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Reliability is one of the most important factors in a car for me! I know this particular auto topic is always discussed, but anyone here have their own opinions and thoughts on a new Toyota Sienna vs. Honda Odyssey? More and more reviews like the link I put below, say the reliability of these minivans has gone down, but Toyota may edge Honda out barely.
The Japanese minivans used to be very reliable. Are they encountering more problems just because the way people use them these days and their busy lifestyle? Every time I see minivans in the parking lot or around the city, there is so much stuff packed into them, towing unnecessary things, multiple stop and go trips during the day for the kids, numerous cold starts, long periods of idling while waiting for their kids to pick up at school or activities, etc
I place reliability over most everything else in a vehicle, and need it to last around 200-250k miles with no major repairs (transmission repairs probably scare me the most).
I have not met a Sienna or a Ody owner who did not like their vehicles..... well as long as they understood that it is a minivan. You really can't go wrong with either one.
I have personally owned a 2011 Ody EX-L NAVI for about 2 years and I loved it. Only thing was the VCM.... wasn't too crazy about it. Also had some creaks and squeaks but little bit of grease was all that was needed.
Honda minivans have so so reliability and they can be unreliable depending on which gen. Some 2006 ones are walking time bombs with glass trannys. Resale value tells the tale.
We are on our 2nd Odyssey which is an 05 EX with 115K miles, no issues whatsoever. Our 1st Oddy was an 02, no issues with that one either, we had it until about 150K miles. I've heard they are prone to tranny issues so I always change the Transmission fluid (Drain and fill) every year OR every 20-30K miles at most if I don't do it annually. The biggest annoyance with both our Odysseys has been the timing belt replacement due right around 100K miles, it's very pricey and must be done because the engine is an interference engine and if the belt breaks, the engine is toast. Also, these vans eat through tires no matter how often you rotate or align the wheels, it's rare to put more than 30-35K miles on a set of tires. The most recent set of Goodyear ComforTreds have done better than most but the stock Michellins were done after 25K miles.
But I would not hesitate getting a Sienna either, we just got a better deal on the Honda and like them a little more.
I would buy a Sienna. You can't go wrong with either, but I have found Hondas to be notoriously harder to work on when they do need repair, or even maintenance, and Honda parts seem to cost more, too.
Honda minivans have so so reliability and they can be unreliable depending on which gen. Some 2006 ones are walking time bombs with glass trannys. Resale value tells the tale.
Yup, definitely have heard of Honda's transmission issues. I have a 2002 Acura CL-S with a rebuilt tranny done under warranty at 40k miles due to the 3rd gear clutch packs heating up and burning out. So far, the rebuilt tranny is still working at 162k miles! Even though Honda has fixed a lot of their tranny issues, I place Toyota's transmissions above them.
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