What are the common problems with the 1997 Honda Odyssey?
Owners of the 1997 Honda Odyssey have filed 20 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system (9) and speed control (3). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 4 of its 20 complaints list a mileage (5,000 to 150,000 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 20 owner complaints on the 1997 Honda Odyssey. Owners named the electrical system most often: 9 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 20 complaints, 2 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 1997 Odyssey
NHTSA's file holds 20 owner complaints on the 1997 Honda Odyssey. Owners named the electrical system most often: 9 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 9 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Visibility | 2 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Air Bags | 1 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 20 complaints, 2 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 1997 Odyssey
Too few complaints on the 1997 Odyssey list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 4 of its 20 complaints list a mileage (5,000 to 150,000 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 1997 Odyssey wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 7,321 NHTSA owner complaints on the Honda Odyssey that list mileage came after 72,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Honda Odyssey last? →
Is the 1997 Odyssey a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1997 is a good or a bad Odyssey: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1997 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 20 complaints, the 1997 drew the fewest of the 32 Honda Odyssey model years from 1995 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2018 (1,016).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 Odyssey | 96 | 31 | 128,000 |
| 1996 Odyssey | 70 | 26 | 110,000 |
| 1997 (this page) | 20 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1998 Odyssey | 73 | 28 | 136,845 |
| 1999 Odyssey | 518 | 259 | 100,000 |
| 2000 Odyssey | 675 | 346 | 97,500 |
| 2001 Odyssey | 619 | 444 | 100,000 |
| 2002 Odyssey | 960 | 744 | 84,000 |
| 2003 Odyssey | 914 | 715 | 102,000 |
| 2004 Odyssey | 585 | 430 | 106,347 |
| 2005 Odyssey | 830 | 673 | 74,210 |
| 2006 Odyssey | 703 | 565 | 65,350 |
| 2007 Odyssey | 830 | 670 | 54,641 |
| 2008 Odyssey | 500 | 419 | 50,000 |
| 2009 Odyssey | 198 | 160 | 64,000 |
| 2010 Odyssey | 255 | 186 | 62,134 |
| 2011 Odyssey | 235 | 181 | 21,400 |
| 2012 Odyssey | 246 | 186 | 40,000 |
| 2013 Odyssey | 211 | 150 | 34,000 |
| 2014 Odyssey | 310 | 216 | 28,000 |
| 2015 Odyssey | 208 | 127 | 32,000 |
| 2016 Odyssey | 272 | 130 | 30,344 |
| 2017 Odyssey | 39 | 16 | 23,000 |
| 2018 Odyssey | 1,016 | 272 | 24,000 |
| 2019 Odyssey | 1,005 | 193 | 23,000 |
| 2020 Odyssey | 494 | 62 | 14,000 |
| 2021 Odyssey | 148 | 14 | 32,000 |
| 2022 Odyssey | 144 | 21 | 36,800 |
| 2023 Odyssey | 107 | 12 | 25,500 |
| 2024 Odyssey | 132 | 11 | 9,000 |
| 2025 Odyssey | 462 | 27 | 16,000 |
| 2026 Odyssey | 64 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Odyssey year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Honda Odyssey years to avoid →
1997 Honda Odyssey recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1997 Honda Odyssey (2 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 1997 Odyssey lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 1997 Odyssey.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 16 of the 20 complaints on the 1997 Honda Odyssey give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: ODYSSEY. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: ODYSSEY.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
1997 Honda Odyssey questions
What are the most common 1997 Honda Odyssey problems?
NHTSA's file holds 20 owner complaints on the 1997 Honda Odyssey. Owners named the electrical system most often: 9 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 20 complaints, 2 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 1997 Honda Odyssey?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 1997 Honda Odyssey: 4 of its 20 complaints list a mileage (5,000 to 150,000 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 1997 Odyssey can cover.
Is the 1997 Honda Odyssey a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 1997 is a good or a bad Odyssey: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 1997 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 20 complaints, the 1997 drew the fewest of the 32 Honda Odyssey model years from 1995 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2018 (1,016).
How many recalls does the 1997 Honda Odyssey have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 1997 Honda Odyssey (2 vehicle campaigns and 1 equipment or tire campaign that names this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 1997 Honda Odyssey before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 1997 Honda Odyssey.