2005 Honda Odyssey problems & reliability
830 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2005 Honda Odyssey, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
24 complaints report injuries (32 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2005 Honda Odyssey vehicles were involved in 45 fatal crashes with 21 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 138 | 17% |
| Power Train | 106 | 13% |
| Steering | 99 | 12% |
| Air Bags | 90 | 11% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 87 | 10% |
| Engine | 68 | 8% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 57 | 7% |
| Electrical System | 54 | 7% |
| Unknown OR Other | 43 | 5% |
| Equipment | 39 | 5% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 75,000 miles (middle 50% between 40,000 and 115,000 miles), based on 654 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I bought the 2005 Odyssey van in 12/2015. It now has 192,426 miles on it. Three or four times every year since I bought it, the engine will suddenly surge when coming to a stop sign or light, with my right foot on the brake pedal, braking and slowing the van for the stop sign or light. The engine revs to about 5000 or…”
Engine · filed May 26, 2024
“The engine VCM system is burning oil and destroying emissions systems on the vehicle. Catalytic converters are mainly affected as burned oil goes through the exhaust system. The check engine light comes on and the the engine starts to misfire and very abrupt engine vibrations make it into the cabin.”
Engine · filed Nov 9, 2023
“I Purchased Cooper Evolution M+S 235/65 R16 tires that I purchased from Tire kingdom at 220 Linto BLVD Delray Beach FL. 33444. The set of tires have low miles on them and tread wear is great. When I got the tires I felt a vibration in the tires from the front pretty quickly. I had my whole front end of my car replaced…”
Tires · filed Apr 8, 2023
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing
Investigation EQ12010 · opened Sep 28, 2012 · closed Dec 31, 2012
- Unexpected Closing of Power Liftgate
Engineering Analysis EA08015 · opened Aug 8, 2008 · closed Apr 12, 2010 · led to recall 10V055000
- UNEXPECTED CLOSING OF POWER LIFTGATE
Preliminary Evaluation PE08026 · opened Apr 10, 2008 · closed Aug 8, 2008
Technical service bulletins
155 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2005 Honda Odyssey. The 10 most recent:
Service News - The navigation clock and date are incorrect. This is due to a limited GPS receiver Capacity resulting in rollover of the internal chip memory; the rollover occurred on January 1, 2022, at 12:00AM local…
A21120A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 13, 2023
ServiceNews Article - The clock shows the incorrect time. This issue is due to a limited GPS receiver capacity resulting in "rollover" of the internal chip memory; the "rollover" will occur on January 1, 2022, at…
A21120A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 25, 2022
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
A07-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 23, 2021
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB…
DOR-M9J4S-07 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2020
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB…
DOR-M3J3F-07 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2020
This SKU is a Variable Valve Timing (VVT) Solenoid. The Customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for possible incorrect wiring. Incorrect VVT solenoid wiring may cause an inability of the…
DOR-D8K8Q-02 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 17, 2019
Service bulletin - navigation system information.
A05-032 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2016
Service bulletin - all of the listed vehicles have a type 4 immobilizer system that disables the vehicle unless a programmed ignition key is used. The type 4 system is different than previous systems in that the…
A02-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 20, 2016
Honda Job Aid - Power Sliding Door Troubleshooting.
033823 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 31, 2016
Do you have an Odyssey in your shop that has a power sliding door that won t open or close by using the following? Power sliding door main switch on the dash Keyless transmitter B-pillar switch (if equipped) Either…
AJA48014-03382 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 14, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2005 Honda Odyssey has 8 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2005 Honda Odyssey?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 75,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.