2024 Honda Odyssey

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We are a growing family and want a larger vehicle to fit car seats and such. The minivan segment is ruled by just 4 nameplates - Chrysler, Honda, Kia, and Toyota. We have a family GM discount ….so we test drove a Traverse. After we drove the minivans we knew it was the way to go with kiddos. Those sliding doors are fantastic. Honda and Toyota it is then…

Today we looked at the 2024 Honda Odyssey and the 2023 Toyota Sienna. We loved the Odyssey. We did not like the Sienna. I know Toyota is king reliability wise but we did not like the vehicle at all.

All of the Odyssey trims come standard with the V6 280HP and 10 speed automatic transmission. Anyone have any insight into the reliability on these engines and transmissions? It looks like the engine class has been around for a while. Not crazy about it having a timing belt. Google search shows that the transmission on these may be the weak spot?

We would like to keep this vehicle LONG term - 10+ years. Mileage would probably be around 10k/yr since it would be primarily a family vehicle.

Thanks for any input or suggestions.
 
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Engine is bullet-proof. Timing belt costs under $1500 every 100k or so...be aware of it but it shouldn't be a differentiator because that's a drop in the bucket over the course of that many miles. You can disable VCM if you want the warm and fuzzies but gen 3 isn't known to cause oil consumption or mount issues. It's easier to work on than other transverse V6 powerplants. For the displacement it's efficient and it sounds really good...VTEC will help dry some of the tears that come with driving a van.

For the transmission, I know it's Honda's newest iteration and their first in-house unit using planetary gears...I believe reliability has thus far been good but I'm sure others can chime in with more useful info.
 
My son has a 2016 Odyssey bought new. His transmission began to shudder a little at ~80K. The Honda shop changed the fluid and did some reprogramming. Been good since then. I installed a VCM muzzler a year ago because of a CEL and excessive oil consumption. That's about all the issues it has had. Has 100K now. I've driven it several times. Not my flavor but then I don't have three young kids and a dog to schlep around.

It is a very good family van.
 
tbm5690 said:
Engine is bullet-proof. Timing belt costs under $1500 every 100k or so...be aware of it but it shouldn't be a differentiator because that's a drop in the bucket over the course of that many miles. You can disable VCM if you want the warm and fuzzies but gen 3 isn't known to cause oil consumption or mount issues. It's easier to work on than other transverse V6 powerplants. For the displacement it's efficient and it sounds really good...VTEC will help dry some of the tears that come with driving a van.

For the transmission, I know it's Honda's newest iteration and their first in-house unit using planetary gears...I believe reliability has thus far been good but I'm sure others can chime in with more useful info.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Thanks for this information. I’m glad to hear it is a reliable engine.
 
The Sienna is by far the best. It's a 4-cylinder hybrid, so good gas mileage and easy to service when needed :)

Transverse V6 minivans can be difficult to deal with, and Honda doesn't have the best track record when it comes to transmissions on the Odyssey,

The Pacifica is a steaming pile of garbage mechanically, so stay far, far away from that one.

People seem to like the Carnival so far, but Kia still might not be as good as Toyota. A hybrid Carnival is supposed to come out some time in 2024, but not much is known yet.

Perhaps you might be able to get a leftover Transit Connect. Ford stopped making them over the summer at the end of the 2023 model year. It may or may not be possible to find a leftover 2023. 4-cylinder non-hybrid non-turbo, should be the simplest one to keep on the road.
 
I have bought and sold several thousands of cars over the last 20 years and my family must have owned and driven a couple hundred minivans from 2023 to right now.

This is the short of it...

1) You will be way happier in the long run with an older Toyota Sienna that comes with all of the goodies. By the late 2010s Toyota and Honda started to decontent their minivans a bit. Some people aren't bothered by it. Others, such as you with the Sienna are a bit annoyed... but you still want the reliability.

Unless you want to haunt the enthusiast forums a 2015 to 2017 Toyota Sienna is the best choice of all.

2) I co-developed a study called the Long-Term Quality Index. We have over four million vehicles that have been inspected and appraised by mechanics all over the country this past decade including over 47,000 Odysseys and 33,000 Siennas.

The Sienna is the only minivan with better than average reliability. If you're looking for that quality and don't want the decontenting issues go test drive an older low-mileage one. It will be night and day and you'll save at least half the purchase price by going that route.

Visit 48 Hours And A Used Car on Facebook if you really get bored. All the best!
 
slacktide_bitog said:
The Sienna is by far the best. It's a 4-cylinder hybrid, so good gas mileage and easy to service when needed :)

Transverse V6 minivans can be difficult to deal with, and Honda doesn't have the best track record when it comes to transmissions on the Odyssey,

The Pacifica is a steaming pile of garbage mechanically, so stay far, far away from that one.

People seem to like the Carnival so far, but Kia still might not be as good as Toyota. A hybrid Carnival is supposed to come out some time in 2024, but not much is known yet.

Perhaps you might be able to get a leftover Transit Connect. Ford stopped making them over the summer at the end of the 2023 model year. It may or may not be possible to find a leftover 2023. 4-cylinder non-hybrid non-turbo, should be the simplest one to keep on the road.
Click to expand...
Correkt
 
slacktide_bitog said:
The Sienna is by far the best. It's a 4-cylinder hybrid, so good gas mileage and easy to service when needed :)

Transverse V6 minivans can be difficult to deal with, and Honda doesn't have the best track record when it comes to transmissions on the Odyssey,

The Pacifica is a steaming pile of garbage mechanically, so stay far, far away from that one.

People seem to like the Carnival so far, but Kia still might not be as good as Toyota. A hybrid Carnival is supposed to come out some time in 2024, but not much is known yet.

Perhaps you might be able to get a leftover Transit Connect. Ford stopped making them over the summer at the end of the 2023 model year. It may or may not be possible to find a leftover 2023. 4-cylinder non-hybrid non-turbo, should be the simplest one to keep on the road.
Click to expand...
The Sienna felt cheaper than the Dodge Caliber I had, which is objectively a godawful car.
 
Take into consideration several things before you pull the trigger:
1. Yes, sliding doors are excellent! But, kids grow fast, and you are stuck with sliding doors.
2. Are you going to travel long distances? Road trips? National parks? Think about this. If vehicle is around town, whatever , good choice. If you plan some road trips like National parks etc. than think about AWD and clearance. I got rid of my Sienna AWD bcs. low clearance. Van’s are good space wise, but you are stuck on road, paved road. I don’t mean here some serious off roading. But I decided to get rid of Sienna when I couldn’t go to visit Escalante caves in Utah bcs. clearance on some gravel road.
Once kids are out of strollers and that junk, average SUV with maybe Yakima on the roof is all you need.
Are you into biking? If you are, you will need bike rack on the hitch. Good luck going down the sidewalk and not scraping it.
Other than that, around town, malls, trip from town to tow, yes, they are more practical.
Sienna is one that has AWD. It is hybrid and rear axle is driven by separate motors (horrible AWD when it comes to effectiveness, but for simple things it is fine). But I can see why you didn’t like it. I rented it on Turo to check it, and IMO grossly underpowered, and that is before loaded.
So, IMO Honda is best option if you decide minivan.
 
[QUOTE="I When wife and I were looking at the 2022 Siennas, we didn't get that vibe at all.
[/QUOTE]
We were looking at 2014-2018 models. I also couldn’t get past the way the front end looks, it gives me Infiniti QX80 vibes.
 
I definitely leaned towards the Odyssey originally as I’m more of a Honda guy. But the wife wanted the Toyota. She liked the styling and hybrid aspect. A few friends have the Honda and all them love it. No issues I have heard about.

I will say the Sienna has grown on me though. It averages +32 MPG, has a crazy sharp turning radius, no reliability issues to speak of, and easy to work on. Just did an oil change with some PP 0W20 I got on rebate this year - 5 qts and filter - too easy.
 
ATex7239 said:
I definitely leaned towards the Odyssey originally as I’m more of a Honda guy. But the wife wanted the Toyota. She liked the styling and hybrid aspect. A few friends have the Honda and all them love it. No issues I have heard about.

I will say the Sienna has grown on me though. It averages +32 MPG, has a crazy sharp turning radius, no reliability issues to speak of, and easy to work on. Just did an oil change with some PP 0W20 I got on rebate this year - 5 qts and filter - too easy.
Click to expand...
Our '19 Elite already has had 3 recalls done and is awaiting work on another 3'ish. Super fun.
 
ATex7239 said:
Ouch. Only one recall in 3yrs/75K miles for an ABS sensor reprogram or something for us. Needed an alignment anyways so got it done at the dealer at the same. Super boring.
Click to expand...
yup

even my wife is now like, "fack, we shoulda bought sienna"

mmmhmmmmmm
 
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