2021 Honda Odyssey
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 142 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 22nd highest complaint count among 26 Odyssey model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 2 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 4 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, air bag/restraint control module, softwareApr 9, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Odyssey vehicles. A software programming error can cause the side and side curtain air bags to deploy unexpectedly.
Air bags that deploy unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will reprogram the supplemental restraint system (SRS) electronic control unit (ECU) software or replace the ECU, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is UNW. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning April 16, 2026. The information in your report suggests that Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) may have been aware of this issue more than five business days before filing a report with NHTSA. Please be reminded that under Federal law, this agency is to be notified of all safety defect and/or noncompliance decisions within five business days. 49 CFR 573.6 Significant civil penalties can be assessed for this violation.
Campaign 26V227000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment adaptive/mobility, wheelchair restraints/securement, latch/anchorDec 17, 2025
Vantage Mobility, LLC (VM) is recalling certain 2021-2026 Honda Odyssey, 2021-2025 Chrysler Pacifica, and Toyota Sienna vehicles equipped with QRT-Deluxe and QRT-Max wheelchair restraints. The retractors may not lock, preventing the wheelchair from being properly secured.
An unsecured wheelchair can move during transit, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and replace the retractors, free of charge. Owner notification letters was mailed January 27, 2026. Owners may contact Vantage Mobility customer service at 1-800-488-9082.
Campaign 25V877000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerFeb 1, 2024
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.
Campaign 24V064000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, display functionJun 15, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will replace the MOST cable harness and install a straightening cover over the vehicle cable connector, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are EEL, ZEM, and SFC.
Campaign 23V431000 on NHTSA.gov
Visibility, rearview mirrors/devices, exteriorMar 16, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2020-2022 Passport and Odyssey vehicles. The heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, allowing the mirror glass to detach. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Detached mirror glass can reduce driver visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace both left and right side-view mirrors, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 17, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is FE5.
Campaign 23V174000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storageJan 14, 2021
Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Braun-modified Honda Odyssey vehicles. The fuel tank assembly installed by Braun may be susceptible to the fuel tank overfilling into the charcoal canister. If the charcoal canister fills with a sufficient amount of fuel, fuel may leak out.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
Braun will notify owners, and dealers will inspect vehicles. If evidence of a fuel leak is present, a new fuel tank assembly and a new Honda charcoal canister will be installed, free of charge. The recall began February 22, 2021. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1-800-488-0359.
Campaign 21V010000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: forward collision avoidance
19 reports, newest first. Show all
Forward collision avoidance, Mar 15, 2026
The forward collision prevention system engages the brakes when nothing/no one is in front of us. It will also engage the lane departure warning, which also engages the brakes, when construction zones remove the actual lane lines and temporary lines are put down. The car gets confused and brakes the car to a stop in the middle of a highway.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 24, 2025
My van is braking when there are no cars or dangers in front of it. Sometimes there's a metal plate on the ground or speed bump when it brakes. Other times there's nothing in front. The car slams on the brakes and I cannot override it with the gas pedal. This puts my kids and I in danger of being rear-ended. This most commonly happens around 7:30am or 4pm when I'm taking kids to school or dropping off. I'm often in the carpool like or headed to the school when the car slams on the brakes. It's very frightening. The dealer cannot find an issue and cannot replicate the problem.
Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 25, 2025
Vehicle applied brakes for no reason. Lost ability to see reverse camera during backing up. Half of the instrument cluster went dim to become barely visible. Radio screen freezes randomly. Engine cuts out or shudders intermittently.
Electrical system, Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Jun 30, 2025
2021 Odyssey EXL the Electric parking brake 'issue' warning comes on while driving and collision mitigation warning / lane assist switches off and flashes in console; when this happens the car continues to run but the dashboard warning lights comes up for Parking brake / Collision Warning and or Lane assist. It gets cleared after I turn on/off the car couple of times and drive for approximately 5 miles. Those features had to be turned on manually, once the car is in parked mode, again. The issue started in the car at around 48K miles. Never had any issue with it before that.
Electrical system, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 3, 2025
It started that all the sensor in our car started to go off. We were told we had a bad battery, even thought we had replaced it new just last year. Once we had the battery checked and alternator. The sensors started to act up again, out tail gate started to malfunction. Wouldn’t automatically close. A few weeks ago driving down the road the tail gate opened and the anti theft system started going off while the car was running and still going. Come to find out there is a water leak in the rear that has gotten into the rear fuse box and has cause substantial corrosion. The latch to the tail gate is broken. Honda is telling us our extended warranty doesn’t cover any of this, even though it is common knowledge, that the water leak is a known problem from 2018-2021. We just found out a few days ago.
Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance, Mar 16, 2025
All of my assist lights just came.on one after another saying there was a malfunction with the emmision light continues to go.on go.off even after I paid 580 to have the car serviced for the assist lights. Now the lift gate stopped working three weeks ago yesterday with all the rain that poured now the lift gate is open and will.not latch.
Forward collision avoidance, Jan 22, 2025
I was driving in light snowfall when several alerts notifying me that the radar sensor was not working. This is common in snow fall. Later I cleared off the radar unit cover (The Honda logo on the front of the car). The alerts remained. I took it to the dealer and they dubiously told me it was "damaged by snow". This is impossible. It was light snow. There was no collision or impact. This device should be durable. It has no moving parts. But Honda wants me to believe that it simply stopped working from driving in a light snow. They want $1300 to replace. How do I know the next one won't conk out after the first snowfall? These units should have a lifetime warranty with only exceptions for collisions or impact damage. If the unit is damaged by snowfall, it's clearly too fragile and should not be on the market. It's a HUGE safety concern that the vehicle's advertised safety systems can be toppled like a house of cards from one light snowfall.
Forward collision avoidance, Jan 9, 2025
The children message that the radar is obstructed, I did the clean where is the radar is but the issue still.
Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Aug 30, 2024
After a slight rain, the error of Radar Obstructed is being displayed. Can’t get this error removed or fixed. After searching more I found out that: 1. Honda has a defective design in the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) of all Honda Odysseys, models 2018-2023. 2. Namely, Honda has placed the RADAR behind the large HONDA emblem on the front grille. This causes the radar to give a "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning, which disables all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the car (Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning). 3. The "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning cannot be reset by restarting the vehicle or disconnecting the battery, requiring recalibration of the RADAR at the cost of $800 each time since it takes several hours to do (per Dealership). 4. The official Honda Odyssey Forum online has countless complaints on the same issue without resolution by Honda. 5. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers since this defect impacts the vehicle's advanced safety features for which buyers incur additional expenses, endangering the lives of passengers. 6. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers by designing a system that requires continuous and substantial expenditures without resolution because it is an engineering problem, i.e., the placement of the radar behind the large, thick plastic H emblem obstructs the radar. 7. I hereby ask that the NHTSA investigate this issue and order Honda to offer a solution in the form of a RECALL that permanently addresses the problem.
Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Apr 12, 2024
I am writing to urgently bring to your attention a critical issue plaguing the driver assist systems in Honda Odyssey 2018+ vehicles. Despite meticulous maintenance and adherence to manufacturer guidelines, I have encountered a persistent and alarming problem that appears to affect numerous other vehicle owners, as evidenced by online forums and discussions. The issue initially arose during a rainstorm, where I received a warning message stating, "Some Driver Assist Systems Cannot Operate: Radar Obstructed." Despite the weather clearing and thorough cleaning of both the sensors and the windshield camera, the warning persisted. Subsequently, a series of related problems emerged, including: Illumination of the BRAKE SYSTEM LIGHT Malfunctioning adaptive cruise control Faulty collision mitigation system Inoperative road departure mitigation system These errors not only pose a significant safety risk to myself and others on the road but also indicate a systemic issue with the vehicle's safety systems. As my vehicle is just past the three-year mark and out of warranty, I am apprehensive about incurring substantial costs for dealership repairs, especially considering the widespread nature of these complaints among Honda Odyssey owners. Extensive research reveals that I am not alone in experiencing these issues. Multiple reports and discussions online highlight similar complaints from other Honda Odyssey 2018+ owners, particularly following exposure to adverse weather conditions. Therefore, I implore the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. It is crucial to identify the underlying cause of these recurring issues and hold the manufacturer accountable for any design flaws or defects contributing to the malfunction of critical safety systems. Furthermore, I urge NHTSA to prioritize public safety and take immediate action to ensure affected vehicles are promptly recalled or repaired to prevent further incident
Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 26, 2023
Once the cruise control is set, it consistently drops below the set speed and surges back up or over the set speed. Set on 62, it drops to 59 or 60, then surges back up to 62 or 63. This happens on perfectly flat roads with no traffic in front or beside the car. The dealership tried to tell me that the camera for the adaptive cruise might be seeing things in its peripheral vision area, but there is nothing there, the shoulder of the road is wide and free of obstacles. I've owned many other brands of vehicle, and never had this trouble with the cruise control on any of them. This is also a safety issue because sometimes it just randomly slows down or speeds up when there are cars behind you or beside you.
Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 8, 2023
While driving in highway construction zones the car's lane departure system attempted to steer the car along lane markings set before the construction zone was established. In several instances this caused my car to steer, contrary to my steering input, towards Jersey barriers and dangerously close to a collision. The car's collision warning and automatic braking systems then engaged and applied the brakes regardless of following traffic. After the first instance, luckily in light traffic, I became aware of this issue and aware of how to quickly defeat these safety systems. After several additional instances, some in traffic at highway speed, I determined the lane departure system was more dangerous than helpful and I suspended it by a simple dashboard procedure. I am now able to negotiate construction zones without issue.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 21, 2023, crash
I was driving through an intersection. My automatic brakes activated for no reason, my car rapidly slowed down in the middle of an intersection, a bus hit my car from behind.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 5, 2023
While driving on a straight, wide open road at approximately 45mph with no vehicle in any close proximity in front, the forward Collision Mitigation Braking System alarmed and activated and strongly braked, slowing the car quickly down to about 20mph before releasing. Fortunately, there was no one behind me to react to the unexpected slowing down of my car. There was no apparent reason why this should have activated. The CMBS has activated previously in other non-threatening situations but there was usually a condition where you could justify why it made a mistake, such as being in the left lane of a two lane road which curves to the left and a car in the right lane slows to turn right, my car thinks it is in front of me when it is not. Still, these situations result in a danger of getting hit from behind.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 30, 2022
Exiting a construction zone (I-70 westbound near Mt. Comfort, Indiana) at approximately 60 to 65 mph, our 2021 Honda Odyssey, without warning, momentarily applied unwarranted automatic emergency braking. The brakes were actuated for (an estimated) one second and resulted in an abrupt (approximately) 10mph reduction in speed. A large SUV traveling directly us was forced to take immediate action by making a sudden lane change in order to avoid a serious collision. The involuntary braking action on the part of the vehicle placed the passengers of both vehicles in grave danger. The only warning indication provided by the vehicle was an orange-box “BRAKE” warning displayed on the dashboard and the accompanying warning beeps, both simultaneous to the actual brake actuation. No indications or warnings appeared prior to or after the actual braking. No obstacle or object on the roadway was visible to either the driver or front seat passenger. All traffic lanes were clear for a minimum of 100 yards ahead of the vehicle. Weather was clear and dry. The pavement was dry and clear of any debris. The construction zone where the incident occurred carries both east and westbound traffic on the normally westbound (north) side of the expressway. The left side of the traffic lanes are lined with continuous, concrete “Jersey” barriers. The incident took place at the western end of the zone, at the point where the westbound lanes expand from two to three lanes. This is approximately where the left-side parallel-to-traffic barriers end and a small, separated section of angled-to-traffic barriers is revealed, along with some other barrier sections in the median area between the roadways. This incident (November 26, 2022) was the second time this malfunction has occurred in same vehicle in approximately the same area on I-70. On August 11, 2022, an essentially identical event took place under similar conditions. The vehicle has not been inspected by Honda or any other authorities.
Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 4, 2022
The VSA modulator has repeatedly failed. When it fails, all of the safety systems report errors - air bags, ABS brakes, high beams, traction control, blind spot detection, parking sensors, etc. Additionally, the power sliding passenger doors and tailgate will not open, even manually. I have taken it into Honda dealerships on 3 separate occasions. On 6/14/21 (vehicle mileage 7,453) they cleared the error codes and reset the system and reported it was fixed. On 2/26/2022 (vehicle mileage 21,077) it happened again and they reported the VSA modulator as defective and replaced it under warranty. On 7/29/2022 (vehicle mileage 26,916) it happened again. This time the dealership disconnected and reconnected the VSA modulator and it decided it was fixed. At the time of the issue I was driving the van at approximately 30 mph on flat streets through my town. I've expressed my concerns that this defect renders the vehicle extremely unsafe. Over the past two weeks I've contacted Honda Corporate repeatedly requesting further repairs or assurances that this error would not occur again and have been passed around to case managers' voice mailboxes and have been unable to speak to anyone about my concerns. While no injury or crash has occurred yet, I am concerned that this if this occurs again, myself or my family could be hurt.
Forward collision avoidance, May 23, 2022
On numerous occasions the forward collision warning has caused hard braking when there is nothing close in front of me. I fear that a close following vehicle will hit me when this occurs. This has not caused an accident yet, but the following vehicle driver must think that I'm a terrible driver for unnecessarily hitting my brakes.
Forward collision avoidance, Feb 24, 2022
While driving with no vehicles or obstacles stopped in front of me, my car automatically braked hard.
Engine, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Feb 20, 2021
HI THE VEHICLE SHOWS SPEED LIMIT OF 70 IN 25 OR 40MPH ZONES. THE VEHICLES SYSTEM KEEPS GOING OFFLINE EMERGENCY BRAKING AND COLLISION. EVERY TIME I TAKE TO HONDA DEALER I AM BEING TOLD TO GO SEE WHERE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED AND THEY CAN'T FIND A ISSUE.