Took a trade here at the dealership I work at (GM). I think the price is right, interior and body are in excellent condition. 64k on it, mechanically it looks tight. Anything in particular I should be looking for that these vehicles are known to have problems with?
Thanks,
Craig

 

consider others such as toyota, I had problems with odyssey. my brother had one and had some problems. I had honda accord before also. currently I drive car, truck and vans from toyota. ford, mercedes, GM and honda.

 

Don't be fooled. They are great vans. I work on them every day. The transmissions are a bit flaky sometimes but the mileage is good enough on that one that Honda will cover it (might have the extended warranty).
The 04 is definitely one of the better ones. They're pretty quick for mini vans.
Good luck!

 

Supposedly some of the 2004 Odysseys (with the "improved" 5spd AT) have transmission failures. The problem is more prevalent in the 1999-2003 Odysseys. For the 1999-2001 vehicles, Honda extended the warranty on the transmission to 7 years (I've read 8, but I know at least 7) or 100k miles. The Odyssey is a fantastic minivan. It handles better than any minivan has a right to. The power is deceptive - it just keeps building and building. The Ody is a better "driver's" minivan, whereas the Sienna ('04+) has a softer (plush?) ride.

I owned a 1999 LX for several years and loved every minute. I did experience slippage of the transmission, but it was not extreme. When I brought the van into the Honda dealer, the service advisor said they couldn't replicate the problem (of course), but were willing to change/swap the transmission under the warranty/"recall." So we went ahead and let them do it. No problems since then, but the Ody was since sold/donated to friends, so I don't know how the transmission is holding up. FWIW, I towed with my Ody (after the dealer put in a new one) several times (I had a trans cooler installed) and never had an issue with it.

 

+1

 

The second generation of that transmission is fantastic. A night and day improvement over the original ones (even though the do still die). The gearing is so much better. That van can actually move out of it's own way without hanging out in 1st gear till 55 mph.

 

Thanks for the input everyone
I had heard of the trans issues but didn't now the extent or years it spanned. I'm a big toyota fan too but I'm not that hip on the Sienna. Tell you the truth I'm really not hip on the whole minivan idea but it would be nice for my family and travelling. Sienna and Odyssey side by side I think the Odyssey is better looking.
Just going to take one look at some subaru wagons then I'll make a decision.

 

If you test drive the Odyssey and the Subaru wagon, take the family with you and I'm sure you will be be convinced. There is just no comparison for traveling with the family. The sliding doors are like gold getting the little ones in and out, and I don't know how we survived without a DVD player with our other child.... For long trips, the DVD player is priceless. I know it can be tough getting over the "soccer mom" image of minivans, it's just hard to beat the utility and usefullness. I even personolized my '07 with some H&R springs and 20" wheels and couldn't be happier.

 

i have to agree as well. there is so much room in it for your family or friends heck everyone can fit !! whoooaa you put h&r springs on it ??!! it must handle like a champion now, like it didnt handle well before ^_~

 

The 2gen Odysseys are sweet. We had an 02 EX for 3 years and I actually enjoyed driving it. We never had any problems, we did make sure to have the trans recall done. We traded it last summer for an Acura TL, what the hell were we thinking?? An Acura TL with 3 kids?? ooops! We're trading in the TL tomorrow for an 07 Odyssey Ex. We have friends with the toyota van and they were always impressed with our 02 Ex whenever they would ride in it.

Adam