2018 Honda Odyssey Complaints

AIR BAGS — Filed 07/03/2026

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle drove over a pothole and the driver's- and passenger's-side curtain airbags deployed. The air bags deployment frightened the contact’s wife, and the steering wheel was jerked, and the vehicle crashed into the concrete median. The contact stated that the front driver's side tire was flat. The contact removed the deployed side curtain air bags and replaced the driver's side front wheel. The vehicle was inspected by the insurance company. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V227000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that the recall notification was received the day after the failure had occurred. The manufacturer was contacted by phone, and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the case was denied. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 08/20/2026

The passenger side curtain airbags deployed while driving with no prior warning.

SEAT BELTS — Filed 07/10/2026

While my child was riding in the second row drivers side captains chair of my 2018 Odyssey, she fell asleep and unknowingly moved the shoulder strap portion of the seat belt behind her head/ upper body. I was driving and could not see that the belt had been moved because she was seated behind me and was also covered by a blanket. After the vehicle was parked, she unbuckled the seat belt and attempted to exit the vehicle. As she got out, the seat belt retracted and tightened around her abdomen and torso, trapping her against her seat. The belt became extremely tight and we were unable to free her after 20 minutes of struggling to create slack and slide her out.The pressure from the belt cause visible injuries to her abdomen. Because we could not safely release her, we were forced to cut the seat belt. The damaged seat belt was inspected by a Honda dealership, which recommended replacement of the entire seat assembly, costing $3,000. Honda customer relations was also notified and provided us with a case number. I am submitting this report because a child was trapped by the seat belt during normal vehicle use, requiring the belt to be cut to safely free her.

SEAT BELTS — Filed 04/30/2026

On 4/30/26 my 10 year old son was sitting in the middle row behind the driver buckled in his seatbelt. The middle row, middle seatbelt (that comes down from ceiling) got wrapped around his neck and kept tightening. He yelled for help. I was driving and saw in my rearview mirror that my son was being pulled up by his neck from the seatbelt in the ceiling. I pulled into a shopping center immediately to try to help him. I could not reach down in between the seats to unhook it because the more I tried to release him, the more it would tighten. That seatbelt requires a tool to be pressed into the lock to release it and the more I tried to get to the seatbelt to unfasten it the more it was tightening and pulling my son up (he was literally starting to hang from the ceiling). I unhooked his seatbelt so he could push himself up to try to release some of the tension around his neck. I wound up running into a Michaels store screaming that I needed scissors because my son was hanging from a seatbelt. She gave me scissors and I went back out and cut the seatbelt to release my son from the seatbelt noose around his neck. He had red marks around his neck afterwards. I still have the cut seatbelt and the other half retracted into the ceiling. Research has confirmed that there have been other reports of issues with children having to be cut out of seatbelts due to the Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) in Honda Odysseys, model years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and my model 2018. I called Honda corporate on 6/8/26 and filed a complaint. I was told I would receive an email response. I have not received an email or any response. So I called Honda corporate again on 6/25/26 and was told someone would reach out to me, but they could not tell me anything over the phone at that time. I made an appointment at my Honda dealership to have the seatbelt replaced, but have been waiting on a response from Honda corporate before doing any repairs.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/13/2026

For a couple of weeks we have been having issues with our 2018 Honda Odyssey's back right door. When you go to open it, something happens where it makes it shut after fully opening. Our resolution for the time was to just push on the door harder and it would continue to slide open. Today, on XXX I was going to put my [XXX] son in his carseat, which is located mid van right side. He snuck infront of me and was standing in the path of the sliding door, it did what it normally does, the same door did not detect his body and began shutting on him. As it was squeezing his shoulders I was pushing back on the sliding door with all my strength, and after a few seconds it opened back up. I'm not sure whether the sensor failed, or it can't detect past a certain height, but either way it was a very scary situation. This had just happened an hour ago, so I haven't reported it to any authorities or anything. I came home and googled how to make a manufacturer report and it lead me here. If I had not been standing behind my son, I believe the door would have continued shutting more, enough to sustain serious injuries if not more. My son physically was okay, aside from a red mark on his upper arm where the door was shutting on him, he did need at least 5 minutes of consoling after, which only happens when something truly hurt him. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS — Filed 05/30/2026

I was travelling on a two lane surface road with a speed of 45 mph, travelling at or below posted speed and just starting to slow to make a right hand turn when I encountered / wandered over the solid white line into a pothole at the edge of the road where there is no shoulder. Airbags on the passenger side including the sidecurtain and airbag inside the passenger seat deployed instantly. There was no collision and no deployment of the front passenger airbag or any other bags in the vehicle. There was an immediate call from Honda regarding the airbag deployment along with an automated notification to local police. Police in [XXX] responded and made a report and created a case number: #[XXX] I had a passenger in the front seat at the time who received a facial laceration, bruises to the right arm and hip. This is part of a known recall for this model and year of vehicle. Police and local dealership ( Casey Honda of XXX [XXX] ) have both confirmed visually that the airbags have deployed. No warnings, lights preceded the event. I just received the letter in the last few days regarding the recall. Honda has issued a case number for the incident: #[XXX]. I will be following up Honda for an inspection of other accident sensor and systems for safety which can be affected by the deployment. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 02/09/2026

I am reporting a safety incident involving the power sliding door system on my 2018 Honda Odyssey. Today, Monday, February 9th 2026, my 3 year old child’s arm was caught and compressed by the power sliding door. At the time, she pressed the interior door button while I simultaneously pulled the exterior door handle. The door began to open, my child placed her arm out, and the door then closed on her arm instead of reversing. The door did not release or reverse automatically. I was unable to open it using the exterior handle and had to stretch to the front dashboard, left sliding door open button to stop and reopen the door to free her arm. Thankfully this didn’t happen on the passenger side sliding door! This resulted in redness, swelling, and pain, and she later woke from sleep crying due to increased pain. She is undergoing medical evaluation. The vehicle is equipped with pinch protection sensors that failed to prevent this injury. This appears to be a serious safety malfunction involving a child. I am submitting this report so the issue can be documented and reviewed for potential investigation. I have not seen a recall involving the sliding doors sensors having this issue.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 09/12/2025

I have 6 error lights on my dash board. Road departure mitigation system problem, auto high-beam problem, collision mitigation system problem, lane keeping assist problem, Ada pat I’ve cruise control problem. My car was rear ended from an insured from Utica National insurance group. After my car was rear ended these error message came up. They fixed the car but refused to fix to have the lights removed because they said that these error lights do not come on after a rear end accident.

SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 09/18/2025

I was involved in an accident with with my family. Pregnant wife and daughter. I got into a front end collision and I was at fault. The forward collision warning didn’t activate, Neither did the automatic emergency braking. This system has never failed on me and car has always stopped every time..

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 08/25/2025

I bought my van used in March of 2025. within 6 weeks I noticed when accelerating my van hesitated about 3 seconds before going when I went to take-off. This has caused great concern . Last week it caused me a accident because of the delay in acceleration. Luckily I was not hurt but did cause a accident. I feel they're should be a recall to fix this after reading many complaints about the same issue.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE — Filed 07/26/2024

Crack in body seam above driver and passenger side of the tailgate AND underneath the roof rail cover caused water leakage. This resulted in a short of the power tailgate control module which draws down my battery and causes unexpected trunk closing during normal use. Family members have been hit in the head by the trunk due to the unexpected automatic emergency closing.

AIR BAGS — Filed 04/26/2025

During a side impact accident to the driver's side door, the SRS airbag system did not deploy the airbags. Driver ended up hitting their head and shoulder on the door frame. Police report does exist for the accident and there was no recall on this part for this vehicle but for the next model year, there was a recall for the SRS control system for a few vehicles.

VISIBILITY — Filed 03/26/2025

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while his wife was dropping off their son at school, the sunroof was open, and the close button was depressed while the son’s hand was hanging out of the sunroof. The sunroof proceeded to close, and the sensors did not prevent the sunroof from continuously attempting to close. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that his wife was forced to push up on the sunroof to free her son's hand, and in the process received a minor cut on her right hand, while the son sustained bruising on his right hand. Medical treatment was needed for the injury. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the sunroof assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 12/27/2024

Up and down engine.

AIR BAGS — Filed 06/04/2024

was driving in a rainstorm, a storm drain cap was pushed up and popped rear passenger tire. set off ALL passenger side airbags. I have a police report, numerous photos and videos.

POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 06/10/2024

On the week of May 3rd my car began to shift into different gears with no notice or reason while driving, when it would do this it would show a warning signal on the dash that stated"transmission issue!" And the gear letter would flash on the dash. I brought the car in to the dealership it was purchased from (Ira Honda Saco, ME) as the car was shifting into reverse and park while driving causing significant safety issues for myself and my children in the car. When I arrived I was told there was issue with loaners although the service employee was great in helping me find one eventually that day as I'm a solo parent with multiple children. However, when I brought the car I said there was a recall on the transmission for this exact issue. I was told my make model and year matched but not the VIN so it couldn't be the transmission recall/issue. Then I was told the issue was the fuel injectors but that they were not covered by any warranty so I'd need to pay out of pocket. Then I was told it was partially covered and I ended up paying out of pocket for the remainder and was told the car was all set no more issues, it's fixed, completely safe to drive. Now barely 4 weeks later on 6/1024 while driving on the highway the car slams into park with the same exact warning flashing on the dash. The car behind me nearly rear ended me and my seatbelt engaged as I was going 65mph and came to a complete halt, causing bruising to my chest and collar bone. I immediately brought it back to the dealership and they suddenly say it's the transmission (like I said last month) but that it's not under warranty and is $6300 to repair that Honda can't guarantee they can cover with a claim and they also don't have a loaner or any vehicle I can use to safely transport myself or my children. Yet the only reason I am at the dealership with a car that has now twice nearly caused severe injury events or death is due to the dealership's misdiagnosis of the issue and the guarantee the car was fixed

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 05/14/2024

Since 2020, we have noticed that the 2018 Honda Odyssey we own will not accelerate when the gas pedal is pressed. There is a noticeable delay between 1 to 3 seconds for the vehicle to accelerate. Once the vehicle accelerates, it does so at an increased rate of speed that is dangerous and scary. This has led to 100+ near miss collisions with pedestrians and other oncoming vehicles at 4-way lighted intersections, highway on-ramps and other driving scenarios. This has caused me and my family traumatic stress (injury) as we've had so many close calls due to Honda's manufacturing failures and failures to address this problem. We have to drive extra cautiously and under stress in anticipation of the acceleration delay. We took to the dealership several times and they said there appears to be no issue even though I'm certain they didn't do thorough test drive to inspect problem. We will seek legal remedies if NHTSA and Honda will not address this defect that is being reported by hundreds of other 2018-19 Honda Odyssey owners.

BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 04/09/2024

I started the vehicle and it displayed a message on the infotainment system screen that the system had lost power. I believed that this would only affect the radio functionality which I was not concerned about immediately. I placed the vehicle in reverse and I accidentally backed up into a parked car. At no point before the accident did I realize the rear camera did not work and the collision assistance sensors did not function. I believe if the collision avoidance system was working correctly my accident would have been prevented. I have come to depend on the safety features of this vehicle. I know that this is not an issue with my car battery as I recently had a Honda dealer install a new battery prior to this accident and the vehicle started normally.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 08/25/2022

The automatic emergency braking system has failed multiple times. The vehicle is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of others are put at risk when my vehicle executes unexpected emergency braking. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by the dealer on two different occasions. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives of other, except the Honda dealer. No other warning lamps, messages of other symptoms. Around Feb 1, 2019 the car started applying the brakes when crossing slightly raised railroad tracks. The braking action was hard enough to engage the antilock brake feature. On 2/11/19 the vehicle was taken to AutoWest Honda for warranty repairs at 22,853 miles. The millimeter radar was mis-aimed. This corrected the problem. See attached repair order. On 9/21/20 while driving on the freeway at approximately 65 miles per hour the automatic emergency braking system activated as I passed a vehicle on the right. There were no vehicles in front of me. Braking was again hard enough to activate the anti lock brake system. The vehicle behind me just taped my car. Only a tiny nick was put in my bumper. On 9/22/20 i returned the vehicle to AutoWest Honda. The car had 47,655 miles on the odometer. It was found that the millimeter radar was mis-aligned again. It was realigned free of charge and all was well for the next 22,000 or so miles. On or about 8/25/22, with approximately 66,000 miles on the odometer the automatic emergency braking system activated at about 65 miles per hour as I was passing a vehicle on the right. Again the anti lock braking system activated. The vehicle behind me did not hit my vehicle, but was apparently hit from behind as I saw at least one vehicle run off into the ditch as I looked in my rearview mirror. I believe this to be a design defect in the vehicle The mis-alignment of the millimeter radar appears to be an ongoing problem about every 22,000 miles

AIR BAGS — Filed 06/27/2022

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the passenger’s side air bags deployed without warning or a crash. The contact was able to pull over safely. The contact’s daughter was injured and taken to the hospital to seek medical assistance. The vehicle was towed to a Collison Center and then towed to the dealer. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted and notified the contact of a hole under the subframe of the vehicle. The contact was informed that the repair would be an out-of-pocket expense. The failure mileage was 135,000.

AIR BAGS — Filed 10/09/2020

My husband was driving our 2018 Honda Odyssey Van when he hit a deer and the airbags came out and my hearing was permanently damaged. I had taken a hearing test during the year before the accident and have hearing results after the accident. I have been told by two specialists that nothing can be done to repair the damage to my ears. It has been suggested that the air bags shouldn't have come out. Hitting the deer made a bad situation but the air bags coming out made a bad situation much worse. We had hit deer before and it never made the air bags come out which was absolutely not necessary in this situation. My leg was also cut and bruised by the air bag and I went to the emergency room for treatment.

STRUCTURE — Filed 05/20/2021

The rear tailgate shocks have weakned up with vehicle just having 32500 miles. When you open rear automatic tailgate the tailgate opens completely and starts to slowly lower down while unloading belongings. When you suddenly looking back the tailgate will be half way down and can hit over head. I myself got hurt and don't let my wife use it.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 04/10/2021

I'M AN OWNER OF 2018 ODYSSEY EX WITH 9-SPEED TRANS. THIS IS MY THIRD ODYSSEY I OWN. I HAVE TWO 2016 AND ONE 2018. I'M VERY DISAPPOINT ABOUT THIS 2018 TRANS AND THE LACK OF ATTENTION FROM HONDA REGARDING THIS KNOWN ISSUE. FROM THE PART SALEPERSON TO THE ADVISOR, ALL NOTED THE ISSUE WITH THESE 9-SPEED TRANSMISSION. RATTLE, HESITATION, SHUDDERING, JERKING, WERE SOME OF THE ONGOING ISSUES. I COMPLETED INTENSE RESEARCH AND FOUND TONS OF PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I WAS REAR ENDED DUE TO THIS HESITATION AND MISS GEAR ISSUE WHILE DRIVING. THE IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRES BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUS HURT.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 02/09/2020

WE CAME HOME FROM THE MOVIE THEATER (WHICH WAS ONLY 5 MILES AWAY) AND PARKED OUR CAR IN THE OUR DRIVEWAY. WHEN MY HUSBAND TURNED OFF THE CAR, WE IMMEDIATELY SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. WE SEE SMOKE COMING UP FROM THE HOOD OF THE CAR. MY HUSBAND, KIDS AND I IMMEDIATELY GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND SEE WAFTS OF SMOKE RISING FROM THE HOOD. WE SEE FIRE AT THE UNDER BED OF THE CAR. WITHIN 3 MINUTES FIRE WAS COMING UP THROUGH THE HOOD OF THE CAR. THE ENTIRE HOOD OF MY CAR WAS UP IN FLAMES (4-5FT TALL) WITHIN 5 MINUTES FROM SMOKE TO FULL FIRE. FIREFIGHTERS THANKFULLY PUT OUT THE FIRE WITHIN 8 MINUTES FROM WHEN IT STARTED. THE HOOD HAD DISINTEGRATED AND THE ENTIRE ENGINE AND ALL THE PARTS IN THE HOOD WERE BURNT AND MELTED. MY WINDSHIELD SHATTERED FROM THE HEAT. THIS CAR WAS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD, 37,000 MILES ON IT. IT WAS BOUGHT AND SERVICE LOS REGULARLY AT THE DEALERSHIP. THERE IS NO REASON WHY THE CAR WOULD JUST COMBUST OUT OF THE BLUE. CALLED HONDA OF AMERICA WITH NO AVAIL. AND REFUSAL OF ANY INVESTIGATION. THE ENTIRE INCIDENT WAS CAPTURED ON OUR SECURITY CAMERA.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 02/27/2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE REVERSING AT ABOUT 2 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION WENT FROM DRIVE TO PARK WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE GENTHE HONDA DEALER, LOCATED AT 15100 EUREKA RD, SOUTHGATE, MI 48195, WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 33,000. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED.