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Vans & Minivans Honda Odyssey Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna
5227 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 5:09 AM
You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum. Your Host is Karens
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Replying to: yatesjo (Oct 02, 2009 10:54 am) |
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hi all - a few questions on my sienna le 2010 1- is there a way to make the power outlets work while car is turned off. i want to charge my cell phone overnight in the car while it is locked. 2- it said in the manual that you had to have the dealer change certian settings like the way the interior lights cycle or if you want the chime to silence when you lock or open the car....anyone know where to find how i can do this? my old car was a series of turning the key on and pressing the break pedal etc. i did switch these door locks action when putting the shifter in park, so i thought there should be ways to do the others. 3- the lower / larger glove box opens once and i feel like it should open one more position for easer access but do not want to force it...does it open once or twice? thanks in advance, glad i found this forum!
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Replying to: islandvan (Oct 03, 2009 5:00 am) 2. Yes, in fact besides the change you mentioned I was able to turn off the seatbelt chime for the passenger seat. Why, you may ask? Because unlike the Odyssey the front passenger seat can fold flat, and when you sit in the back and use the back of the seat as a foot rest (to lay down and watch a movie), it fools the sensor into thinking someone is sitting there. You could of course fasten the seat belt before you fold the seat flat, but I find it easier to just turn off that buzzer. I remind everyone to fasten their seat belts anyway. Now, do I know the specific procedure? Nope, sorry. I found it online by searching, though, so don't give up. The forum where I found my solution doesn't exist any more, but ask around in the Sienna threads, odds are someone will remember. 3. AFAIK, it opens to one level. It's pretty deep so they probably don't want all that stuff spilling out.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Oct 03, 2009 5:11 am) i understand the battery saving idea but i have charged many cell phones overnight in different cars with never a problem and i think toyota would let us decide to take the chance if we wanted. and i will keep searcing for ideas on how to customize the car the way i like.
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Replying to: islandvan (Oct 04, 2009 4:11 pm) I'm an aftermarket fan myself. 12" DVD player, Garmin GPS, and I'm still thinking about a tow hitch (in 07 Siennas came standard with the tow prep package). Good luck. |
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We now have 2 large dogs (thanks to our kids moving into apts.), and it's not easy transporting them in my Mazda 3. I am thinking of getting a minivan, but I'm not sure how I feel about driving such a large vehicle. I would like to know which minivans have the best visibility, especially for changing lanes and merging, which ones have the best and brightest headlights (I'm not getting any younger!), which ones are most reliable, and if all minivans now have skid plates on the bottom of the vehicle to prevent fires if some debris were to be caught on the bottom of the vehicle. Also, if anyone else transports large dogs, what vehicle would you recommend? Thanks!
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Replying to: doggrandma (Oct 13, 2009 9:01 am)  Where do we start? Minivans in general have excellent visibility. They are upright, so most of the glass is vertical and tall, narrow pillars help even more. No styled D-pillars here, just nice big boxy windows all around. Coming out of a Mazda3 they will feel big, relatively speaking, of course. Smaller than a Mazda CX9, though, and with fewer blind spots. The side mirrors are also enormous, at least on my Sienna. That helps. They're tall, though, so visibility straight behind can be tough. I bought a fish-eye lens, or you could get proximity sensors that beep, or even better a backup cam which comes with Navi on both the Sienna and Odyssey. Lane changes and merging are a snap, no issues at all. Keep in mind these are shorter than a Taurus, for example. Backing up is your biggest concern, because the rear windows are high up. I find the standard headlights are fine on my Sienna, but you can get HIDs on both of these vans, if you get them loaded up. Skid plates - no. But then again, most crossovers wouldn't have those, either. You'd pretty much have to step up to a truck-based SUV to get that sort of thing. The Sienna has an inch or so more clearance, which may help. The AWD Sienna has even more. You may want to consider a compromise solution, like a tall wagon (Mazda5, Kia Rondo), or maybe a compact crossover with good visibility (Subaru Forester). Remove all the seats, though, and the power sliding doors would give low step-in access to half a dozen great danes in any minivan. Tie their harnesses to any of the seat anchors to keep them safe. Woof! 
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Replying to: ateixeira (Oct 13, 2009 9:23 am) As the brilliant economist Thomas Sowell says, "There are no solutions; only trade-offs" In my research I have found that the Sienna has more "oomph" and better braking and headlights. However, the Odyssey gets somewhat better marks in safety tests. Oddly enough, neither of them do all that well in the complicated rear end collision tests that some group has devised. It's all based on the configuration of the head rests, etc., and not on any real-world test or outcomes, so I don't know how much stock to put in those ratings. I have test driven both vehicles now, and so far, I like how the Sienna handles better than I do the Odyssey. Funny, since many reviewers say the Odyssey is better on that score. Oh well, we all like different things. Skid plates (sometimes called underbody protection) are available on some vehicles, but not on these minivans. Perhaps it is not considered to be that important. Woof, to you, too.
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Replying to: doggrandma (Oct 27, 2009 10:23 am) You are correct, in fact the vehicle is not crashed - they basically use a sled to test the seats. And note that the Sienna has not actually been tested yet. The score is preliminary and based solely upon static measurements - the distance of the headrest to the dummy's head. It could do well or score poorly if they eventually do actually test it, who knows? like how the Sienna handles better than I do the Odyssey Take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning. Just kidding.  You're definitely in the minority, but I will say I think the Sienna has a better ride and is generally more isolated from the road, which passengers may prefer if they want a quiet, soothing ride. The Ody provides more feedback - tire noise, road noise, most importantly - steering feel, which many drivers use as inputs to adjust their driving. The Sienna's steering has less feedback than my kids Nintendo Wii Wheel. Like lots of things - a trade off. |
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