Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2002 Honda Odyssey
3 crashes 3 of the 9 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
Only 6 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When timing chain, belt or tensioner failure gets reported
There are 9 reports of timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2002 Honda Odyssey, 6 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 120,000 miles. It is the 19th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 105,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 3 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $1,200–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 12 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2004 at 135,000 miles.
By volume the 2001 carries the most reports, with 12; the 2002 has 9. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I was picking up the vehicle after the local dealer completed the recall to replace the timing belt tensioner. I accelerated to merge with traffic and the check engine light and tcs light came on. I immediately returned to the dealer to have the car checked out. The next day the service advisor called to tell me the reason the lights came on was because of high oil pressure. They said the oil filter may be clogged and they recommended that I have the engine oil and filter changed, which I did, but I am not convinced that is the cause of the problem. I change the oil and filter regularly when the indicator flashes on the dash board. The light came on when the engine RPM was about 4500 to 5000. *la
106,000 transmission slipping between 20-30 MPH (2-3 gear) honda suggested replacing motor mounts ($700) may 08. Van still did not perform properly hard shifting still slipping. July 08 van engine light came on as well as tsc and flashing "d". Would not engage had to pull over and disengage gears . Honda dealer said the replacement transmission was 4100 called american honda and received the"good will" adjustment of 30%. Ridiculous that the timing belt out last the transmission! *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda odyssey. The independent dealer stated that the vehicle was in very good condition at the time of purchase. The contact stated that the vehicle began pulling to the left. The tires were replaced and an alignment was performed. She also observed a massive oil leak coming from the vehicle. The dealer stated that nothing could be done because she was outside of the 30-day used car warranty. An independent mechanic discovered that the vehicle was involved in a previous crash, in which the crankshaft was sealed as well as the origin of the massive oil leak. The mechanic found that the sealant previously used on the crankshaft and the tires were beginning to loosen. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 105,000. Updated 12/15/08 *cn the vehicle needed a new crank seal, water pump and timing belt. Updated 12/16/08. *jb
Also reported on the 2002 Honda Odyssey
Other powertrain problem
Complete transmission failure
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other engine problem
Other speed control problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 9 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does timing chain, belt or tensioner failure happen on the 2002 Honda Odyssey?
Across 6 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 105,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2002 Honda Odyssey?
9 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed