Sorry to ask this in a Toyota group. Don't mean to be offensive. I am
considering the Odyssey and the Sienna. 2002 and up for the honda and
2004 and up in the Sienna. I am teriffied the transmission will die on
either.

Is there any data to show the Sienna's transmission is better than the
Odyssey. I have seen a lot of stories about bad tranny in the Ody.
Thank you.

needin4mation (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote:
Good Luck.

needin4mation (AT) gmail (DOT) com wrote in
news:1132040752.430168.316690 (AT) z14g2000cwz (DOT) googlegroups.com:


Honda has placed an 8-year, 80K mile warranty on the transmission.

New Odysseys do not have this problem, as the design defect that caused the
fluid leakage was corrected.

--
TeGGeR®

<needin4mation (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I would say Sienna tranny is better, but the programming on the Odyssey is
better. The Toyota Sienna suffers from bad programming and hesitation
issues. For example, when making a rolling turn, and you accelerate, you
will notice that the car is not responsive. Toyota has tried to fix this
issue, but search on edmunds.com for hesitation and tranny and toyota or
lexus. You will see a lot of problems.

However, once you learn what the car is doing, you can get used to it. I
would still buy a Toyota over a Honda, but do not think that Toyota is
perfect.

<needin4mation (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

You could look for survey responses on those vehicles here:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/survey/lookup.html

I looked at the responses for both Sienna and the Odyssey. Most of the
responses came from owners of vehicles a few years old - perhaps no
responses on the "new" Sienna. However, skimming both lists, I noticed only
one transmission failure noticed between the two vehicles. There were
SEVERAL responders who mentioned "transmission failure" in the Chrysler
product as a reason for choosing the Toyota or the Sienna.

Hmmm... You might look at the Chrysler, Ford and Chevy van surveys to see
how many Honda and Toyota owners switched to those brands because of
transmission failure. Feedback about the "new" Sienna will still be very
light.

And you could just peruse the CarTalk site for fun - there's lots of laughs
there. Look for the survey of 10 Worst Cars of the Millenium, for instance.

Thanks. One thing I have found is on Edmunds on the consumer ratings.
The Honda Odyssey, for 2002 and 2003 years (I didn't check other years
but found posts saying the same), and found bunches of folks with
transmission problems. On the 2004 Sienna, which is the year the van
got big enough to compete with the odyssey for room (IMHO), there were
no problems with the transmission reported. There was a common thread
about the AC Compressor, but no transmission problems. I'm thinking
Toyota now. I am so fickle.

Honda had major problems with their new AT when it first came out. Problem
was identified and repaired and AT's replaced. It is now a reliable AT.


<needin4mation (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I've read the edmunds minivan DB's pretty extensively when I was
considering Sienna (pre-gas hike) and Honda had a lot of complaints on
its tranny and sticking sliding doors as well. I test drove used models
of both and found a stuck slider on the Honda I drove.

I think driving a used model of 'anything' your considering buying is a
very telling gauge of how a vehicle will hold up.

I'm not sure if enough time has gone by to declare the Honda tranny
problem cured.

CP

The story I heard (from a Honda dealer) about the Honda transmission
issues is as follows:
1. Honda beat Toyota in the horsepower race - but forgot to use a
transmission that could handle the increased power. Not a problem if
you did not "use" the power.
2. This was limited to one or two model years. Find out the model year
and avoid these years.

In my mind, either van would be a good choice. We got a Sienna because
of the attitude of the Honda salesman. Our Sienna has had sticking
sliding doors, but this is "user error". The cup holder on the sliding
doors clearly says not to put sodas in these cup holder. Toyota has
three seals around the door and when spilled soda dries, it makes a very
effective glue. Clean up the glue, never put soda in these cup holders
again and the problem goes away. Could this be the same problem with
the Honda?

Charles Pisano wrote:

I can't beilieve I wrote:

"I think driving a used model of 'anything' ----->your<--------
considering buying is a very telling gauge of how a vehicle will hold
up."

------------------

Now I know I've been living in the south TOO long.
Please me help Lord,.... my first cousin's are starting to look good...
CP