2018 Honda Odyssey: What to check before buying
Owners have filed 841 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, transmission, and engine. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2018- Owner complaints
- 841
- Recalls
- 13
- Crashes reported
- 13
- 24 injuries
Your inspection sheet
Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2018 Honda Odyssey: inspection sheet
Paperwork and questions
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Walk-around and cabin
Engine off, key in hand0/2
Cold start, engine bay, and underside
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2
Test drive
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/3
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Which Odyssey is it?
EPA figures for each version of the 2018 Honda Odyssey. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5L 6-cyl | FWD | 22 mpg |
- Reset the trip computer at the start of the drive. A Odyssey that averages well under the EPA 22 mpg combined on a mixed route may have an engine or tire problem.
Check the odometer against these mileages
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Front camera failure
30,000–120,738 miles
Tailgate module water damage
42,653–90,000 miles
Acceleration hesitation from stop
50,000–61,000 miles
Rod bearing engine failure
66,855–140,000 miles
Transmission failure
70,000–74,000 miles
High-pressure fuel pump failure
80,000–88,000 miles
Spontaneous air bag deployment
103,000–135,000 miles
Why these checks: what owners reported
NHTSA complaints for the 2018 Honda Odyssey, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Electrical186No crashes
Water leaking into the rear body shorts out the power tailgate control module. After that, the tailgate opens or closes on its own, sometimes while driving, and it drains the battery. These reports cluster from about 42,653 to 90,000 miles, and one dealer quoted $7500 for the repair. Other owners describe dead batteries that need daily jump starts, random lockouts that set off the alarm, a radio that crackles or crashes, and sliding doors that stick. A closing tailgate struck two people, and one van caught fire under the hood just after it was shut off.
Transmission1473 crashes
The 9-speed transmission hesitates when pulling away from a stop and then lurches forward. This is the most common complaint. Owners also report shuddering and jerking between 26 and 40 mph. Some vans shift into neutral, park or reverse while moving, with a transmission warning on the dash. Full transmission failures appear around 70,000 to 74,000 miles, and one replacement cost $7714. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem, and software updates rarely help. Three crashes are on file, including a rear-end collision that the owner blamed on hesitation.
Engine98No crashes
Connecting rod bearing failure dominates. The engine knocks or thumps, the check engine light flashes and power drops, often at highway speed. Then the engine seizes or throws a rod. Dealers find metal in the oil. Failures show up from about 66,855 to 140,000 miles, and many owners say their VIN falls outside the rod bearing recall, so they pay for the repair themselves. Smaller groups report a failing high-pressure fuel pump near 80,000 miles, stalls when the engine restarts after Auto Idle Stop, and a timing belt chirp covered by a service bulletin.
Automatic emergency braking822 crashes
The front camera mounted on the windshield fails without warning. It takes adaptive cruise, lane keeping, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation and auto high beams offline all at once. A string of warning messages appears at startup or while driving. Failures range from about 30,000 to 120,738 miles, and some vans lose a second camera. Replacement runs from about $1,335.88 to $1.5K, often out of pocket, and parts can be back-ordered. A smaller group of reports describes hard false braking, such as over raised railroad tracks. Two crashes are on file.
Body and structure59No crashes
Rear body seams above the liftgate leak and let water reach the power tailgate control module. The tailgate then stops working, will not latch, or opens and closes on its own. Some owners also find mildew under the headliner. Power sliding doors are the second pattern. They stall partway and reverse, refuse to open, or pop open over bumps, sometimes even after recall repairs. Other reports include weak tailgate struts that let the gate drift down onto people, a sunroof that shattered at 2500 miles, and one fire near the third row.
Fuel system311 crash
Many reports center on fuel pump recall 23V-858. Some owners wait indefinitely because dealers lack parts. Others whose VINs are excluded describe the same symptoms: hard starts, stalling at lights or on the highway, and hesitation when merging. A few vans stall again after the recall pump is installed. Separately, the high-pressure fuel pump in the engine bay fails around 82,000 miles, causing a loud engine noise and a loss of power. One owner reports a strong fuel smell and a leak after filling the tank.
Acceleration and cruise control24No crashes
When pulling away from a stop, the gas pedal stops responding for 1 to 3 seconds. Then the van surges hard enough to spin the tires. This happens most often while turning left across traffic or merging, and some owners report it at highway speed too. The problem tends to recur for years, and dealers often cannot reproduce it or have no fix. One owner reports traumatic stress from repeated near misses. Several other reports here describe the front camera failing, sometimes right after a battery replacement, with quotes near $1500.
Brakes181 crash
Collision mitigation braking brakes hard when nothing is ahead, often on curves or during turns at intersections, which raises the risk of being rear-ended. Dealers call this normal, and the system turns itself back on every time the van starts. Camera failures that disable the braking aids also show up here, with one quote of $2000. Other reports describe a soft pedal that sinks toward the floor on the first press, and front rotors that shake the steering when braking at speed. In one crash with 3 injuries, neither the warning nor automatic braking activated.
In owners' own words
Excerpts from complaints Odyssey owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
Vehicle was taken into Honda dealer due to trunk not opening and closing properly & receiving “Power Tailgate Failure” warning and rear entertainment system not working. After many hours, I was told the power tailgate control unit and floor wire harness would need replaced due to corosion from water damage ??? This was at 42,653 miles!! They couldn’t explain how the damage could have happened and Honda refused to do anything about fixing it.
Filed with NHTSA, June 2023
Lane keep assist, road mitigation, auto hi beam, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, road departure all errors and no longer work. New windshield wuth calibration august 2024, new battery 10/28/24. Issue started 10/25/24. A little over 90,000 miles on vehicle. Started vehicle in parking lot and all warnings came on. After new battery, warnings cine on and off at random.
Filed with NHTSA, October 2024
At approximately 70,000 miles, vehicle transmission failed after intermittently falling to go into reverse and transmission warning system shifting vehicle down while driving. Rebuild parts not available from manufacturer, replaced transmission with used part. Immediately after putting car back into service, engine began to knock severely. Dealer recommended full engine replacement. Car currently not drivable and has been parked for past 13 months.
Filed with NHTSA, November 2024
The transmission has been acting weird - not shifting appropriately and jerking when shifting for about 2500 miles previous to this. The car has had routine maintenance and all recall work completed at dealership. At 86000 the transmission needs to be replaced. In addition, when it would get really wet or go through a car wash the transmission wouldn't function properly and not go into reverse at all.
Filed with NHTSA, February 2024
On this 2018 Honda Odyssey, at 93000 miles, an abnormal noise started to occur under acceleration. Dealer diagnostic indicated the noise is coming from the bottom end of the engine, likely from the rod bearings. The dealer indicated that this specific VIN number is not included in the current Honda recall, however is exhibiting same symptoms.
Filed with NHTSA, March 2025
Manufacturing Engine damage/failure. Synthetic oil was used at all oil changes every 5K miles. However, after only 3K miles after last oil change the oil level was low and dirty. Engine light started flashing and failed to accelerate. Engine also started making a knocking noise.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2023
Our 2018 Honda Odyssey has a little over 33,000 miles on it; and out of nowhere several warning light came on, such as Adaptive Cruise Control problem, Lane Keeping Assisst Problem, Collision Mitigation system problem, Road departure mitigation system problem. Scheduled an appointment with Honda Service, however they refuse to event take a look at it, and cancel my appointment half an hour prior to appointment time.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2023
The forward camera on this vehicle fails and you lose all your adaptive cruise control, regular cruise control, Lane assist, emergency breaking, and adaptive high beams. This is the second failure of the camera since I have owned the vehicle 1.5 years and 30000 miles.
Filed with NHTSA, May 2025
How the 2018 compares with other Odyssey years
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2018 has the most owner complaints of the 9 Odyssey years we cover, about 4.4 times the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
- Electrical18650
- Transmission14719
- Engine9813
- Automatic emergency braking8225
- Body and structure597
- Fuel system3114
Recalls to confirm (13)
Recall repairs are free at any Honda dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
23V858000Fuel systemDec 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
23V751000EngineNov 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early April 2024, 2019 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-May 2024, 2020 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-June 2024, and 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed January 27, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XG1 and GG0.
23V431000Backup cameraJun 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the MOST cable harness and install a straightening cover over the vehicle cable connector, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are EEL, ZEM, and SFC.
23V158000Seat beltsMar 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2020 CR-V, 2018-2019 Accord and Accord Hybrid, 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019 Insight, and 2019-2020 Acura RDX vehicles. A manufacturing issue with the front seat belts may cause the seat belt buckle channel to interfere with the release button, preventing the seat belt buckle from latching.
Risk: An unlatched seat belt cannot properly restrain the seat occupant during a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt buckle release buttons or the buckle assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 18, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are NDA, QDB, BDC, MDD, LD9. TDF, FDG, ODH, YDI, ZDE.
21V010000Fuel systemJan 2021
Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Braun-modified Honda Odyssey vehicles. The fuel tank assembly installed by Braun may be susceptible to the fuel tank overfilling into the charcoal canister. If the charcoal canister fills with a sufficient amount of fuel, fuel may leak out.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
Fix: Braun will notify owners, and dealers will inspect vehicles. If evidence of a fuel leak is present, a new fuel tank assembly and a new Honda charcoal canister will be installed, free of charge. The recall began February 22, 2021. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1-800-488-0359.
20V439000Backup cameraJul 2020
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019-2020 Passport, and 2019-2021 Pilot vehicles. Incorrect instrument panel control module software can cause the instrument panel to not display critical information, such as engine oil pressure, speedometer, and gear selector position until the next ignition cycle. Additionally, it can prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 111, "Rearview Mirrors.".
Risk: Operating a vehicle without a functioning instrument panel or rearview camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument panel control module software, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is T89.
20V437000Door latches and locksJul 2020
Honda (America Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Odyssey vehicles. Water may enter the outer door handle cables for the sliding doors. If this occurs, the outer door handle cables may freeze in cold temperatures, preventing the front and rear sliding door latches from securely latching.
Risk: A power sliding door that fails to latch may open while moving, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power sliding door outer handle cables, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is A88.
20V066000ElectricalFeb 2020
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Odyssey vehicles. The wire harness for the third row seat accessory power outlet may get pinched between the unibody and rear trim panel, possibly damaging the wires and causing an electrical short.
Risk: An intermittent electrical short could overheat the wire harness, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third row seat accessory power outlet wire harness for damage, replacing it as necessary. If no damage is found, the dealer will apply protective tape and re-route the harness. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 16, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is T6U.
19V299000TransmissionApr 2019
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Loose battery terminal connections or a degraded battery may cause the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) to unexpectedly reboot. Upon rebooting, the TCU may shift the transmission to the "Park" position, possibly damaging the parking rod.
Risk: A damaged parking rod can allow the vehicle to roll when parked, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will ensure the battery terminal connections are secure and will update the TCU software, free of charge. Additionally, the parking rod effectiveness will be checked. The recall began May 31, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Z4J, Y4K.
19V213000BrakesMar 2019
Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Honda Odyessy vehicles modified to be equipped with an in-floor wheelchair ramp conversion. The rear wheel speed sensor harnesses may have been routed to the incorrect rear wheels, resulting in the possibility that the anti-lock brake system will not recognize each rear wheel speed properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake System" and 404, "Electronic Stability Control Systems.".
Risk: If the rear wheel speeds cannot be correctly monitored, the anti-lock brake system may not engage properly to prevent the wheels from locking up, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Braun has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the rear wheel speed sensor harnesses, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 4, 2019. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1-800-488-0359.
18V795000Door latches and locksNov 2018
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2018 and 2019 Honda Odyssey vehicles. The latch assemblies for the power sliding doors may stick and not properly latch to the door strikers.
Risk: If the power sliding doors fails to latch, the doors may open while moving, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right power sliding door rear latch assemblies, free of charge. The recall began January 3, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Z33 and O36.
18V777000BrakesNov 2018
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Acura MDX, 2017-2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda HR-V and Honda Odyssey, and 2016 Honda HR-V vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating, causing gas pockets to form, reducing brake performance. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems.".
Risk: A reduction of braking performance increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Owners will be notified, and Honda or Acura dealers will bleed the brakes, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are C31 and L30.
17V397000Seat beltsJun 2017
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018 Honda Odyssey vehicles. The seat belt tongue for the third row center seating position may not be compatible with the latch, preventing the seat belt from latching securely. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection.".
Risk: If in the event of a crash, the seat belt cannot restrain the occupant they have an increased risk of being injured.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third row center seat belt to make sure that it has the correct tongue, replacing the seat belt, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 31, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KF7.
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