Honda Odyssey: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Honda Odyssey: 15 model years scored from 4,770 NHTSA owner complaints and 98 recall campaigns. Worst year 2018, best year 2017.
Honda Odyssey: which years to avoid
Across 15 scored model years the Honda Odyssey ranges from 22/100 in 2018 to 91/100 in 2017 — a 69-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy an Odyssey at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Electrical System (258 of them).
Avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2025 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The fourth-generation Odyssey (2011–2017) is one of the best minivans in the dataset, scoring in the 70s and 80s. The fifth generation launched for 2018 with a ten-speed automatic and a new infotainment system, and the record collapsed: nearly a thousand complaints for each of 2018 and 2019, most of them transmission shudder and hesitation, sliding-door failures, and the rear-seat entertainment system. The 2021–2024 years recover to the 60s. The 2025 model year has jumped again, with idle stop-start failures and unintended braking cited in the owner reports quoted on its page. The 2014–2017 cars remain the safest used buy.
Read the guide
Honda Odyssey and Pilot: the transmission years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-01.
How the Odyssey changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2017
Mean score 82/100, about 18 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (347 complaints). 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2018–2020
Mean score 23/100, about 113 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (640 complaints). The record falls 59 points against the years before it. 19 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2021–2025
Mean score 60/100, about 104 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (359 complaints). The record improves by 37 points against the years before it. 15 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2017 (score 91). Worst: 2018 (score 22, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | AVOID | $10,586 | 374 | 2 |
| 2024 | 59 | CAUTION | $4,489 | 102 | 3 |
| 2023 | 69 | CAUTION | $4,380 | 98 | 5 |
| 2022 | 62 | CAUTION | $4,536 | 134 | 9 |
| 2021 | 66 | CAUTION | $4,472 | 140 | 8 |
| 2020 | 24 | AVOID | $5,552 | 465 | 12 |
| 2019 | 22 | AVOID | $6,823 | 959 | 12 |
| 2018 | 22 | AVOID | $6,811 | 990 | 12 |
| 2017 | 91 | BUY | $4,682 | 39 | 2 |
| 2016 | 75 | BUY | $5,100 | 269 | 6 |
| 2015 | 82 | BUY | $5,135 | 206 | 6 |
| 2014 | 77 | BUY | $5,406 | 307 | 5 |
| 2013 | 82 | BUY | $5,466 | 210 | 6 |
| 2012 | 85 | BUY | $5,631 | 244 | 5 |
| 2011 | 85 | BUY | $5,734 | 233 | 5 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Odyssey, through the years →
What goes wrong on the Honda Odyssey
Across every Odyssey model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Electrical System1,219 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Engine1,024 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Unknown Or Other690 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Forward Collision Avoidance686 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Radar or camera module replacement and calibration$780–$2,160
- Power Train570 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Lane Departure420 complaints across all Odyssey years · typical job: Camera module replacement and calibration$680–$1,700
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Honda Odyssey years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2025 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2018 is the weakest at 22/100, with its complaints concentrated in Electrical System.
What are the best Honda Odyssey years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2017 at 91/100, on 39 complaints and 2 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Honda Odyssey problem?
1,219 of the complaints filed against the Odyssey across all its model years sit in the Electrical System group — more than any other component.
Compare with
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04