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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5220 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 3:36 PM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Drove an 09 Odyssey EXL with RES & Nav and an 09 Sienna AWD XLE and an FWD Sienna today...all were nice vans. We had never owned a Honda or a Toyota before..nor been to either dealer previously. We ended up liking the Odyssey better..for a few reasons (and most are subjective).. 1) I'm very tall, and found the drivers seat felt "deeper" on the odyssey....there was more seat to support my legs. My wife had no preference on this one. 2) I liked the handling of the Honda better than either of the Toyotas...just felt better connected with the road. 3) We actually liked the fold-away aspect of the center console on the Honda better than the bulkier unit in the Toyota....will help with access to the backseat on trips (multiple kids in cars seats)..but can still flip up and be there to hold sodas, etc... 4) I liked the technology better on the Honda -- the navigation system was more intuitive for both of us. 5) I liked the sound system interface better on the Honda, but the sound quality seemed somewhat better on the Toyota. Didn't spend a lot of time on this though. 6) The Honda dealer was much lower pressure, and more professional. Obviously this will vary from dealer to dealer -- but we were much more comfortable with the Honda dealer. We will be buying an Odyssey this week....=)
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Replying to: eppeppepp (Feb 21, 2009 6:48 pm) For #3 - you can choose either a fold away tray or a full-sized center console for the Sienna, though certain models come with the latter standard. I'd trade because I have the folding tray and would prefer the big console for the extra space. They are hyper-expensive, $529 retail cost. You could sell it and make a small fortune, then buy the cheaper folding tray. If you have captain's chairs on a Sienna, you can even get 2 consoles. It's interchangeable between the first and 2nd rows (but it's n/a for the 8 seat model). |
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| OK, everyone go to the top of the webpage and click on "vans", and on "Honda Odessey", and on "Odessey transmission problems" and read the posts. Especially the 600 to 900 numbers, which describe the horrible transmission problems that everyone, not just the older-van owners have had with the Ody, and the two class-action suits and recalls. I have a 2000 Ody, now on its third transmission and waiting for me to trade it off, and that's why I'm on the Toyota forum tonight. I'm doing some homework that I wish I could have done before I bought the Ody. I love the thing: it is beautiful, drives like a dream, has lots of room, and so on, but it eats transmissions. And no, Honda doesn't like to admit it, and their service is terrible. I was lucky and had a helpful Service Manager at my local dealer, but after reading the posts on the Odessey transmission forum, I think I was the only one. Caveat emptor!! (translates to LOOK OUT!!) | |
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Replying to: g3guy (Feb 25, 2009 8:50 pm)
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Replying to: g3guy (Feb 25, 2009 8:50 pm) http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0fa11e/920 Reading down a bit further they say the 07s got a new trans from the Ridgeline. Do you have evidence of a pattern of failure on the 07 or later? Otherwise, welcome to 3 years ago. 
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Replying to: ateixeira (Feb 26, 2009 11:45 am)
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Replying to: thegraduate (Feb 26, 2009 10:17 am)
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Replying to: g3guy (Feb 26, 2009 9:29 pm) Thank you for being so thorough in your reply, and sorry about mine being so short, I was limited for time when I made it. For background info, We had a 2000 Odyssey, which we kept for 5.5 years. We liked it, didn't love it (it IS a van, after all). I have a 2006 Accord (which has had its share of little defects in the 45,000 miles I've had it), and a 1996 Accord which turned over 189k miles tonight. What I meant to ask was about the transmission in particular. In the time since your Odyssey, drastic changes have been made to the transmissions in Odyssey vans. As another poster pointed out, the heavier-duty Ridgeline transmission is now in the Odyssey. I've actually not heard of transmission problems since the current model debuted in 2005. No issues with Accord or Pilot transmissions in the last five years (that I know of) either. All that said, I can't say I wouldn't be reluctant either, having had issues with your current ride. I'm not condemning the second thoughts at all; its a lot of money you're spending. Just know that no car is perfect coming off the assembly line! |
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Replying to: berri (Feb 26, 2009 5:39 pm) More than a few...that engine dates back to 2003. Even the V6 (3.3l) that replaced that sludge-prone V6 (3.0l) has been replaced with a new V6 (3.5l)! Phew, say that fast 10 times. Any how, their engines have been great for 2 whole generations now. Looking back, Toyota tried to bury it, blame consumers, and that backfired on them big time. They ended up extending coverage for 100k miles for owners who could prove they did at least one oil change per year. So in the end the customers did OK, though it did take the power of the internet to bring a giant manufacturer to its knees. Let's be real here - these are for-profit companies. Toyota didn't extend coverage out of the goodness of their hearts. They did so because their bean counters calculated that the damage to their reputation would be bigger than the cost of fixing the problem. Period. Probably why we see a lot of people being very vocal about their Honda trannies. Let's just be specific and qualify what model years we're talking about.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Feb 27, 2009 10:06 am) PS - its nice to have higher mileage cars that don't leak fluids on the garage floor as well!
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