Complete transmission failure on the 2007 Honda Odyssey
When complete transmission failure gets reported
Owners of the 2007 Honda Odyssey report complete transmission failure at a median of 45,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 10,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 30th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 100,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 98,979 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
50% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,321 miles | 8,330 miles | 45,450 miles | 60,935 miles | 102,300 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
Putting it right typically runs $2,800–$8,000 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 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2008, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 250,000 miles.
By volume the 2002 carries the most reports, with 231; the 2007 has 8. 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.
Very hard transmission downshift upon slowing the van. After downshift the van has a sharp jerk and seems to have to catch the transmission before going into a lower gear. Transmission has been replaced twice since purchased new an may 28, 2007. Now dealer and honda factory service rep is saying this is a "normal characteristic" of this van, even after replacing the transmission twice for the same issue. The first new transmission was at 3321 miles and second was at 12,281 miles. Brakes: sloppy and weak brakes since purchase. Rotors turned and pad replaced at 166 miles, three days after buying new. Still soft and vibrating upon stopping. Dealer says this is also normal. Between the transmission and brake problems, we do not feel that this is a safe van for our children to ride in. American honda has been more than uncooperative. There is a very dangerous defect with this van and we are afraid to drive it. *tr
Very hard transmission downshift upon slowing the van. After downshift the van has a sharp jerk and seems to have to catch the transmission before going into a lower gear. Transmission has been replaced twice since purchased new an may 28, 2007. Now dealer and honda factory service rep is saying this is a "normal characteristic" of this van, even after replacing the transmission twice for the same issue. The first new transmission was at 3321 miles and second was at 12,281 miles. Brakes: sloppy and weak brakes since purchase. Rotors turned and pad replaced at 166 miles, three days after buying new. Still soft and vibrating upon stopping. Dealer says this is also normal. Between the transmission and brake problems, we do not feel that this is a safe van for our children to ride in. American honda has been more than uncooperative. There is a very dangerous defect with this van and we are afraid to drive it. *tr
Honda odyssey transmission failed (torque needs replacement). If this is not replaced in time then it may fail whole transmission. While driving (when changing gear - auto) it shakes the van like crazy. Imagine on the highway while driving all of a sudden it fails and throws the van to complete stop or in different lane. The car/truck behind me may run over me. When I ask the dealer to have it replaced as it is under warranty he gives us excuses to delay and have the 60000 miles markup to pass. We are some 200 miles left before the warranty expires. He says we can drive it is okay. But I do not believe the dealer. When I asked can you guarantee that nothing will happen while driving his reply was a big smile. I also asked to give us the warranty after they replace the transmission on the honda parts - he denies, saying I have to buy the extended warranty. *tr
Also reported on the 2007 Honda Odyssey
Other brake problem
Other body or interior problem
Other steering problem
Other powertrain problem
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 8 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 complete transmission failure happen on the 2007 Honda Odyssey?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 45,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 10,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is complete transmission failure on the 2007 Honda Odyssey?
8 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.0 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