2008 Honda Odyssey problems & reliability
499 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2008 Honda Odyssey, alongside 4 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.
38 complaints report injuries (44 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2008 Honda Odyssey vehicles were involved in 52 fatal crashes with 27 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 | 123 | 25% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 88 | 18% |
| Service Brakes | 62 | 12% |
| Power Train | 41 | 8% |
| Engine | 40 | 8% |
| Electrical System | 33 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 30 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 29 | 6% |
| Steering | 27 | 5% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 16 | 3% |
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 53,720 miles (middle 50% between 24,933 and 98,000 miles), based on 404 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I believe that I was sold a car with an unsafe engine. I bought the van from Libertyville Honda in Libertyville on [XXX]. The car had 107K miles on it. A liile over a mounth later the check engine light came on and the van started running bad. When I did some reasearch I found out that a safty report to an iscident…”
Engine · filed May 22, 2026
“Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Honda Odyssey on April 13,2024. The sale was a private sell. The contact stated at the time of purhcase the odometer was recorded at 129,000. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact attempted to use the vehicle as a trade in. The contact was informed that the…”
Electrical System · filed May 15, 2026
“The engine malfunctioned, and the car is available for inspection upon request? My safety was put at risk because the car was backfiring in traffic due to the spark plugs filling up with oil. I reported the problem to the Libertyville Honda because they sold me the vehicle about 35 days before the issue started, but I…”
Engine · filed May 6, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Inappropriate autonomous braking
Preliminary Evaluation PE13024 · opened Jun 25, 2013 · closed Nov 4, 2013 · led to recall 13V500000
- Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing
Investigation EQ12010 · opened Sep 28, 2012 · closed Dec 31, 2012
- Unexpected Closing of Power Liftgate
Preliminary Evaluation PE11034 · opened Sep 23, 2011 · closed Feb 29, 2012 · led to recall 12V062000
- Air in brake system
Engineering Analysis EA09014 · opened Oct 19, 2009 · closed May 11, 2010 · led to recall 10V098000
- AIR IN BRAKE SYSTEM
Preliminary Evaluation PE09024 · opened May 13, 2009 · closed Oct 19, 2009 · led to recall 10V098000
Technical service bulletins
60 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2008 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
Dealer Message - The May episode of Tech2Tech is now posted. We've got some valuable information for you, so check it out! This month we're featuring "Replacing That Leaky Front Rocker Arm Oil Control Valve."
APP05122020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 12, 2020
Service Bulletin - The front rocker arm oil control valve is leaking.
A20-023 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 5, 2020
"Service bulletin - American Honda is announcing a powertrain warranty extension as a result of a settlement of a class action captioned, Soto et al.v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-1377-SI (N.D…
A13-080 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 20, 2018
Service Bulletin sent to all dealers to inspect L-track bolts for correct torque and to incorporate torque check as part of regular maintenance
TS-WI-0290 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2018
Service bulletin - American Honda is announcing a powertrain warranty extension as a result of a settlement of a class action captioned, Soto et al.v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-1377-SI (N.D…
A13-080 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 13, 2018
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 2008 Honda Odyssey has 4 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 2008 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 53,720 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.