My '05 Ody, (125,000 mi), shakes/shudders when attempting to downshift from the top gear (5th?) to 4th under mild acceleration. It seems to occur when driving down a slight hill and making the transition to an uphill climb. I can feel it in the front end and steering wheel of the vehicle. When I accelerate harder it goes away. So far it is intermittent and needs these specific circumstances to set it off. I'm hearing suggestions everywhere from the egr valve, to the drive axles, to the torque converter (which makes the most sense to me). Any suggestions from anyone as to how I can diagnose this problem short of taking it to the dealer and having him start replacing expensive parts?

 

This does not list your 2005 model but may be related? http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A09-053.PDF

 

Thanks NDNV. I found this info via another Honda forum, where it seems that this is not a rare problem. It seems to be happening with '05-'09 Odysseys (although a friend of mine has an '03 and he is experiencing it also), and the software update doesn't necessarily fix the problem. What I'm reading is that the fix seems to be centered around a combination of the software update and a torque converter replacement, not a trivial job.

 

If the software update doesnt fix it we've been replacing torque converters under warranty as a TSB we got at the dealer. '05 doesnt really apply but doesnt mean it couldnt happen.

 

i work at a honda dealer too in the chicagoland area. we see this all the time too. i personally have seen the master techs NOT do the PCM update on purpose when they said they did and wait till the car shutters again get the torque converter repair time under warranty.

 

Wow really!? Yes they're paying 8.7 warranty time where I'm at dont know what you guys are flagging and we've been knocking them out in 4-5 hours so I could see why theyre doing that in these slow times, but still...

 

i have an o5 and have the same issue.

 

we only get 8.2 but are doing it in the same time or less. we see about 6-7 of them a week in Tallahassee, Fla.
what I usually do to eliminate the EGR is simply unplug it or block it off and test drive it to see if the shudder is still there. if it is then I start planning on doing the TC.
funny thing is ALOT of these problems didn't arise until that damn letter went out to cutomers about the "shudder" and then like tidal wave, they started flooding our shop like crazy. the update, in my opinion, just makes the shudder worse but I do it anyway b/c I would hate for them to find out I got paid for it and didn't do it and get my *** fired for "stealing" from the company. everyone that has come in with this problem has needed a TC anyway so why not go ahead and put the final nail in the coffin for the TC. besides, the update isn't any real work anyway.

 

I've personally done about 5 TQ replacements. The update definetly makes it worse or even will cause it to mess up. 8.2 warranty time? We get around 6.5. Doing them in about 3 hrs.

 

nice, I have just recently purchased an 08 touring. had only 18k miles on it, now at 29k and the judder is there, especially if your just trying to cruise or stay at a constant speed with little pedal pressure! I thought Honda's were supposed to be realible.

 

It depends sometimes updates make it worse for the ones we get sometimes it helps. Yeah we get 8.7 warranty time. We have done a ton in the last 6 months.