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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans 
7485 messages, Last post on Mar 23, 2008 at 7:43 AM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum. Your Host is Karens
Actually dodge makes the GCS and chrysler makes the town and country. Regardless though they are basically the same van with diffent name plates on them. That said the honda does makes more horsepower only if you elect to have the 3.3L engine in the chrysler van. Otherwise the 3.8L witch I have in my van make 215hp or if you wait a couple of months the Town and County limited will come with a 3.5L out of the 300M that makes 230hp. Whats more is that in order to get the 210hp from the honda you must use premium fuel whereas the chrysler vans only require regular 87 octane. I'm not sure of the torque on the honda but the chrysler 3.8 has 240lbft of torque and the 3.5 will have 245lbft.
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| The high end line of the Dodge product may ultimately have more power and if towing is your concern, there is no substitute for power. However, the Dodge product will be a "new" model and may suffer the ills of a new model. The power rear door comes to mind. Alternatively, the Honda is in its' third year. I believe most bugs are worked out. Of course, the bottom line is how you feel on the test drive. I suggest going on a test drive without the salesman, if possible. If not, make him sit in the back and be quiet. Take your time and don't second guess yourself once you have made a decision. My advice is to get the Honda EX-Navi. I love mine. | |
| This was a pretty easy decision for us, but we waited until the '01 DC vans came out just to be sure. The only area the Odyssey may fall short in comparing these vans is in interior features. The Odyssey interior looks plain and doesn't offer leather, and the stereo system is terrible, but these things can be added. In any case, Honda's strong suit continues to be engineering, and in that respect the two vans couldn't be further apart. It's the main reason the Odyssey is so popular with buyers, while Chrysler is already offering huge rebates and cutting production in Toronto. The Odyssey is just a well thought-out vehicle that will last far longer on the road than the Chrysler and will almost certainly experience fewer problems. Do yourself a favor and get on the waiting list for an Odyssey. It's worth the wait. | |
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"The Odyssey is just a well thought-out vehicle that will last far longer on the road than the Chrysler and will almost certainly experience fewer problems." Last longer on the road than chrysler and fewer problems? Why is it that the Odyssey Problems Topic grows and grows and grows and people with the 2001s are still experiencing some of the problems the 1999s have. The Gen2 Odyssey hasn't been out long enough to prove it having fewer problems. I dunno about lasting longer...we'll just have to wait and see about that. Minivan shopper...do yourself a favor, buy what you like and what you are comfortable with...all minivans have problems but the Honda isn't perfect. |
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| To answer your question: The owners of the Odyssey have very high expectations. I believe the problems so far have been minor. | |
| Transmission clunk/replacements, engine whine, fuel gauge inaccuracy, fuel tank thud, pull to the left or right, falling roof rack pieces, speedometer, dash lights, phantom sliding doors are minor? I have high expectations for a vehicle myself and I don't consider things like that to be minor. In fact things like very early transmission replacements are major things to worry about. | |
| and to top it off...these problems were evident in the 1999, 2000 and even the brand new 2001 models? And just recently American Honda Motor Company has requested ALLDATA to deny access to Acura and Honda repair information. So that means you will not have access to Acura or Honda vehicle repair information, technical service bulletins or recalls. Sad isn't it? | |
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You have a point. I have been lucky and have not experienced any of the above problems yet. I'm just glad I did not buy a Toyota Sienna. I would say a transmission change and phantom doors are the two most serious problems. I hope Honda will stand by their product on a case by case basis. I guess my point was that I expect the Odyssey to be less troublesome than the competition. I guess we will see.... |
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I traded in a 95 Dodge Grand Caravan on a 99 Odyssey because of a transmission problem. While Daimler -Chrysler has been putting in a marginal at best transmission in its vans for many years- do a web search on bad transmissions to verify. DC has a hidden recall, Honda replaces bad transmissions when they are found. As for the number of Honda problem forums is now up to VII, the Honda discussion forum is up to XXX. If you look at that ratio the number of the problem forums looks smaller. |
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You can scan ANY problem forum for just about any vehicle and come up with a list as long as yours. I mean come on, the end pieces falling of the roof racks? I saw those posts and they are very recent ones(and very few). I've been following the problem thread for well over a year now and no one up until now complained about that. There was somebody just recently had the dial of the rear heater unit break off, you must have missed that one. Point being, Do a little more research on what your calling major problems, just don't scan the headers and compile a list. The gas tank thud just happens with this van, its a design give and take with the well created by the third seat and only happens when its filled up full. The speedometer shows around 4 mph higher than the speed but well within gov. standards. Engine whine? Where did you see that one? Perhaps its the ones where the owners are not recognizing the ABS cycling sound at start-up. I'll admit Fuel guage inaccuracy and dash lights have been reported but not heavily. The owners manual states that the gas light pops on at 1/4 which is earlier than most vehicles I think, but mine hits that right on and with consistancy. Enough defending, the argument will never end until there's only one brand to choose from. God help us if that day ever comes. |
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