I'm looking at minivans, specifically this and this for the moment. The Honda appears to be the highest trim level and the last year of that generation so I would hope most of the bugs had been worked out by then. The Toyota is in the middle of the third gen. Prices are comparable but the Honda is significantly closer to me. Any thoughts from The Hive?
Not real input but that Sienna just speaks to me. That's the one I'd get but I don't have a good reason as to why. Looks, maybe?
We've had great success with Odesseys in the family. YMMV
Did Honda ever solve the oil burning problem? I had a 2010 Odyssey and it burned about a quart every 4000 miles. Honda said this was normal. Maybe normal for Honda V-6's of that era but not for any other vehicle I have ever owned including a 2002 Odyssey that we kept until 250,000 miles and it never used a drop of oil between oil changes.
All things equal, I will universally side with Toyota over Honda.
We've had two Odysseys and a Sienna. I don't think I would trust another Honda automatic transmission. Early in that generation they had to add an additional warranty for the transmission. Ours were 2000 and 2005. I don't know when, but at some point the Odyssey transmission was upgraded to the ridgeline version.
As for the specific ads, I am very skeptical of ads that have only one photo. Just based on that alone, if those are my only two options, I probably wouldn't even consider the Honda. You're buying the previous owner's attitude towards the car, and the Honda's owner couldn't be bothered to clean it up and get some good photos.
In general between them they are close so shop by condition. For those two I would go Sienna. That particular generation of Odyssey seems worse than what came after.
The Odyssey drives much better than the Sienna, IMHO.
I'm a Honda guy, so that's where my allegiance lies, but it really is a coin toss between those for me. Whichever has lower miles and/or better service history would be my go to.
We had an 04 Ody that we got at ~173k miles. Never had any transmission issues, although I put on an extra cooler and regularly changed the ATF with Valvoline MaxLife ATF. Sold it to a girl at work (at 225k miles) and they still daily drive it.
I grew up with Siennas - they carted me around for hundreds of thousands of miles, to college and back and everywhere in between. They truly are one of my favorite cars. They treated my family and I well, with the only oddities being battery related (they seemed to go through them rather quickly; this was true on both our 2nd and 3rd gen).
So my allegiance is with the Sienna. I dont think with that generation of Odyssey you'll run into the transmission issues of old, and I think these Odysseys are great cars too. I actually drove my boss's Odyssey of that generation from NYC to Watkins Glen and back, even sleeping in it for 2 nights at an AER race. It treated me well, was comfy, and perfect for what I needed.
As others have said, I would probably buy more based on condition and maintenance history than anything else. But all else held equal, Sienna every day for me.
I think it was '08 that the Odyssey got the Ridgeline transmission so 2010 should be fine from that point of view. I'm not a minivan's target audience (my partner and I are DINKS or really DINKWADs--double income, no kids with a dog), but I've always found the Odysseys a much better place to spend time than,say, a Caravan. However, my understanding is the packaging of pretty much every generation of odyssey makes them a pain in the ass to work on. Never driven a Sienna, but the consensus among car people seems to be that they're the best available option relative to reliability/driving dynamics/still-able-to-do-minivan things.
According to several Honda techs I have known: The Odyssey has to have the the trans fluid changed every time the oil is changed. If they haven't done that, then you'd be best served buying the Toyota, unless you want to budget for a new trans too.
That Toyota has the 2GR V6 and only 100k miles. No brainer. Only thing to check for is the VVT oil line. The early ones like that 2007 had a rubber oil hose that likes to fail. They eventually replaced it with a metal one. Not a big deal if you know to address it before it goes.
Another vote for the Sienna. My 2009 (even the same color) seemed to appreciate and expect abuse so I was happy to oblige. Wife wanted to upgrade before 250k so we went to a 2018. Between the two, the Honda will ride a little firmer. The Toyota is louder on the road (in my hearing).
RaabTheSaab said:I think it was '08 that the Odyssey got the Ridgeline transmission so 2010 should be fine from that point of view. I'm not a minivan's target audience (my partner and I are DINKS or really DINKWADs--double income, no kids with a dog), but I've always found the Odysseys a much better place to spend time than,say, a Caravan. However, my understanding is the packaging of pretty much every generation of odyssey makes them a pain in the ass to work on. Never driven a Sienna, but the consensus among car people seems to be that they're the best available option relative to reliability/driving dynamics/still-able-to-do-minivan things.
It was earlier than 08, somewhere in the middle of 06 I think. We had an 07, zero transmission problems.
Siennas drive like Camrys, Odysseys drive like Civics. Siennas also have awful driver ergonomics, IME.
CyberEric said:According to several Honda techs I have known: The Odyssey has to have the the trans fluid changed every time the oil is changed. If they haven't done that, then you'd be best served buying the Toyota, unless you want to budget for a new trans too.
25k is a reasonable service interval with a good quality ATF instead of the crap OE spec.
The Sienna speaks to me as well.
Try this Toyota feature... Get the vin from the seller than go to https://www.toyota.com/owners/ Set up an account and then enter the VIN of the Sienna. From there you will be able to get the full dealership service history done at any US Toyota Dealer. It's free and it can be informative.
When I do this for Prius that I might buy what I am really looking for is "the smoking gun." That might be a recent service that suggests hybrid battery needs replacement and I have now figured why the seller is trying to offload the car. Who knows what you will find. But, it is free to get this report and you don't even have to be the owner of the car.
'07 and up Odysseys got the better transmission from the Ridgelines, so they're more reliable than the previous few generations. The ad for the Sienna has been removed, but in general I'd lean towards the Sienna all else being equal. We own an '06 Rav4 with the 2GR-FE and it's a great motor. And I trust Toyota transmissions more than Honda's.
Anyone have any experience with the Sedona or other market alternatives to the Odyssey/Sienna? There was a nice looking Previa for sale in the area--IIRC they were somewhat desirable at one point.
I've never owned one, but the consensus on here seems to be that the Sedona isn't as pleasant to drive, but is very useful, reliable, and a better bargain. The Caravan's also have their fans and detractors, just be sure to avoid the model that has no rear HVAC.
In reply to stroker :
Mopar van is what I bought, *with understanding of its attractions and detractions.
In the clutter of this old thread you may also find some informational nuggets. One such nugget is the Mopar American Value Package and what you don't get included. Could be a good deal if you are moving cargo. Could be a bad deal if you are mostly moving people.
There is chatter about most all minivans in the thread.
I've rented a Sienna. I thought the 3.6 Pentastar was a good running engine- holy smokes. The Sienna runs even better.
According to ConsumerReports the only reliably reliable minivan is a Sienna. The Odyssey keeps the Honda tax despite being not great.
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