2018 Honda Odyssey Body & Structure Problems

Power lift gate and power sliding doors failure alerts keeping showing up. They flash on and off on the display even while driving which can be very disruptive. The issue occurs randomly every few weeks The dealer quoted close to $2000 to attempt to fix it

I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a dangerous manufacturing defect in my 2018 Honda Odyssey EX . A structural failure of the factory roof seam sealer (ditch molding) is allowing rainwater to pour directly into the vehicle's cabin, severely compromising critical electrical modules and creating major safety hazards. This water intrusion has caused two distinct and dangerous electrical failures: 1. Entrapment Hazard (Power Sliding Doors): Previously, water leaked into the rear fuse box area, causing the power sliding doors to completely fail and become completely unopenable. Transporting a [XXX] and a [XXX] in the rear seats, the sudden inability to open the sliding doors creates a terrifying entrapment hazard. In the event of an accident, fire, or emergency, I would be unable to evacuate my young children from the rear cabin quickly, posing an immediate threat to their lives. 2. Cargo and Security Hazard (Power Tailgate Control Module): Currently, the water leak has short-circuited the Power Tailgate Control Module. The system operates erratically: the tailgate automatically pops open as soon as the engine is turned off, and it refuses to open manually. Beyond the security risk, this electrical short could cause the tailgate to unlatch unexpectedly while the vehicle is in motion or stopped in traffic, potentially dropping cargo onto the roadway and creating a crash hazard for other drivers, or allowing carbon monoxide exhaust to enter the passenger cabin. This is a well-documented and widespread structural defect affecting many 2018-generation Honda Odysseys. Water destroying critical safety modules (doors and tailgates) is a severe design flaw that goes far beyond normal wear and tear. I strongly urge NHTSA to open a formal investigation into the roof seam sealer failures on the 2018 Honda Odyssey. A safety recall is necessary to force Honda to repair the structural leaks and replace the compromi INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The sliding doors will not open at intermittent times. Warnings will flash off and on about door error but not consistently. If there is an incident or an emergency, the door will not open. If there were an accident and the driver cannot turn off the power door switch then anyone in the back cannot get the door to open, they would be trapped. We have had one motor replaced already. We opted to do that because we had a newborn on that side and we needed to be able to get to her quickly if she needed us and we were unable to rely on that door. The other door is doing it as well.

The passenger side sliding door was generally having issues with latching fully closed. But even after managing to get the sliding door fully closed, the rear passenger sliding door partially opened up by itself whilst going over a speed bump. It seems to be very dangerous for a sliding door to even partially open itself while the vehicle is driving and in motion. I've asked Honda to look at this pursuant to recall No. 20V-437 (which would seem to be the issue described in the recall of the door opening by itself), but Honda is advising that I may need to pay for even the diagnosis out of pocket without any acknowledgement that the repair or diagnosis will be covered. Date below is very approximate - all of this has happened over the last month or two.

Safety Recall #18-128, Power sliding door rear latches was performed on or around September of 2020 on my vehicle. Last week (04/30/2025), my passenger side sliding door would not open. After removing passemger side inner door panel to inspect, found rear latch cable frayed closest to a microswitch found (as of 05/04/2025, it is currently held together by 2 strands of the cable). I also verified the operation between the front and rear latch of the passenger sliding door with the door panel off, and noticed it intermittently touches the microswitch when closing the door, further confirming the issue. My concern is the rear latch cable being frayed. The latches operate normal and as intended, the problem is I cannot purchase the cables separately, only as a complete unit with the latch.

A problem with the frame of the van in the rear/above the liftgate not being properly welded created leaking/malfunction of the liftgate and water remediation needed under the headliner. A significant safety issue was created-causing unprovoked opening and closing of the liftgate during operation of the vehicle both while parked and moving. Multiple times were individuals harmed during this process, as well as health issues from riding in the van during long period in an environment with mildew and mold development.

There is water leaking in the body which damages the power tailgate control module located at the rear driver side. the tailgate doesn’t open and endanger people inside in case there is any accident.

The rear tailgate stopped working. Upon investigation, there is structural issue with the body. There are holes near rear tailgate which allows to water to pass through. The water has damaged the rear tailgate motor and now the door is inoperable. This has been a common issue with Odyssey minivans 2018 and newer model. We have contacted honda regarding the issue and they refuse to accept any liability regarding the body defects.

Our 2018 Honda Odyssey minivan had water leaks intruding and collecting into the power tailgate control module on the driver-side rear compartment causing the tailgate to become nonfunctional and not lock properly or open/close appropriately leading to a major safety issue where the tailgate may open or even not close during movement of the vehicle leading to significant risk to passengers with respect to accident or bodily injury. This power tailgate issue appears to be caused by defective rear body seam seals from the manufacturer that allows water to leak into the rear driver's side panels and intrude into the module leading to damage and destruction of the module circuit board. I have needed to purchase a replacement for the module (~$200) and I have provided photos to show the water damage.

Leakage through the top driver's side pinch weld near the rear of the vehicle has allowed water to infiltrate the power tailgate control module and render it sporadically operable. This has affected the vehicle main computer, causing unreliable operation of powered vehicle exit doors.

Both of the manual passengers back doors will not fully close and lock.

After weathering hurricane Milton, the rear liftgate on my 2018 Honda Odyssey will not open. No apparent damage was done to the vehicle, however after starting the van, the dash stated there is a power liftgate issue. This warning was not present before. After doing some research the issue appears to be the tailgate control module, as many other people have found this to be the case. Some people have said to open the tailgate from the inside using the manual latch. However, in my case after attempting to do so, the door remains stuck. A lot of people have pointed to water intrusion as the reason for a faulty Tailgate Control Module. If I am able to open the liftgate manually I intend to replace the faulty module.

Our 2018 Honda Odyssey has continued to experience power sliding door issues that were initially addressed by NHTSA campaign numbers 18V795 and 20V437000. Our vehicle underwent the recommended repairs in both campaigns. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request, and the problem was reproduced by a dealer. In short, after undergoing both warranty repairs, the same problems gradually cropped up again. When attempting to close the door with the power-close button, the sliding door would sometimes stop about three-quarters of the way, and then open fully again. This would happen even when nothing was obstructing the sensor. This happened on both sides of the vehicle (i.e., both sliding doors), and eventually the doors ceased working altogether (albeit at different times) and we brought the vehicle to Honda for a non-warranty repair. The dealer was able to reproduce the problem in both doors, and they made the necessary repair in both cases (see attached invoices). Now, very similar issues have cropped up again, and our concern is that the initial warranty repairs may not have sufficiently addressed the root cause of the issue with these sliding doors. Once again the door sounds like it isn't latching completely. It's hard to describe, but everyone knows the sound in a vehicle when a window or a door is cracked just a little bit. The sound is exactly like that. The dealer told us that moisture intrusion and/or a latching issue may have caused this problem, and we also experienced a severed cable. Word for word, these are almost exactly the issues that campaign numbers 18V795 and 20V437000 were intended to address. If these are indeed the same issues that were the focus of the two recalls, then our vehicle is at risk of the same safety failures, i.e., the sliding doors opening while driving, failing to latch, and/or the snapping of the outer door handle cables due to moisture intrusion.

Dear NHTSA Team, My Honda Odyssey 2018 EX has been having issues with my Driver side Sliding door opening/closing using the Auto power. It was randomly sometimes not fully closing (kept reopening). Then it would get fixed automatically . This was happening for 3+ years . I had got the open recalls done over the years. This week it just stopped opening suddenly . And it was not getting resolved either manually or even after turning ON/OFF car . I took it to Honda Dealership in Dublin, California . They said error code B2049 the left slide door motor and door cable , latch were all faulty. And it would cost about 2500$. This was very expensive and I asked them to just put the door back and they charged the labor cost of 730$. When i look up online I see in forums multiple customers having such issues in this 2018 to 2020 odyssey model. My car hasn't been in any accident and my door is in great condition visually, so it has to be some faulty mechanism with the door as I am first owner and have taken great care of the car. I have records of oil changes, tire changes and other maintenance over the 6 years of ownership. Request NHTSA team to help look into this as it may be some rework during the different recalls to fix the sliding door or a manufacturing issue still not fixed. This can be dangerous as customer needs a functioning door to enter/exit out of Van. Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The Control Module for the Power Tailgate experienced total failure due to water damage, documented by the servicing dealership (attached service invoice) and demonstrated by the attached photos. The point of water intrusion could not be determined definitively, but cracks in the bonding location between the roof, rear driver's side exterior D-pillar panel, and tailgate surround are the likely culprit (photos attached). Failure of the Module resulted in an unusable tailgate, except for a single manual lever on the inside of the vehicle, accessible behind a piece of plastic. It also resulted in a ceaseless, loud, constant beeping on both the inside and outside of the vehicle when traveling at over 1 mph. This vehicle has never experienced an accident.

The Control Module for the Power Tailgate experienced total failure due to water damage, documented by the servicing dealership (attached service invoice) and demonstrated by the attached photos. The point of water intrusion could not be determined definitively, but cracks in the bonding location between the roof, rear driver's side exterior D-pillar panel, and tailgate surround are the likely culprit (photos attached). Failure of the Module resulted in an unusable tailgate, except for a single manual lever on the inside of the vehicle, accessible behind a piece of plastic. It also resulted in a ceaseless, loud, constant beeping on both the inside and outside of the vehicle when traveling at over 1 mph. This vehicle has never experienced an accident.

Part of the interior frame under the dashboard disintegrated. This was discovered while Honda was fixing a different recall involving electrical components.

Power Tailgate is not functioning and the trunk opens on its own. Yes, available for inspection. The trunk opening on its own puts the safety of everyone in the car at risk. I had the same issue 9 months ago, the dealer charged me $1200 to fix it. The dealer inspected it and stated it was due to a water leak that damaged the control module for the Power Tailgate. Nothing prior, a "Power Tailgate Problem" warning appeared on the dashboard, and the Power Tailgate stopped working.

The rear lift gate is not opening. The lift gate motor and latch have been replaced. The lift gate module seems to have water/moisture after a rain storm causing the gate to not open. Their is an error on the display saying there is a lift gate error and the car is beeping while driving.

POWER LIFT GATE AND POWER SLIDING MINIVAN DOOR DO NOT WORK LEAK IN BODY CAUSED ELECTRICAL SHORT AND CORROSON OF LIFTGATE POWER CONTROL UNIT. BAD DESIGN SAFETY ISSUE. DANGER OF CHILD ENTRAPMENT. SHOULD BE RECALL AND HONDA SHOULD FIX