Front Struts In Our Long-Term 2015 Honda Odyssey Failed At 11,000 Miles

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Update: Added statement from Honda Canada

Surely part of the reasoning behind a minivan buyer’s decision to end up with a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna relates to reliability reputations. For most buyers in most trade-in situations, a similarly equipped Dodge Grand Caravan will cost a lot less. But the belief that the Odyssey or Sienna will be more reliable over a longer period of time supports the idea of spending more on the Honda or Toyota.

In our relatively short-term leasing case, reliability wasn’t a top concern, and we weren’t spending extra to acquire reliability anyway. (Because of trade-in issues, local Chrysler dealers wouldn’t play ball, not that we were desperate for them to do so.) And truthfully, there are other reasons a minivan buyer may choose an Odyssey or Sienna over a Grand Caravan: an eighth seat, greater space, more comfortable seats, exterior styling, unique feature content, or any number of things.

For our long-termer, we wanted a minivan that drove more like an Accord than a minivan. There was one option. 14 months later, our 2015 Honda Odyssey EX has spent three unscheduled days at the dealer and has by no means been a picture of reliability.

Stranded on the side of the road? No, not yet. But the front struts failed at 11,000 miles.

Faithful TTAC readers will recall that our van already spent a day at Portland Street Honda in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, because of groaning sliding doors.

This time the noises emanated from the front suspension. It’s possible — it is sometimes difficult to keep track between all the vehicles I drive in a given month — that the Odyssey’s noisy front end was briefly heard last autumn, but the sounds did not make themselves known over the winter. Intermittently, the groaning sound of flex made itself known as spring wore into summer. But in early August, there was no doubt as to the location of the noise or the nature of it.

Booked in for an unscheduled service appointment on Thursday, August 18, I drove a service technician around the block and over speed bumps so we could make sure he heard the noise, and that the noise he was hearing was in fact the noise I had described. There was no mistaking the groaning squawk entering parking lots, traversing speedbumps, and, periodically, arriving at a big dip at speed. (Usually, the noise couldn’t be heard once road and wind noise presumably drowned it out.)

Honda Canada had already issued service bulletin (B-1-16), applicable to 2015 and 2016 Odysseys, relating to such a noise. The repair procedure essentially entailed replacing the rubber bump stops above the damper spring and making sure “the damper rod and damper cap are clean and clear of any residual oil or grease,” and potentially performing an alignment.

As I was driven home in the third row of the dealer’s own Honda Odyssey — for the second time as the last passenger dropped off — a technician followed Honda Canada’s regimen, but to no avail.

I was called to return for pickup and an appointment would be scheduled for the installation of new front struts at the earliest convenience. We required use of the van that very night, as five people needed transportation from Eastern Passage to Fall River and we only had a four-seat Chevrolet Spark with no air con on a hot summer’s evening. Parts arrived quickly from Quebec, so the van was then returned for repair (and an alignment) the very next morning.

One more trip on the shuttle back to Portland Street Honda and I discovered that our van both sounded and felt new again. Leaky struts had clearly degraded the Odyssey’s ride quality, and the newfound front suspension silence left us wondering if, unaware of the fact, we had heard subtle noises for many months before we truly noticed the problem.

Our lifestyle possibly makes us more tolerant of extracurricular dealer visits than that of others. We work from home, live near the dealer, and exist quite comfortably as a one-car family that always has two cars because manufacturers supply us with week-long testers from the press fleet.

But if three days in 14 months turns into six days in 28 months, or nine days in 42 months, is it reasonable to think we’ll be back for another Odyssey by the time our lease is up?

Just before this piece went up, Honda Canada responded to our request for more information regarding the strut failures:

Honda Canada is aware that there is a squeak on certain 2015 and 2016 Odysseys and we have published a service bulletin to address the most probable cause: damper oil from the assembly potentially contaminating the bump stop rubber.

We are unable to share the content of the bulletin, however, it simply contains technical details of the procedure for the technician to follow to complete the repair.

In your case, we understand the service bulletin repair procedure did not fix your concern and the dealership determined that replacing the struts was required to resolve the issue.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

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  • Gearhead77 Gearhead77 on Sep 02, 2016

    Our '14 EXL Odyssey was delivered with the front doors misaligned with the front fenders. Nothing like showing people your new car and hearing the gronk of metal to metal contact. They delivered it to us with the doors open and we were busy trying to corral 3 year olds twins and put the seats in the van, so we didn't hear it at the dealer. Nothing like taking delivery on a Friday and being back at the dealer Monday morning with an issue. So far, that's been the only issue. I share Mr. Cains opinion on many of the other annoyances of the Odyssey. Though it is shifting much better after an ATF change. When the lease ends in 8 months, I'll be very interested to see what Toyota and Chrysler have to offer. Possibly even the Kia. Our 08 Mazda 5 had a ton of suspension issues when new. According to the forum, it was a bigger problem with the 06-10 model than the later ones, but they still have them. The consensus is that since the 5 was based largely on the 3, Mazda didn't do enough changes to the suspension to cope with the extra weight of the van body. But other than an odd A/C issue that the dealer worked with me on, it's been a good vehicle after 7 years and 52k miles. Least problems I've ever had with a new car? My 04 Lancer Sportback. Put 72k on it in three years and only one unscheduled service. The battery died suddenly, but since it sat on the dealers lot for more than a year, I think that was a contributing factor. Mitsu replaced it for free.

    • JimZ JimZ on Sep 02, 2016

      I looked at a 16MY Civic sedan on a dealer lot recently. The body fits were really bad. I mean in a "Mark Stevenson vs. Ford Edge" bad. The rear doors were securely latched but sat above the adjacent quarter panel to where I thought they were on the secondary "safety" catch. The trunk lid wasn't centered and was higher on the left side.

  • Lot9 Lot9 on Sep 03, 2016

    TTAC, gals and guys... I alway read TTAC and their write ups like this. And all the comments.. As you most already know or read on webs, the site complaints.com... have each brand and model that can be noted about problems. Sure wish TTAC would do the same format, where each brand and model could be noted that they tested or reviewed and comments could post their problems based on makes and models, etc. This way, TTAC readers could review these in much more ease and more informative for all. Keep up the good work. Would like to see some changes where one could find models and makes info and problems, easier.

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