2007 Honda Odyssey as daily driver?

[HawkeyeScott]

Kicking tires, literally I guess, on a 2007 Honda Odyssey 3.5L w/ VCM. It has about 150K miles and I could get it somewhere around $5500. Seems to have been well maintained and the paint and interior are pretty clean.

The only thing that's giving me pause is a shudder/hard downshift as you slow down in preparation for stops. It upshifts very smoothly. Forums seem to suggest updated ATF and possibly Lubegard may remedy it. Screen cleanings in the solenoids might, too. FWIW, records show the transmission has had some occasional drains/refills over the years, but the current state of the fluid isn't great.

This would be a daily driver, carry kids and need to be reliable. The car appears to still be in regular service for the selling family and they've owned it for 14 years. Based on some of the mileages I've seen over the years for these vans, it seems like it should be useful for years to come.

There's a lot of smart people here who look at vehicles, maintenance and costs the same way I do, so I generally trust the counsel that gets shared here. If you have any thoughts on this potential purchase, I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks a lot.

 

[Nick1994]

When was the timing belt last replaced?

 

[HawkeyeScott]

About 17K ago.

 

[Passport1]

My son has one and they are very well suited to be a family hauler. Trans is a weak spot also if it has a a VCM it needs a muzzler. It has a new cam belt, big plus. Change the trans fluid and drive on.

 

[ctechbob]

By 2007 the transmissions had been updated to 4 shaft units and can be very reliable. Not that they can't have issues, they just don't have near as many as the older 3 shaft units did. There are plenty of them out there running around with 250-300k on them. Regular maintenance is the key though. When I bought my TL with a similar powertrain, the fluid hadn't been done in a very long time if ever. It would slam shifts HARD. 3x D&F and it was back to normal. Been fine since then. More likely to have a torque converter issue.

I'd be a little more worried about oil burning and VCM problems.

And the sliding door mechanisms can be a bit of a pain.

 

[2010Civic]

VCM can sometimes causes weird shudders. I'd muzzle it the second you get it.

 

[meep]

These are good vans and 150k … can be ok. The price is great, especially if it’s clean. But here’s the deal - this is a fwd minivan. They are hard on transmissions in any setup. IMO if you like the van and it test drives well, it’s a great price and these are solid vehicles. I think they are better than the 2010+. BUT, anything can happen at those miles. Buy it and keep 3k set aside because if you use it, you Will come across repairs that need to be done.

our 2001 saved my family’s life in a T-bone from a Durango that ran a red light at 40. I watched the whole thing. It was slammed across the intersection, and all 4 occupants stepped out of the other side on their own feet. van was totaled, and I believe the dodge was too. These are good family vehicles.

 

[andrew_j]

Obviously some risk however with that price point and condition likely worth it.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

We had a lot of shudder when bought our 2009 Pilot with 185k on it. I quickly bought a "S-VCM" for $90, installation took less than 5 mins, and it's been shudder free for last ~15k miles, and hopefully many more miles to come.

 

[dumkid]

if you want to test drive it with vcm disabled, there's a sensor you can unplug to disable the vcm (and get a check engine light) i think its on the driver's side of the rear cylinder head. it's been a while since i messed with the vcm on a Honda, so do your research.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

This is all good. Much appreciated.

 

[The Critic]

They can be decent vehicles, but at 150K, if the prior owners have not kept up with wear items, you can easily "total one out."

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Yes, do the Honda manual method for changing ATF (4x drain + fills) and then change the fluid every 15-20k (or every 3rd OCI, basically)

I got my '07 Ody with 134k with the shudders and clunks, did the 4x D&F and a spill & fill every 20k after that, and it's currently over 240k and never had trans work.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

Offer of $5400 was just accepted. Will pick up tomorrow. Hope the MaxLife ATF works!

Thanks, guys. Your input was very helpful.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Offer of $5400 was just accepted. Will pick up tomorrow. Hope the MaxLife ATF works!

Thanks, guys. Your input was very helpful.

I’ve used MaxLife, but resident fluid expert MolaKule has several posts in Honda ATF threads cautioning against its use. Not steering you away from MaxLife per se, but making sure you’re aware for your new vehicle.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

Thank you. I will read up.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Thank you. I will read up.

You’ll certainly find more detail in his posts, but the jist is that Hondas are designed more as an “automated manual” than a true automatic, and therefore requires a different fluid to protect the moving parts. Summarizing, the trans may tolerate it; it may not… because the shift forks and pads need the additives in the Honda-designed fluid that regular ATF doesn’t have.

He even had a different thread that showed the differences between the fluids using a VOA, and it’s true- Honda ATF (DW-1 and Z-1) are nothing like MaxLife in composition.

 

[TiGeo]

Had an '06. Nice vehicle. VCM stinks...motor mounts are expensive and often need replaced. Trans could be problematic. I never had the VCM disabled but would have sure saved me a headache. I did lots of trans fluid changes with Honda fluid. They can burn oil as well but mine never did...next door neighbor's 09 was totalled on oil consumption at around 150K.

 

[nicholas]

Offer of $5400 was just accepted. Will pick up tomorrow. Hope the MaxLife ATF works!

Thanks, guys. Your input was very helpful.

Maxlife has been awesome in our odyssey for the last 50k.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I’ve used MaxLife, but resident fluid expert MolaKule has several posts in Honda ATF threads cautioning against its use. Not steering you away from MaxLife per se, but making sure you’re aware for your new vehicle.

You’ll certainly find more detail in his posts, but the jist is that Hondas are designed more as an “automated manual” than a true automatic, and therefore requires a different fluid to protect the moving parts. Summarizing, the trans may tolerate it; it may not… because the shift forks and pads need the additives in the Honda-designed fluid that regular ATF doesn’t have.

He even had a different thread that showed the differences between the fluids using a VOA, and it’s true- Honda ATF (DW-1 and Z-1) are nothing like MaxLife in composition.

Yes and yes. After reading those posts by @MolaKule I just went to the dealership and got 4qts of DW-1. $40 was the price, not too bad. Again, MaxLife is just a completely different fluid. I use it in all our vehicles, but for the Pilot I went with OEM, simply due to a completely different composition of the fluid, at least per the VOAs posted here.
Doubt that Honda would go out of their way to create a completely different ATF from what's already widely available, if at the end of the day it didn't matter...