Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Honda Odyssey owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey. About 6 months ago the drivers side sliding door fell off the tracks. This happened while we were trying to close the door but it would not slide at all. We were out at a restaurant and it was imperative that the door had to be shut because it was not safe to drive in that condition. We were able to somewhat put it back on but it can not be used at all at this time. When the door fell off, it gouged the side of the van, damaged the gas filler door, and the rear door is hard to close. I don't know if its closed or not until I get in the car and see that the indicator light on. Also, the car alarm goes off on its own even though my son disabled it. It's very disruptive. After do some research, I have learned that this is an ongoing problem with Honda Odysseys. Honda needs to be held responsible because this is obviously a manufacturer defect. …
We have owned out dark blue 2005 Honda Odyssey for approximately 5 years. Recently, I am finding that the paint along the roof and side/front trim panels is chipping away. I have attempted to sand some of the bed spots and paint /protect again, but it is no use. The problem seems to be with the base layer below the blue paint. I have seen where this was identified, but I do not know where to go for more information on this defect the second area of concern is in the wiring for the radio and temperature control. There seems to be a loose wire or connection behind the panels. The back-lights for the radio and temperature control will turn on or off with no warning or indication as to why. The systems themselves work fine, it's only the visible lights that flicker, or turn off and on with no pattern. …
2005 Honda Odyssey '-the sliding doors fell off !!!!!!. I researched and discovered a numerous amount of problems with the sliding doors. There is a recall for newer models and they too have the exact same issues. The problems range from a grinding noise , auto doors not opening completely than closing. To the back of the door slightly opening then the beeping indicator is constantly on while driving. The battery is being drained because the doors never close completely. The center rollers are cheap plastic which I believe causes the grinding noise. Once they wear out it gets worse. These are not some isolated complaints!! There are too many others with every year of the Odyssey that have these issues !! And now I finally see a recall. All theses issues have happened during different times. Some while stationary. Some while driving. …
The first incident of the driver side automatic sliding passenger door occurred in June 2010, when vehicle was only about 5 years old. There has never been an accident, dents, or anything that might impact the function of the doors. Since then, both passenger auto sliding doors now have trouble closing, and will often close on a passenger, with the passenger's body being the only thing that makes the door stop closing. Summary: both sliding doors either do not close properly (stop short and have to be restarted several times, often forced to close); or they close back immediately after opening and scare or squish the passenger who is getting into the vehicle. This is a safety hazard, and we fear that soon the doors will not stop and completely crush the person entering the vehicle, or we will have to drive with the door open if it will not close. …
I was driving my children to school, ages 9 and 6, and as I was driving the sliding passenger door on the driver's side opened. My 6 year old daughter who was sitting next to the door said "mommy the door is opening". I was driving only about 10 to 15 MPH and was able to immediately pull over and I kept on opening and closing the door and would appear to be closed but as I continued to drive it would open again. I continued to drive to school with my hazards on and if the door opened again I would have to pull over and open and close the door again. While this was happening we heard a continuous beeping noise like I would hear if the door was open. This incident scared my children and myself and should have never happened. I consider this to be a major safety flaw in this car and should be recalled. …
Both my side doors have been been making noise. Then my passenger side door would not open. We used the drivers side rear door instead. On Thursday, June 11, 2015 while opening it the entire door fell off and smashed my foot. Bruising and swelling on my big toe but nothing to go to er over. Iced it and still hurting a few days later. Called Honda and they said it was normal wear and tear. My responsibility. Out of warranty. Researched online and this is a very common issue. Doors falling off their vans! Seems ridiculous and time for a recall. Customer service rep said that it was my car and they were not responsible to repair it. I said that coincidentally I just had my van in for a recall (fuel pump - was smelling gas while driving it) so that's not entirely true. Some things they do fix for free. This seems like a major problem. …
I was driving on the interstate when my hood flew up and shattered my windshield. After inspecting the vehicle, it was found that the hood latch mechanism had screws missing and one screw very loose left in place. The hood latch mechanism freely moved around which is apparently how the hood became unlatched and broke the windshield. On the interstate doing 50mph on the marquette interchange this created an unsafe condition because I was unable to see anything once the hood was up and had to brake immediately to keep from crashing into anything possibly in front of me. This also could have caused someone else to crash into me. I also couldn't see due to the hood. I had to use my side window and mirrors to maneuver myself to the emergency lane, tie the hood down with a cord. How does this happen? How do screws loosen on the latch to the frame of the vehicle?
While stationary, light appears on dashboard indicating problem with passenger side sliding door. Door will not open or close using any method. Message stays on dashboard preventing me from seeing other important messages until a reset is done, I reset by removing a fuse, turning the key twice without turning the car on and putting the fuse back in. That's a temporary fix because the problem returns after opening and closing the door a couple of times. Many Honda owners have reported this problem to Honda and indicated online the same problem which involved costly repairs that sometimes doesn't correct the problem. This is and has happened to enough owners of Honda minivans that a recall is necessary.
The driver's side sliding door closes, latches and then 5 seconds later unlatches itself electronically. The door refuses to close completely and can easily open when the vehicle is moving. This is a very unsafe condition especially if passengers are in the second seating row. This happened by itself over the life of the vehicle - I cannot pin an exact action that made this occur other than repeated usage. In order to keep the door from reopening, I had to remove the fuse (#7) that controls the power sliding doors. Now only the passenger sliding door is used and must be operated manually. Also remote power locks have been disabled because of removal of the fuse. Very dangerous situation.
Around 10:30 am on Wednesday, 1/13/16, driver-side sliding door would keep opening up "completely voluntarily" when the vehicle (2005 Honda Odyssey ex) was in motion and being operated on a local freeway. Multiple attempts to close the door either using the remote/automatic door-closing switch by the steering wheel or manually (upon stopping the vehicle on the roadside) would not fix the issue. The sliding door kept opening up "voluntarily" once the vehicle was put back in motion / drive mode (attempt to operate the vehicle). The vehicle had to be driven back home, its normal parking location, with the sliding door open during the drive (approximately 10 miles from home).
Related recalls
Structure › Body › Hatchback/liftgate › Support device/strut
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 odyssey touring vehicles equipped with power operated rear liftgate. The power liftgate gas struts May deteriorate unexpectedly early. Struts that have worn out prematurely May fail to hold the power liftgate in the fully open position, causing the power liftgate to close unexpectedly.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the gas liftgate struts and replace if within the recall population. This service will be performed free of charge. The campaign began on March 26, 2010.
NHTSA investigations
Unexpected closing of power liftgate
The liftgate gas struts for the subject vehicles May have damaged gas seals that allow the liftgate to close unexpectedly.at the completion of a power-open command, the power liftgate May either close without power actuation (I.e., descend unassisted under the force of gravity) or automatically power-close without input from the operator.some owners are caught unaware of the unintended closing of the liftgate while…
Stabilus Rear Liftgate Struts Failing
Please see the attached closing resume summary.It has been attached to this document as a PDF.
Unexpected Closing of Power Liftgate
Honda will replace the liftgate struts in approximately 21,776 model year 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring vehicles equipped with power liftgates that were built before a manufacturing change of the liftgate strut assembly on July 16, 2005 (NHTSA Recall No.
Body complaints in other Odyssey years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2005 Honda Odyssey?
NHTSA has 138 complaints about the body & structure of the 2005 Honda Odyssey, 17% of the model year's 830 complaints. The component named most often is body (61 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Honda Odyssey body problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-055 (support device/strut, Feb 23, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Honda Odyssey body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 83,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 11 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.