Yet Another Recall Edition: Honda's Odyssey Brakes Full Of Hot Air

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Usually, we don’t report every recall (you’d be pretty tired of it pretty quick,) but in the interest of things being in the spotlight, please be advised that Honda will recall more than 410,000 Odyssey minivans and Element small trucks from the 2007 and 2008 model years, says Associated Press. According to Honda, over time, brake pedals can feel “soft” and must be pressed closer to the floor to stop the vehicles. The problem has been traced to the device that powers the electronic stability control system, and lastly to ye olde brake problem. The gizmo can allow a small amount of air into the hydraulic brake lines. And as shade tree mechanics and shady mechanics alike know: Air in the line can be hazardous to your health.

Letters to owners should go out toward the end of April – parts availability is rearing its head. If you have one of the above captioned vehicles, and your brakes feely mushy, your dealer will bleed the lines for free, which should fix you up until the part arrives. According to Honda, technicians will put plastic caps and sealant over two small holes in the device to stop the air from getting in.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Buzz Buzz on Mar 17, 2010

    Have an 08. Great vehicle, and have no problem with the brakes. Now if only they could do something about the terrible urban gas mileage!

  • Vb9594 Vb9594 on Mar 17, 2010

    Buzz- great comment. We have an '06 and it is also an outstanding vehicle, but we're actually looking to trade out of it and get into a CR-V specifically because of the urban mileage. We get 16 mpg around town if we're lucky, and it finally dawned on me that my wife does almost all her driving around town, rarely uses the third row, and we need AWD for the snowy hills we live in (our Odyssey is awful in the snow).

  • Wmba Wmba on Mar 17, 2010

    See, to me, this is a far worse problem than the Toyota UA scare. I told a friend who works for a Honda dealership that today. He said the dealers had been hoping that Honda would put a new VSA module in each Odyssey at a grand a pop, but that the actual remedy is just annoying. Flush the brake fluid and seal the system. Takes a bit of time. Now, having experienced what air does in the brake system in an old Volvo, "mushy" is only a word to describe how the brake pedal feels. The feeling of not stopping properly from high speed is far more scary as the fluid boils and braking effect decreases markedly. Luckily, you usually don't have to panic brake often, but when you do, you want good results. There is no backup, nothing else to try except the handbrake, and hauling on that usually causes the tail to go into a slide. Not good. Since every Odyssey affected has the problem, I'd be scared to drive one unless it had the recall fix. A Toyota on the possible UA list? I haven't yet won the lottery or a big sub-prize in 35 years, and the odds are about the same as speeding off into the bushes in a Camry, particularly as I know where neutral is.

  • VanillaDude VanillaDude on Mar 17, 2010

    I had a lot of the guys in my office riding me for not buying a Honda Odyssey when they did, (we all had a slew of kids in the same year). I was repeatedly told how great the van was and how awesome it's resale value was and how I'm gonna get screwed for not buying one. Well it's been four years later, and they no longer ride me for not buying an Odyssey. Their vaulted resale pitch has also disappeared. As a matter of fact, their resale value is now within $2000 of what mine is. The $10,000 they paid extra to wait in line to buy an Odyssey from an arrogant Honda dealer who didn't give a fig about customer service since their cars had waiting lists, is long gone. The Odyssey is a very nice car, but not at that price it isn't.

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