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 2012 Honda Odyssey owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Sliding doors on both sides will not close reliably. When closing the sliding doors, the door slides along the track smoothly initially but when it is close to shutting anywhere from 2 feet to a couple inches (usually within inches of closing) the moving door studders its motion, or hesitates and then the door opens again. This has been ongoing for a couple years and although it is intermittent, it has become worse over time. There are only two reliable ways to close the sliding doors. One is to lean heavily on the sliding door at the end of the closing cycle and the other is to drive the vehicle either forward or in reverse while the door is near the end of closing. This poses an obvious safety hazard. We have had a local mechanic look at it but it was not reproducible and seems to be better when the whether is fair so she did not find a solution. …
The sliding door on the driver's side would open when the handle was pulled even when the lock was engaged. As this is the primary door used, I didn't not know it wasn't supposed to do this. Several years ago, the started sticking, then making a popping sound when it opened. The dealership inspected and found nothing wrong. It progressed to opening a little bit and getting stuck which required closing the door using the electronic controls. Then it started getting stuck in the open position which using the electronic controls multiple times to get it to close. As it is getting worse over time, I don't know if that will continue. At each oil change, I had the door checked. For years it was sporadic so they claimed they could not reproduce. A few months ago, we lost the ability to use the manual door handles. …
The power door was not shutting correctly. A 5 year old was getting into the car when the door decided to shut. It hit her, and then reopened. When it reopened, the door went off the tracks and fell on my husband. Now the door is completely off the tracks and the body of the car is messed up.
I was in an accident on October 21, 2017, we were heading to cabelas an outdoor sporting goods store. I was not aware of any stop signs and did not notice the car coming from the left of me. By the time I did notice I slammed my breaks but it was too late. The airbags for this van did not deploy but the light indicator was on for airbags being deployed. Also, the front seat belts became locked after the collision. I was left wondering why my airbags did not deploy. I was able to drive my van home but should have not done so since the seats were locked.
Was traveling roughly 70 MPH on hwy 45 just outside of buckatunna, ms when 2 deer were seen on the median of the hwy a short distance away. As soon as they were seen, the deer saw our headlights and jumped into our lane of travel hitting the drivers front corner damaging the bumper, grill, headlight, and left front panel. What's concerning is even though the impact was on the driver side and 99% of damage to drivers side, only the front passenger's airbag deployed, not the driver side.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Honda Odyssey. While the contact's hand was in the middle of the track of the rear sliding door, the door closed on her hand. The contact was injured. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000. From the contact's wife my name is mary jo welz, number [redacted] . I am the wife of the contact. I was in the back seat attempting to pull the seat belt forward around me when the door was closing and closed on my hand. There was no sensor that opened the door and my fingers were pinched in the door when my husband immediately opened the door, as I was yelling in pain. My fingers were swollen for a few days, and they were sore for about a month. …
The passenger sliding door got detached, the dealer indicated that the middle roller broke but the door should have not detached from the car. I was not expecting a heavy door to fall off and I injured my back a little. This is the way things happened. Around 4:40 pm, the side sliding door did not closed correctly, stopped in the middle and open again. Tried for about 1/2 hour but could not close the door. -5:20 pm, my wife and I decided to drive with the door half open to our home and drop the kids -5:40 pm we removed the car seats to take the car to the dealership. -6:15 pm arrived a the dealership but service department was closed. They recommended to try to close it manually. 7:00 pm got back home and attempted to close the door, the door fell on me. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that she had experienced an intermittent driver side sliding door failure. The contact stated that upon pulling the driver side slinging door handle, the door would not slide back as needed. The contact took the vehicle to Honda of escondido (1700 auto park way n, escondido, ca 92029) where they failed to duplicate the failure. The dealer was able to replace all the cable wires in the defective door however, the failure persisted. The contact brought the vehicle back to the dealer ten months later where they performed a latch adjustment on the defective door; despite the repair, the failure still persisted. Since the last repair, the failure became more frequent and the dealer had recently suggested that the cables be replaced yet again. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. …
Purchase brand new Honda Odyssey in 2012. Paint failure became visible in July 2017. Vehicle has never been wrecked nor abused. Claimant made attempts to go through protocol at Honda consumer channels. Received evaluation from reputable body shop used by my local Honda. The paint pealing is an adhesion problem occuring at manufacturing. Honda has only recognized the problem in 25 northern states (back door only, dark colors). I live in the south. Ironically, this Honda is produced in Lincoln, al. Honda refuses to acknowledge their error nor do they respect NHTSA. Vehicle used daily in transport of my family. Paint peeling to base coat roof and back panel. Pics attached. Cutting corners on paint work is unacceptable to this claimant. Honda operates in interstate commerce and has a duty and a contract with citizens that purchase their products.
I was going to pack the car (stationary in my driveway) on sat July 7th for a family reunion when I pressed the passenger side sliding door button on my key fob. While walking to my 2012 Honda Odyssey I heard the noise of the door opening but the door remained shut. While next to the car and without touching the handle I hit the passenger side sliding door button again, and again just the noise of the door opening/closing could be heard but the actual door remained shut. I looked up into the track and didn't see the cable, looking closer at the car I noticed that the cable was actually dangling down the edge of the sliding door. The cable had snapped off. The vehicle is currently at della Honda in plattsburgh, ny being worked on.
Body complaints in other Odyssey years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2012 Honda Odyssey?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the body & structure of the 2012 Honda Odyssey, 10% of the model year's 245 complaints. The component named most often is body (21 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Honda Odyssey body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2012 Honda Odyssey, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Honda Odyssey body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 6 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.