2021 Honda Odyssey problems & reliability
140 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda Odyssey, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 23, 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 components.
4 complaints report injuries (4 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2021 Honda Odyssey vehicles were involved in 11 fatal crashes with 11 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 53 | 38% |
| Unknown / Other | 33 | 24% |
| Engine → | 26 | 19% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance → | 19 | 14% |
| Air Bags → | 16 | 11% |
| Structure → | 10 | 7% |
| Lane Departure | 9 | 6% |
| Back Over Prevention | 7 | 5% |
| Power Train | 6 | 4% |
| Suspension | 6 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 20 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Two intermittent problems began about one year ago at approximately 43,000 miles (current mileage approximately 48,000): 1) Rearview (backup) camera intermittently fails. When shifting into reverse, the display screen goes black or the camera image freezes. This causes a loss of rear visibility while backing up…”
Visibility/wiper · filed Sep 8, 2026
“The infotainment system and back up camera screen went completely black. We took it to Howdy Honda since there was a NHTSA Recall 23V-482 that they had fixed once before. Now though, they are saying the issue isn't covered by safety recall and that we have to pay $6900 to have it repaired. However this faulty camera…”
Unknown / Other · filed Sep 3, 2026
“Mileage: 121000 When stopped and the auto idle initiated, we have had numerous incidents where the van has shutoff and required a restart. More recently, when the auto idle initiates, the entire engine turns off and the van has no power(car won't restart, can't get the car into neutral, sliding doors and tailgate…”
Electrical System · filed Sep 2, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Inadvertent Deployment of Side Air Bags
Preliminary Evaluation PE25018 · opened Oct 28, 2025 · closed Jun 25, 2026 · led to recall 26V227
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engineering Analysis EA25004 · opened Mar 26, 2025 · open
Technical service bulletins
152 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda Odyssey. The 10 most recent:
Owner Notification Letter - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engaging, your vehicle may not automatically restart.
ONL6AX022025A · Other · issued Feb 19, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&01302025901 · Other · issued Jan 30, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&01152025908 · Other · issued Jan 16, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&01022025905 · Other · issued Jan 3, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&12022024906 · Other · issued Dec 3, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&11052024907 · Other · issued Nov 5, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&10212024912 · Other · issued Oct 21, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&10072024907 · Other · issued Oct 7, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better understand the…
ATI&09202024902 · Other · issued Sep 21, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2020-2022 & 2024 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the power sliding door not opening or closing under its own power. To better…
ATI&09122024903 · Other · issued Sep 12, 2024
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 2021 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 2021 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.