Honda Odyssey Discussion
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Funny to see Honda discussion on a Sienna forum. We have owned numerous Honda's over the last 20+ years. IMHO they make good vehicles. When it was time to replace our 2001 Honda Odyssey with Navigation after 11 years of service we went to test drive preowned 2010 Sienna and 2010 Odyssey. Odyssey EX first... it has the traditional Honda feel... tight handling, frim ride and comfortable seats. Some drawbacks though...road noise still more pronounced than we like, but still a viable choice. Next was Sienna XLE, first impression was very positive. Quiet and smooth riding, absorbes bumps well. Handling and ride are not as tight, but we're not buying a sports car, rather something to take on trips with the family. We chose the Sienna this time. It's our first Toyota...and looking forward to many troublefree miles.
We have had 3 Honda Odysseys... 1996, 1998, 1998. My wife would not give up here 98 version because it had the flip up middles (rather than the captain seats) and the 4 doors (non-sliding). She made me keep the 98 Blue Odyssey until it had 380,000 km on the clock and I refused to fix it any longer (it was starting to use oil and had a front axle issue starting to pop up).
Of all the vehicles we had, that was probably the most solid. We bought it during a financially difficult time so did not really service it correctly (oil-changes at about 30,000 km.. thats about it) and it never let us down.
Tried the newer versions and the wife couldn't stand them. She felt they started cheaping out on the interior and the fuel economy was nowhere near what we were pulling off with the 98's. (the 96 was excellent as well, but very underpowered)
That's basically how we ended up with a 2005 Sienna... I got tired of the 2 98's, they were starting to need major repairs (just replaced the radiator in the green one). So.. she went to Florida to visit friends, and I sold the vans. Surprisingly... it took me 18 hours from time of posting to sell both vans. I didn't even have a chance to clean them up... just emptied them out, took the cash and they were both gone. I was left with an angry wife and a strong need to replace them with something. Welcome to Sienna world. So far.. happy we did it.
Of all the vehicles we had, that was probably the most solid. We bought it during a financially difficult time so did not really service it correctly (oil-changes at about 30,000 km.. thats about it) and it never let us down.
Tried the newer versions and the wife couldn't stand them. She felt they started cheaping out on the interior and the fuel economy was nowhere near what we were pulling off with the 98's. (the 96 was excellent as well, but very underpowered)
That's basically how we ended up with a 2005 Sienna... I got tired of the 2 98's, they were starting to need major repairs (just replaced the radiator in the green one). So.. she went to Florida to visit friends, and I sold the vans. Surprisingly... it took me 18 hours from time of posting to sell both vans. I didn't even have a chance to clean them up... just emptied them out, took the cash and they were both gone. I was left with an angry wife and a strong need to replace them with something. Welcome to Sienna world. So far.. happy we did it.
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Thanks for poviding us that great community I think the Sienna and Odyssey are neck and neck. One thing is that the Odyssey was a best pick in the latest more stringent crash test ratings. The Sienna, being a new design, failed to make it....Let see what happens with both of them further...
We got rid of our 06 Honda exl with nav & dvd for a 09 xle awd. Best choice I ever made. Honda build was crap. Tranny junk, alot of misc stuff just kept going. Was the worst year of ownership. Was always being fixed for something. Tranny was the worst part, never knew when we were going to be stuck somewhere. Reserch the Honda before you buy one. I didn't. If I would have I would have never got it.
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Looked at the 2014 model and Honda did a good job doing the interior upgrade. I wished Toyota did the same thing.
I have the same feeling. The interior of current Sienna looks cheap and is noisy compared to second generation.
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I could have bought the 2014 odyssey if it were not for the VCM vibration and VCM issues. I love the mileage you can get though.
Having had 3 Chrysler mini vans over the years (1 was AWD)--they were all--well Chryslers needing major repairs within 100k miles. Bought a well maintained 02 Odyssey last year needing the notorious transmission rebuild. That is a major weak link and a totally unnecessary one if Honda stood behind their product which they don't. I also have a Acura NSX that lost it's transmission in 2012!! My Toyota Sienna is a 2004 with front door hinge issues, drivers door check issues, etc. Compared to the Odyssey---the Toy is smoother, quiet, and more comfortable but it is the SLE so ~~~. Both have nagging build, design, quality problems that should not be there given their reputation. The Toy has 203,000 miles and I'm hoping for another 100K. What bugs me is the lack of dealer support AND the lack of aftermarket support. Try finding a fix for the broken door pocket for the check hinge---that could and should be a cheap, easy fix! Why does my dash have spider cracks all over the passenger side??? Why doesn't someone offer a simple, cheap set of hinge pins/bushings to fix the failing ones for 04-10? Strange. I like the Odyssey but their transmission issues are still there and there is no warning before it goes out. Ugh!
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For me it strictly came down to the AWD option - the Toyota Sienna offers it, the Honda Odyssey and other minivan brands do not. The Sienna is the only AWD minivan available. While I understand AWD may not be a necessity around here and we'll likely be driving most of the time without it, the few times we'll need it will definitely give us a peace of mind. One of my good friends - a recent Honda Odyssey owner - was really trying to sway me over to the other side touting the better gas mileage I would get going with an Odyssey FWD instead of the Sienna AWD. The 2 mpg difference wasn't a deal breaker for me. Also, I was impressed that the Sienna has the ability to automatically go into AWD mode and turn itself off when AWD is not needed - further enabling better gas mileage. So in essence, I won't be driving in AWD mode the majority of the time anyway. I would say my biggest concern may be the no-flat tires that come on the AWD model of the Sienna, since they will definitely not be cheap to replace! Part of me wonders if when the times comes to replace the tires, to replace them with regular tires and throwing a spare tire in the back (knowing it'll take away some cargo space). Not sure if we'll ever go this route or not. However, another part of me wonders if the no-flat tires might be more appealing since I'll never have to go out and change a flat tire on my own 
Overall, I probably prefer the sportier look to the Honda Odyssey and probably would have gone with an Odyssey IF it had the AWD option. I know it has a lot more bells and whistles that come standard to the vehicle for a better price than the Sienna too. A definite plus. My husband is a big Toyota fan so he tends to gravitate more towards Toyotas in general. He definitely veered more towards the Toyota merely because it's a Toyota. However, he would've been amenable to a Honda if I really wanted one (since I'm the one that will be driving it most of the time). For me, it basically came down to my top priorities for the next vehicle more than any of the bells and whistles, and yes, even style. Ever since having my Mustang that drives absolutely terrible in the snow, I vowed my next vehicle must have 4 wheel drive or AWD. Must hold at least 6 people comfortably, have decent cargo space, and be reliable. Electronics really aren't a big deal to us and really even car resell value doesn't matter too much to us either since we plan to have this vehicle until it basically dies. However, reliable cars tend to have better resell values in general, which Toyota tops the lists in that dept.
I must admit I was a little shocked at the bareness of the 2014 LE Toyota Sienna AWD model when I first peeked in. I had a hunch that if I looked into the equivalent 2014 Honda Odyssey model that I might've been won over in the respect. However, after test driving the LE Sienna, I was truly impressed. As I mentioned, the electronics weren't as important to us and I had to remind myself that if we wanted the whole shebang, we had the option to spend a lot more money for the extra bells and whistles. However, we really don't need all of that and really got all that we wanted and needed with the LE Sienna AWD. We get our brand new 2014 LE Toyota Sienna AWD in just a few days - can't wait!
Overall, I probably prefer the sportier look to the Honda Odyssey and probably would have gone with an Odyssey IF it had the AWD option. I know it has a lot more bells and whistles that come standard to the vehicle for a better price than the Sienna too. A definite plus. My husband is a big Toyota fan so he tends to gravitate more towards Toyotas in general. He definitely veered more towards the Toyota merely because it's a Toyota. However, he would've been amenable to a Honda if I really wanted one (since I'm the one that will be driving it most of the time). For me, it basically came down to my top priorities for the next vehicle more than any of the bells and whistles, and yes, even style. Ever since having my Mustang that drives absolutely terrible in the snow, I vowed my next vehicle must have 4 wheel drive or AWD. Must hold at least 6 people comfortably, have decent cargo space, and be reliable. Electronics really aren't a big deal to us and really even car resell value doesn't matter too much to us either since we plan to have this vehicle until it basically dies. However, reliable cars tend to have better resell values in general, which Toyota tops the lists in that dept.
I must admit I was a little shocked at the bareness of the 2014 LE Toyota Sienna AWD model when I first peeked in. I had a hunch that if I looked into the equivalent 2014 Honda Odyssey model that I might've been won over in the respect. However, after test driving the LE Sienna, I was truly impressed. As I mentioned, the electronics weren't as important to us and I had to remind myself that if we wanted the whole shebang, we had the option to spend a lot more money for the extra bells and whistles. However, we really don't need all of that and really got all that we wanted and needed with the LE Sienna AWD. We get our brand new 2014 LE Toyota Sienna AWD in just a few days - can't wait!
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