicle that has been sold, and hasn't had any
problems, you'll need to relearn the fine art of walking.

All you can deal with as a prospective buyer are the probabilities. The
probability of an Odyssey being more reliable than any other van is
fairly high; you're doing the right thing with the idea of researching,
but you have to be able to properly interpret what you see and hear.

I would highly recommend the Odyssey, and probably the Sienna.
Certainly, if I were buying one today, it would be the 2004 Sienna, from
what I've been able to glean about it. But I'm very happy with my
Odyssey. By the way, I (actually, mostly my wife) have gotten a fairly
consistent 21 mpg average over those 60,000 miles.

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
"I'm not a fatalist. But even if I were, what could I do about it?" --
Emo Philips