This video is still helping people! About to sell my ‘08 Odyssey with 227k miles and trying to do the little things to make it not like all the other old cars on the market. Thanks!
Fantastic video! Thanks! I read through the comments- it really saves time by not removing the whole door panel and just taking out the old door checker by just pulling the door panel out about 6 inches at the bottom. I timed it- 19 minutes from start to finish- less time than to drive to a dealer and get checked in- never mind the $$! Thanks again.
beads27 thanks for watching. Yes I actually change the door checkers without removing the door panel but for the sake of training and sharing how to do it with full visibility I opted to demo the fix by removing the door panel. Either way I am glad you were able to fix your door checker and save a bunch of $$$ :)
glad you appreciate the work I do. It is insanely time consuming to do a decent video and having a family with kids makes it very hard to make new vids. I'm trying to get into the swing of things again but my energy committed to making vids is hard to come by. In any case thank you for watching my vids!
Love this video! Thanks, piercedasian. Solved my problem (2014 Odyssey) perfectly! Part was $20 or so on Amazon. For some reason, the electrical components in the switch assembly did NOT want to unplug, so I left everything plugged in and didn't fully remove the door. With the 4 screws removed, it was easy to lift up and create the space needed to get the part in and out. A socket extender helped give me that extra leverage needed to loosen that stubborn 12 mm bolt.
Glad to hear that you got it all fixed up. Odd that the connectors wouldn't come out as Honda's are usually very easy to remove. Either way I'm glad you fixed your van's door!
Dude you have no idea how much help you've been to me through these videos. I wish we were neighbors. Actually it's probably best we aren't because I'd be at your door every weekend like "this weekends project is..." haha. Gonna do O2 sensors, brakes and rotors, and full suspension all around next. Hopefully the 200K Odyssey will be up to speed at that point. My wife's starting to doubt the purchase but I told her it will be worth it once maintenance is up to date.
yeah at 200K there are lots of things that need fixing but once they're done you'll easily go another 200K so tell your wife that it is like building your own new van :)
piercedasian and now today my driver's side door handle won't open the door from the inside Haha. Probably the cable came loose. Maybe I didn't snap it into place good. So, another thing to check off the list.
S Gibbard I have no idea why I do it either BUT I am passionate about what I do and I want others to benefit from fixing their own cars too so why not teach them something and make a small difference in this world? :)
To save just a little time and reduce the # of things to reconnect: You can do this without fully removing the door panel which means you don’t have to unplug green power connection or disconnect handle latch cable. You could probably leave the window control buttons plugged in also. After removing all screws and bolts, just tilt inner door panel away from door at bottom, un-adhere the liner and remove/replace the checker. You only need brief access beneath the door panel.
yep you absolutely can do this repair without removing the panel however, I did this to give clear visuals to ensure that those that aren't sure how the door's insides look like would see.
Thanks man!!! Thirty bucks for one checker and a set of trim tools and 15 minutes (I could do it in 5 now) and I have solved a years old problem....and now have tools to get at dash bulbs! This was so easy! By the way, I didn't even bother detaching the door cable, it hung there for a few minutes just fine. DIY POWER!!!
@ Eric Talaska - yeah all the newer cars seem to have cheaply made door checkers that don't stand up to the test of time. My old 1990 Honda civic has the original checkers still and they're so tight that I have to put effort into closing my door. Tight as the day I purchased the car!
Great guide - this was tremendously helpful. I was able to get at the door checker in a flash today and swap it out. The problem that I had, though, was that I seem to have crossed the threads on the new door checker. I must not have lined it up well with my fingers before reaching for the ratchet. I realized something was amiss when both of the 10mm bolts wouldn't tighten. Upon examination (took it apart) I found remnants of the threads on both bolts. The door checker was making a god awful noise when the bolts weren't tight so I had to reinstall the old one. I've decided to buy a new door checker, though I'm guessing that I could have picked up some lock nuts and used them to get the back side of those bolts to tighten.
Great video, worked just like shown. My Odyssey looks exactly the same as the one in the video, same color, same winter mats, same everything. Wife is much happier now that the door doesn't close on her. Got the new checker from the local Honda dealer; they can also be ordered online. Only "complication" was that the parts didn't come apart as easily as they did in the video and I tried not to use too much force so as not to break anything. Many thanks!
Glad you got the door fixed up! Yes the bolts were admittedly quite tight and I often wonder WHY Honda tightened them up as tight as they did b/c it totally isn't necessary. If anything hand tight is all that was really needed to hold a little door checker in place.
@@piercedasian I found everything to be quite tight - the insert with the window switches, the corner cover, and the door panel itself, but I got it done! My wife is very happy with the result. Thanks again for the video - don't think I could have done it without it.
@@piercedasian They weren't that tight when they left Alabama/Alliston. They were torqued to 2.0 +/- 0.25 Kgf-m. The metals tend to seize one to another as they are subject to the elements. Difficult to get lubricant on it before trying to loosen.
Thank you! Very useful. I just replaced both from watching your video. I managed to skip the step of disconnecting the wiring harness. Just was careful and then pulled checkers out and then back in the hole in each door.
Thank you! Next I will replace the worn out sliding door rollers using your video. I will get a helper as you suggest. Now if I could find a well done video showing how to replace an o2 sensor bank 2. :That looks to be very tough to get to.
Yes getting a helper will make things go much smoother. Yes the 02 sensor on bank 2 is NOT fun to replace BUT the trick to getting it out is to get a combination wrench and used the "closed" end of the wrench onto the sensor and bang it loose (Honda sensors fortunately are NOT very tight). Here's a secret that will make removal much easier. Spray some penetrating lube (PB blaster or equivalent) on it 2 hours prior to working on it. Find a closed ended wrench that is sized properly to fit on the sensor, CUT the sensor wire off the sensor and get that closed ended wrench onto it. Smack the wrench with a mini sledge and remove :).
Thank you so much for this information. Needed this last night as it was raining so hard, that I got stuck between my door and car because the door closed on it's on due to this issue. By the way.....Nice 91 CRX Si in the garage ! SUBSCRIBED !
glad you liked my video. The door checkers on the more modern Honda have terrible hold capability and even when I sold our Odyssey back in 2015 that the new door checkers were starting to feel a little looser. They don't quite make the new hondas like how the old ones were :) Case in point the 90 CRX Si (I wish I had a 1991) in my garage. 27 years old and good as new still!
After removing all 4 screws and the window control assembly, just loosen the door card and pull it away at the bottom, you can just peal back the plastic water guard and gain access to the door checker hole. All you need to remove is the window and door lock control assembly because the wires are kind of short. The door card just hangs in its original spot and you don't have to remove the light cable or the handle cable from behind. Cuts it down to 5 minutes per door and you don't need an extra set of hands. Thanks for the video. Much easier with your help.
Excellent video. Thanks so much! I was able to repair my inside door release handle on the passenger side of my 2008 Odyssey in less than 1 hour. No damage to the panel, no broken oparts... looks like a pro did it!.
glad to hear you fixed your own car! It's such an easy process once you've seen how it is done that it makes you wonder how dealerships justify the cost that they do for something that takes 15 minutes to complete. Overhead I suppose but still... I got a quote from the dealership to fix my door checker and I was quoted over $200 to do the work when the part was $20 and the labor was the rest + shop fees... Geez if I was charged a total of $100 I would still be okay with that but $200? dream on... I will avoid dealerships like the plague....
Great tutorial piercedasian! I have to change the door checker on my 2006 Odyssey and wasn't sure where to start until I found your video. Thanks for posting the video and the part numbers.
Thank you! I just bought a used Honda and have already have bruised ankles from the door slamming shut....so I will be convincing my husband that he can replace them......
the modern honda door checkers on their vehicles especially between 2002-2015 SUCKED so badly. They wore out fast and just never really hold the door open very well. I can't say my newer Honda has that problem anymore so hopefully they fixed it.
I stupidly forget day after day & my ankle gets crushed. Now today, the window into my elbow. (Didn’t break either). 🤓Assaulted by my ‘10 Ody for a good 3-4 yrs now! Fed up! Thx for posting!
Are you sure about the part numbers? On amazon 72340 is listed on amazon as passenger, 72380 as driver… at 7:35 it sounds like you swapped them? Maybe I’ll just order both haha…
Thanks...someday ill need this. On a different note...my door is stuck closed. Both handles inside and out won't open the door. It's fun climbing in and out from various doors.
you can't open the door from either the inside or the outside? Sounds like you have complete failure of the latch assembly. Not sure what to tell you on how to fix it b/c I've never experienced a problem like yours. It maybe time to call on the dealership or you may need to "break" a door panel to get into it to unlatch the door.
Very nice video however if my wife told me we needed a new car because the door check wore out, I would have replaced both the door check and the wife!
lol, true that! Fortunately my wife was being playful about the door checker. As a matter of fact she didn't even notice it was an issue until I pointed it out to her. Maybe I should be replacing myself!
Well, she sure fooled me. Kudos to your wife for being such a good actress. Do you think you could get her to be your camerawoman? I'm certain she would have been able to eliminate some of the blocked shots. One more thing. The passenger door opens and closes less than the driver door. I wouldn't have replaced the passenger check unless it was worn out.
lol, my wife is amazingly supportive of the time spent creating content for TH-cam. Camera person? Not likely as our two little rug rats keep her busy 24/7. In time as life gets a little less hectic I will start publishing more works and hopefully had better camera angles.
Not a problem, I try as best as I humanly can to make videos on the little time that I have. No point in knowing something and not sharing with others. Don't forget to subscribe so you get notified of future video publications!
Great video! Could be improved in two ways: many probably need to see how the door latch release cable unclips and reinstalls; second, they need to be warned that the bolt with the 12mm head in the a-pillar is prone to stripping. It is actually an M8x1.25 bolt. Factory bolts are not that expensive, so it would be wise to purchase a new one from the dealer rather than the old one which is likely partially stripped and has thread locker on it. As for me, I'm highly mechanical and tapped the a-pillar, blew it clean with compressed air, and cleaned the threads on the bolt with a die.
good suggestions. I didn't have a camera person to help film otherwise I would have totally showed a close up of how the cable clips are held in place. As far as the bolt in the A-pillar it is hard to say. I guess it will depend on how bad the bolt/rust/seizing is on your van. In my van's case it wasn't bad at all and I opted to reuse the bolts without issue but everyone's car is different. You're definitely right in that the bolts are cheap enough to replace so I guess those that read this post will know to do so. Thank you for your input!
Great tutorial. Thanks! Unfortunately, when I tried to loosen the 12mm checker mounting bolt I heard something pop and now the bolt just spins. It won't come out! And I can't seem to find a solution. Any ideas?
kdsonntag do you by chance have a lot of corrosion on your van? You likely snapped the hidden blind nut that was welded to the frame. I'm not sure what to tell you here as I've never seen that break off the frame before (they're welded from the factory). You can ask the dealership service department how they'd deal with the problem but I suspect that the only way to remove it is to cut the bolt out (I'm not sure how) and have a body shop re-weld a new blind nut. It blows my mind how tight that bolt is from the factory and why Honda bothered with putting on thread locker onto the bolt.... Did they expect a large bolt like that to come out on it's own?? Sorry to hear about your troubles :(
piercedasian No, not much corrosion. I'm really not sure why it happened. What I do know is that I took it to the dealer and they didn't know what to do with it so they took it to a body shop. Sounds like we're looking at removing the front quarter panel to get to the nut so they can weld a new one on. This $20 project turned into $400+. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. I'm getting a second opinion and will try to remember to post the results of that. Thanks again!
yikes! sorry to hear that. Well I guess if it was going to break it is going to break regardless of who is taking it apart. I know that 12mm bolt from the factory is bloody tight and it didn't help that Honda put thread locker compound on it too. Hopefully a body shop can fix it up good for you and at least in the future you'll be able to fix it in a snap (no pun intended).
piercedasian. My door checker bolt also made a "cracking" sound when I loosened it. But it just became loose and spun freely but would not come out. Feels like there is some kind of plastic nut inside the door jam. Do you know about this ?? Thanks.
ah brutal. The nut that is welded to the body must've broken free. I'm not sure what to tell you here b/c that is inside the frame of the car. You're not the first person to tell me that the blind nut broke free. That is something that you may want to call the dealership or a body shop on to see if there is a way to access that darned nut that is holding your door checker hostage! The nuts rarely break off but if you have a seized bolt due to corrosion that it could possibly be weak and hence why it broke :(
@piercedasian, do you know how to program the door locks on a 2005 Odyssey Touring? I'm having an issue where the power lock button on both the driver door and and key FOB will only lock and unlock the sliding doors, but not the driver and passenger doors. The driver and passenger doors will unlock, but not lock. Any advice will be very appreciated!
+PatioHaggerty ah yes, on the touring model you have to program the locking system via the MID display panel in the instrument cluster (the display that shows you fuel economy and all that fun jazz). Look in your owners manual on how to access the programming menu. it's really easy to do once you know how to get into it and toggle the values of what you want the system to do.
Awesome video - that is exactly what was wrong with mine - touring model also only color different. Not sure if I can do it though - but excellent instructions
OMG, my description has the correct part # but you are right about the actual video. That is my bad and I had NO idea I mixed them in the presentation. My sincerest apologies. I actually called Honda just now to make sure and the description for the video does in fact have the right part # for the proper sides. Thanks for pointing that out and doing your own due diligence. I don't even know if I have the original footage for this video anymore to make the appropriate corrections to the presentation.
I was reading on a forum that instead of removing the whole door panel that the door checker could be replaced by popping the speaker cover, removing the speaker, and reaching in from there to replace the door checker.
I do not believe that is possible with the 3rd gen (I could be totally wrong on that) but I will say that the door panel removal was so easy that honestly I don't know how much easier one could make it. Since the making of the video I have replaced at least another 4 door checkers on the same van and each door takes me about 10-15 minutes max from start to finish.
awesome video! I found my ody had the same issue but not know what this door checkers called. It did bug me sometimes. Now I will fix it by myself, parts ordered $27 for both left and right side. again, awesome!
@ Lee Alison - yep a door that doesn't stay open is annoying as heck and with 2 kids and a pile of groceries and other "family" related items we're constantly removing from the car it is sure as heck nice to have a door that actually stays open on us.
piercedasian I tried to remove the door panel today, it seems that it has been removed before as I found broken clip and pry scratch on the plastic. Not sure how long will door checker last but my driver side is not working at all, and passenger side is barely working at fully open position. the trickiest part is remove the door panel without proper tool so I ended up buying a nylon trim removal tool from harbor freight tools. One suggestion is, since I am first time doing this, and I am not as fast as piercedasian, I disconnected the battery negative cable to prevent battery drain by the courtesy lights while removing and installing the door checker.
piercedasian Yup.. if you had a Sienna you wouldn't have to worry about it. I also have a 2008 EX-L Res/Nav Ody, traded my 190K mile Sienna for it, (only because it was wrecked), now with only 60K mile, already had to do the Tranny (torque converter issue), fuel pump at 80K, door actuator on driver sliding door, and now i'm going to replace both door checkers at 82k, and the van is really "noise" compared to our Sienna. Never did ANYTHING to our Sienna, except oil and the timing belt (as required at 100k, even though it looked brand new). Honda has really disappointed me with their built quality. Door checkers should not need to be replaced at 80k, or tranny's at 60k. Anyways, THANK YOU for the video, GREATLY appreciated, I need to save all the money that I can with this van as I foresee MANY repairs to come.
Awesome video! I just got my OEM replacement checker in the mail, but misplaced the bolts for the checker. In the video you mention a 12mm going into the car frame, and 2x 10mm going into the door frame - what lengths are they? I'm hoping its something I can pick up at my local home improvement store down the street and not have to order from Honda. :(
12mm for the door frame bolt and 2 - 10mm ones for the checker mounting to the door. Hardware store? I wouldn't bother as hardware stores I've gone to generally don't quite have the right size. They're only a few $ at Honda anyways. You might as well buy the right parts so the fit and finish is perfect.
+***Classified*** nah there isn't much that really goes wrong with this specific generation of van. I would suggest as preventative maintenance to replace the a/c clutch relay. They're cheap to buy new from the dealership (only buy NEW from honda). The issue is that the a/c relay over many years of clicking on and off constantly that they begin to wear out and then could "fuse" together and not let the a/c clutch disconnect which would mean the compressor would keep pumping until it self destructed. I would highly recommend you change it asap and you should be good for another 5-7 years of reliable operation. Throw the old one out as you don't want to inadvertently reuse a potentially bad relay. I believe the original relay is a Omron and the revised one is from Mitsuba (or something along those lines). Make sure you change all fluids regularly and you should easily get over 300, 000 miles out of your van.
piercedasian I'll check into the relay. I had the timing belt package done which replaced the original 215,000 mile belt, water pump, and belt tensioner. I can't believe the belt made it that long.
The Honda belts are better designed that you're led to believe. Granted I would have never run the belt for as long as you have so consider yourself extremely lucky that you didn't ruin your motor. Replace the t-belt no later than 100, 000 miles or 160, 000kms. Anything beyond that Honda doesn't guarantee how long it will last before it snaps. I replace belts at 100, 000kms or 60, 000 miles because I am that paranoid about belts snapping and ruining the valves on my engines. A bit wasteful on my part but it buys me my peace of mind.
I have a question. In ur video u are using the replacement Right front door checker - Honda Part #: 72340-SHJ-A01 on the Driver side. Is this correct? Seems that the driver door would be the left door? Ur help is greatly appreciated.
LOL, you saw that did ya? Its a 1990 CRX Si and has gone through a VERY thorough restoration job. New paint, new trim, new seals, hell new practically everything! I think I spent more money on replacement parts than the car was worth new :(
I used to have one and loved it. Wish I could've kept it. But I ended up selling it and got me a del sol, and sold that and now driving a Lexus gs350. I love old classic cars like crx.
Yeah the CRX was my first Honda I ever owned and I was getting all flustered back in 2000 when i couldn't find one that wasn't badly molested by some young racer wannabe. Fortunately for me I found one for sale by a very mature college student that was the same age as me that like the CRX but wanted a truck more than the CRX. That was my ticket to what you see in my garage now - except I restored it to near factory condition. It doesn't see many miles anymore because of the fear of some idiot crashing into me and writing off my precious CRX. Del sol? That would've been another interesting Honda that I tried to buy in 2000 but sadly they were BIG $$$ that I simply didn't have at the time. In hindsight I am glad I have the CRX and not a Del Slow :) GS 350 is a sick ride too :)
most ppl don't but if you've got your hands full like a typical mom would and is carrying another child and is scatter brains they COULD put it in the cluster and because of their clumsiness they can inadvertently lock themselves out of their own car b/c they were struggling to get out of the van b/c of their preggo body. I have seen it it happen the odd time with people hence why the mock video...
lol we laugh about her cameo in this video. She's still driving the old car but she will one day get a new car when I get enough views on my channel lol.
If you want to save the money for a replacement check out this : th-cam.com/video/06U2f6qyre8/w-d-xo.html Our Odyssey has actually 2 rubber pieces in there. It is sufficient to only turn the upper piece. The result is rock solid !
If your wife actually thinks you need a new car because I be doors won’t stay open on your current car I would say maybe you need a new wife... imagine what she’ll say when it’s time to change the oil or when you get a flat tire?? I almost feel sorry for anyone who would marry someone so dumb....
Wow you are one dense idiot. If you didn’t clue in the exaggerated joke of the door not staying open then I feel sorry for anyone that marrys YOU since you seem to have a below average IQ.
I wouldn't say Honda and Acuras are shitty. I would admit that NO car company gets everything perfect and door checkers are unfortunately Honda's weak point (at least on their more recent vehicles). I would take a Honda engine and it's ease of serviceability over a Toyota any day - I own both Honda's and Toyotas and there are things I love and hate about each manufacturers products.
piercedasian I didn't do anything to a Honda engine yet; I've just ordered a timing belt kit for a 3.5L V6 - will do it myself and will see - this is 1st gen MDX. I have experience with Toyota in-line 6 engines - all OK. The only thing I like in advance with Honda - its engines have 1 camshaft per head. But overall I had a bunch of issues I've never had with Toyota, all are "known" and Honda doesn't care: air vent tabs all broken, some seat belt stop buttons broken, tailgate door handle sticking, the tranny shift cable is rusted to the tranny shifter mechanism. I fixed all of those after I bought the SUV from its first owner, but... Yesterday I replaced front sway bar bushings... OMG... no good access especially to the driver's side one, bolts are too short... I didn't yet mention that Toyota, especially if it's Lexus, is much better painted than Honda/Acura. The bottom of my MDX '04 is a bare rusted metal, while on my Toyota Avalon '00 - some good tar with no rust under. The muffler has large holes (MDX), no holes (original Avalon). The mileage is close - about 170 tkm (~110k miles). I'm still puzzled why Honda is so popular in the US and Canada. I've owned 3 Toyota, 1 Mazda (same shit as Honda but rusts even faster) and now Acura. Yet I like Acura exterior design.
I can simply share with you my thoughts on the brands you've mentioned: Lexus/Toyota: Ultra conservative, boring but good quality, reliable cars. They get you from point A to point B with not much excitement or innovative technologies under the hood. Toyota's quality has been the most consistent across the board for many many many decades. Honda/Acura: Very engineering centric company with neat innovative ideas that are often introduced well before other car makers make the features mainstream. Quality is still quite good BUT because they employ new technology in their cars all the time while trying to maintain a certain price point that there has to be some give on quality to certain parts on the car. Honda/Acura as a whole are generally easier and LESS complicated to repair than their toyota equivalents but that is just my personal opinion. Honda quality has been a bit of a roller coaster (albeit a small one) where in the late 80s and early 90's their cars were so well made that even today they're still desirable. They had a stint in the late 90's - early 2000's where I will admit their cars weren't the best (their V6 transmission were absolutely terrible). They've since stepped up their game again and have gone back to making good quality vehicles. Your MDX falls in this "dark period" of Honda's quality woes. Mazda: There is a reason why I don't buy Mazda's - to your point they rust out like no man's end very fast so even though their cars are priced very competitively their lack of anti corrosion coating and premature rusting devalues the car MUCH faster than Toyota/Acura. Why is Honda so popular? Because they give you a lot of features and "tech" for less money than what a Toyota could give you. I was shopping for a minivan back in 2010 and between the Odyssey and the Sienna the Odyssey won hands down for less money, better looks and better handling. Reliable? I'd rate the Odyssey a 8/10 and the sienna a 8.5/10 but given the sienna was so painfully boring that I opted to take a slight hit in quality and reliability to get the features I really wanted in a minivan. Hope my response sheds some light to your comments :)
Thank you for your thoughts. I believe the most technologically advanced Japanese company is Mitsubishi, and - in accord with your idea - it seems they produce the greatest number of people complaining on the company cars' quality :) Well, anyway, it reminds me of one of my former co-worker (software developer) who worked so fast that, with our tiny and weak QA team, I had and still have to clean up numerous bugs in the code he left. I'd better go slower but with better quality - it turns out to be faster and cheaper in fact. Mazda used to be better. I still can see some 626 and Millenia here in Southern Ontario with rather little rust. Whether it is the migration to water-based painting technology or an approach to making people change cars "a little bit" more often, I don't know :) I have a friend who works at Toyota. He confirmed that the water-based technology is much more environmentally friendly but may affect rust resistance. As for the door checks, I recently went to a scrap yard, found a Toyota Avalon - the same model I also own so I trust its quality - and got its door checks. Then I removed and disassembled MDX's door check and put in Toyota checks' internals - inspired by www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/pcar_com/993_door_check_strap_detent.htm and www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=387097. Probably Toyota's nylon shoes are better and the checks will last longer. And it was cheap! :)
I used 06 Sienna and 08 Odyssey, the only better thing is Odyssey has large tire. Quality ratio is 80:20, Odyssey is 20. Only parts good is the front door inside puller. Other parts are of poor quality, a few are designed by short brain lack of common sense, I replaced lots of things on Odyssey.
This video is still helping people! About to sell my ‘08 Odyssey with 227k miles and trying to do the little things to make it not like all the other old cars on the market. Thanks!
Fantastic video! Thanks! I read through the comments- it really saves time by not removing the whole door panel and just taking out the old door checker by just pulling the door panel out about 6 inches at the bottom. I timed it- 19 minutes from start to finish- less time than to drive to a dealer and get checked in- never mind the $$! Thanks again.
beads27 thanks for watching. Yes I actually change the door checkers without removing the door panel but for the sake of training and sharing how to do it with full visibility I opted to demo the fix by removing the door panel. Either way I am glad you were able to fix your door checker and save a bunch of $$$ :)
It's kindly folks like yourself doing helpful (and thorough, extra thanks there) videos like this that makes a big difference in this world. Thanks !
glad you appreciate the work I do. It is insanely time consuming to do a decent video and having a family with kids makes it very hard to make new vids. I'm trying to get into the swing of things again but my energy committed to making vids is hard to come by.
In any case thank you for watching my vids!
Love this video! Thanks, piercedasian. Solved my problem (2014 Odyssey) perfectly! Part was $20 or so on Amazon. For some reason, the electrical components in the switch assembly did NOT want to unplug, so I left everything plugged in and didn't fully remove the door. With the 4 screws removed, it was easy to lift up and create the space needed to get the part in and out. A socket extender helped give me that extra leverage needed to loosen that stubborn 12 mm bolt.
Glad to hear that you got it all fixed up. Odd that the connectors wouldn't come out as Honda's are usually very easy to remove. Either way I'm glad you fixed your van's door!
Dude you have no idea how much help you've been to me through these videos. I wish we were neighbors. Actually it's probably best we aren't because I'd be at your door every weekend like "this weekends project is..." haha. Gonna do O2 sensors, brakes and rotors, and full suspension all around next. Hopefully the 200K Odyssey will be up to speed at that point. My wife's starting to doubt the purchase but I told her it will be worth it once maintenance is up to date.
yeah at 200K there are lots of things that need fixing but once they're done you'll easily go another 200K so tell your wife that it is like building your own new van :)
piercedasian and now today my driver's side door handle won't open the door from the inside Haha. Probably the cable came loose. Maybe I didn't snap it into place good. So, another thing to check off the list.
I have no idea what possesses you to make these videos...but I sure do appreciate it. Thanks!
S Gibbard I have no idea why I do it either BUT I am passionate about what I do and I want others to benefit from fixing their own cars too so why not teach them something and make a small difference in this world? :)
To save just a little time and reduce the # of things to reconnect: You can do this without fully removing the door panel which means you don’t have to unplug green power connection or disconnect handle latch cable. You could probably leave the window control buttons plugged in also. After removing all screws and bolts, just tilt inner door panel away from door at bottom, un-adhere the liner and remove/replace the checker. You only need brief access beneath the door panel.
yep you absolutely can do this repair without removing the panel however, I did this to give clear visuals to ensure that those that aren't sure how the door's insides look like would see.
Thanks man!!! Thirty bucks for one checker and a set of trim tools and 15 minutes (I could do it in 5 now) and I have solved a years old problem....and now have tools to get at dash bulbs! This was so easy! By the way, I didn't even bother detaching the door cable, it hung there for a few minutes just fine.
DIY POWER!!!
Awesome work! Now you have a set of tools to fix it again should another fail on you.
@ Eric Talaska - yeah all the newer cars seem to have cheaply made door checkers that don't stand up to the test of time. My old 1990 Honda civic has the original checkers still and they're so tight that I have to put effort into closing my door. Tight as the day I purchased the car!
Great guide - this was tremendously helpful. I was able to get at the door checker in a flash today and swap it out. The problem that I had, though, was that I seem to have crossed the threads on the new door checker. I must not have lined it up well with my fingers before reaching for the ratchet. I realized something was amiss when both of the 10mm bolts wouldn't tighten. Upon examination (took it apart) I found remnants of the threads on both bolts. The door checker was making a god awful noise when the bolts weren't tight so I had to reinstall the old one. I've decided to buy a new door checker, though I'm guessing that I could have picked up some lock nuts and used them to get the back side of those bolts to tighten.
Great video, worked just like shown. My Odyssey looks exactly the same as the one in the video, same color, same winter mats, same everything. Wife is much happier now that the door doesn't close on her. Got the new checker from the local Honda dealer; they can also be ordered online. Only "complication" was that the parts didn't come apart as easily as they did in the video and I tried not to use too much force so as not to break anything. Many thanks!
Glad you got the door fixed up! Yes the bolts were admittedly quite tight and I often wonder WHY Honda tightened them up as tight as they did b/c it totally isn't necessary. If anything hand tight is all that was really needed to hold a little door checker in place.
@@piercedasian I found everything to be quite tight - the insert with the window switches, the corner cover, and the door panel itself, but I got it done! My wife is very happy with the result. Thanks again for the video - don't think I could have done it without it.
@@piercedasian They weren't that tight when they left Alabama/Alliston. They were torqued to 2.0 +/- 0.25 Kgf-m. The metals tend to seize one to another as they are subject to the elements. Difficult to get lubricant on it before trying to loosen.
Also that thread locker is the equivalent of Loctite Blue, and it is applied by the supplier of the bolts.
Thank you! Very useful. I just replaced both from watching your video. I managed to skip the step of disconnecting the wiring harness. Just was careful and then pulled checkers out and then back in the hole in each door.
That’s awesome that you fixed your own van!
Thank you! Next I will replace the worn out sliding door rollers using your video. I will get a helper as you suggest. Now if I could find a well done video showing how to replace an o2 sensor bank 2. :That looks to be very tough to get to.
Yes getting a helper will make things go much smoother. Yes the 02 sensor on bank 2 is NOT fun to replace BUT the trick to getting it out is to get a combination wrench and used the "closed" end of the wrench onto the sensor and bang it loose (Honda sensors fortunately are NOT very tight). Here's a secret that will make removal much easier. Spray some penetrating lube (PB blaster or equivalent) on it 2 hours prior to working on it. Find a closed ended wrench that is sized properly to fit on the sensor, CUT the sensor wire off the sensor and get that closed ended wrench onto it. Smack the wrench with a mini sledge and remove :).
Thank you piercedasian! That sounds very helpful. Will an open end wrench be enough to tighten the new one?
I just ordered for $10, a Tekton socket made for o2 sensor replacement. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for this information. Needed this last night as it was raining so hard, that I got stuck between my door and car because the door closed on it's on due to this issue. By the way.....Nice 91 CRX Si in the garage ! SUBSCRIBED !
glad you liked my video. The door checkers on the more modern Honda have terrible hold capability and even when I sold our Odyssey back in 2015 that the new door checkers were starting to feel a little looser. They don't quite make the new hondas like how the old ones were :) Case in point the 90 CRX Si (I wish I had a 1991) in my garage. 27 years old and good as new still!
Just replaced my door checker on an '03 Accord. Thanks for mentioning the socket size. Saved me an unnecessary trip back to the house. Easy peezy.
After removing all 4 screws and the window control assembly, just loosen the door card and pull it away at the bottom, you can just peal back the plastic water guard and gain access to the door checker hole. All you need to remove is the window and door lock control assembly because the wires are kind of short. The door card just hangs in its original spot and you don't have to remove the light cable or the handle cable from behind. Cuts it down to 5 minutes per door and you don't need an extra set of hands. Thanks for the video. Much easier with your help.
yes John you most definitely can do that too! I showed the door card removal so that folks can all see what is behind that door panel.
Fantastic video! Thanks for a great explanation: everything you need, nothing you don't.
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent video. Thanks so much! I was able to repair my inside door release handle on the passenger side of my 2008 Odyssey in less than 1 hour. No damage to the panel, no broken oparts... looks like a pro did it!.
glad to hear you fixed your own car! It's such an easy process once you've seen how it is done that it makes you wonder how dealerships justify the cost that they do for something that takes 15 minutes to complete. Overhead I suppose but still... I got a quote from the dealership to fix my door checker and I was quoted over $200 to do the work when the part was $20 and the labor was the rest + shop fees... Geez if I was charged a total of $100 I would still be okay with that but $200? dream on... I will avoid dealerships like the plague....
Great tutorial piercedasian! I have to change the door checker on my 2006 Odyssey and wasn't sure where to start until I found your video. Thanks for posting the video and the part numbers.
***** you're welcome and thanks for watching!
Amazing! I just followed the instructions for my 2011 Odyssey EX-L. Thank you!
Thank you! I just bought a used Honda and have already have bruised ankles from the door slamming shut....so I will be convincing my husband that he can replace them......
the modern honda door checkers on their vehicles especially between 2002-2015 SUCKED so badly. They wore out fast and just never really hold the door open very well. I can't say my newer Honda has that problem anymore so hopefully they fixed it.
Awesome video! I shared it in my Facebook group Honda Odyssey Owners and Enthusiasts.
Thanks for doing that!
I stupidly forget day after day & my ankle gets crushed. Now today, the window into my elbow. (Didn’t break either). 🤓Assaulted by my ‘10 Ody for a good 3-4 yrs now! Fed up! Thx for posting!
you're most welcome!
Great video, looking forward to making the repair this week!
Are you sure about the part numbers? On amazon 72340 is listed on amazon as passenger, 72380 as driver… at 7:35 it sounds like you swapped them? Maybe I’ll just order both haha…
Hola muy buen video, me podrías desir como se llaman la parte que cambiaste? Por favor, grasias
Thanks...someday ill need this.
On a different note...my door is stuck closed. Both handles inside and out won't open the door. It's fun climbing in and out from various doors.
you can't open the door from either the inside or the outside? Sounds like you have complete failure of the latch assembly. Not sure what to tell you on how to fix it b/c I've never experienced a problem like yours. It maybe time to call on the dealership or you may need to "break" a door panel to get into it to unlatch the door.
I'll tear into it after the holidays.
door latch faulty. had to remove the chair to remove the door skin. seems like a spring on the latch is no fully releasing the lock.
that's good. Did you end up damaging the door panels during the removal process with the door stuck closed?
piercedasian
3 inch crack above the speaker.
Very Well done - thanks for contributing to global awareness of DIYers
you're most welcome! Thanks for watching!
Very nice video however if my wife told me we needed a new car because the door check wore out, I would have replaced both the door check and the wife!
lol, true that! Fortunately my wife was being playful about the door checker. As a matter of fact she didn't even notice it was an issue until I pointed it out to her. Maybe I should be replacing myself!
Well, she sure fooled me. Kudos to your wife for being such a good actress. Do you think you could get her to be your camerawoman? I'm certain she would have been able to eliminate some of the blocked shots. One more thing. The passenger door opens and closes less than the driver door. I wouldn't have replaced the passenger check unless it was worn out.
lol, my wife is amazingly supportive of the time spent creating content for TH-cam. Camera person? Not likely as our two little rug rats keep her busy 24/7. In time as life gets a little less hectic I will start publishing more works and hopefully had better camera angles.
Thanks so much for taking the time to create all of these helpful videos!
Mike
Not a problem, I try as best as I humanly can to make videos on the little time that I have. No point in knowing something and not sharing with others. Don't forget to subscribe so you get notified of future video publications!
piercedasian I did and thanks again.
Mike
Awesome thanks!
Great video. Hard to find this kind of video. Thanks
This is very nice and helpful video, exact match to my vehicle. Thanks!
you're most welcome!
Excellent. My 2006 Odyssey driver door slammed me for the last time!!!
Thank you for this video; I just purchased the parts off Amazon and will try this over the weekend
glad you liked my vid. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Could be improved in two ways: many probably need to see how the door latch release cable unclips and reinstalls; second, they need to be warned that the bolt with the 12mm head in the a-pillar is prone to stripping. It is actually an M8x1.25 bolt. Factory bolts are not that expensive, so it would be wise to purchase a new one from the dealer rather than the old one which is likely partially stripped and has thread locker on it. As for me, I'm highly mechanical and tapped the a-pillar, blew it clean with compressed air, and cleaned the threads on the bolt with a die.
good suggestions. I didn't have a camera person to help film otherwise I would have totally showed a close up of how the cable clips are held in place. As far as the bolt in the A-pillar it is hard to say. I guess it will depend on how bad the bolt/rust/seizing is on your van. In my van's case it wasn't bad at all and I opted to reuse the bolts without issue but everyone's car is different. You're definitely right in that the bolts are cheap enough to replace so I guess those that read this post will know to do so.
Thank you for your input!
Yet again, nice work dude
you're welcome!
Great tutorial. Thanks! Unfortunately, when I tried to loosen the 12mm checker mounting bolt I heard something pop and now the bolt just spins. It won't come out! And I can't seem to find a solution. Any ideas?
kdsonntag do you by chance have a lot of corrosion on your van? You likely snapped the hidden blind nut that was welded to the frame. I'm not sure what to tell you here as I've never seen that break off the frame before (they're welded from the factory). You can ask the dealership service department how they'd deal with the problem but I suspect that the only way to remove it is to cut the bolt out (I'm not sure how) and have a body shop re-weld a new blind nut. It blows my mind how tight that bolt is from the factory and why Honda bothered with putting on thread locker onto the bolt.... Did they expect a large bolt like that to come out on it's own?? Sorry to hear about your troubles :(
piercedasian No, not much corrosion. I'm really not sure why it happened. What I do know is that I took it to the dealer and they didn't know what to do with it so they took it to a body shop. Sounds like we're looking at removing the front quarter panel to get to the nut so they can weld a new one on. This $20 project turned into $400+. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. I'm getting a second opinion and will try to remember to post the results of that. Thanks again!
yikes! sorry to hear that. Well I guess if it was going to break it is going to break regardless of who is taking it apart. I know that 12mm bolt from the factory is bloody tight and it didn't help that Honda put thread locker compound on it too. Hopefully a body shop can fix it up good for you and at least in the future you'll be able to fix it in a snap (no pun intended).
+kdsonntag
The same thing just happened to me. Did the auto body repair shop do a successful weld of the nut? How much was the final bill? Thanks
They fixed it. Just under $250 though which of course I was NOT planning on when I got into this project!
great video. thanks for sharing. do you happen to know how to fix passengers power window problem
+willow19playsminecraft you're welcome. Thaks for watching. What is wrong with your passenger window?
piercedasian. My door checker bolt also made a "cracking" sound when I loosened it. But it just became loose and spun freely but would not come out. Feels like there is some kind of plastic nut inside the door jam. Do you know about this ?? Thanks.
ah brutal. The nut that is welded to the body must've broken free. I'm not sure what to tell you here b/c that is inside the frame of the car. You're not the first person to tell me that the blind nut broke free. That is something that you may want to call the dealership or a body shop on to see if there is a way to access that darned nut that is holding your door checker hostage! The nuts rarely break off but if you have a seized bolt due to corrosion that it could possibly be weak and hence why it broke :(
Driver's side front door checker - Honda Part #: 72380-SHJ-A01
Passenger side front door checker - Honda Part #: 72340-SHJ-A01
Hope that helps!
@piercedasian, do you know how to program the door locks on a 2005 Odyssey Touring? I'm having an issue where the power lock button on both the driver door and and key FOB will only lock and unlock the sliding doors, but not the driver and passenger doors. The driver and passenger doors will unlock, but not lock.
Any advice will be very appreciated!
+PatioHaggerty ah yes, on the touring model you have to program the locking system via the MID display panel in the instrument cluster (the display that shows you fuel economy and all that fun jazz). Look in your owners manual on how to access the programming menu. it's really easy to do once you know how to get into it and toggle the values of what you want the system to do.
Awesome video - that is exactly what was wrong with mine - touring model also only color different. Not sure if I can do it though - but excellent instructions
Mark Piquette You can totally do it. Follow the vid and you'll be just fine.
Are you sure about the part numbers drivers vs. Passenger? Every site I look on has the one with 80 for the drivers not the passenger.
OMG, my description has the correct part # but you are right about the actual video. That is my bad and I had NO idea I mixed them in the presentation. My sincerest apologies. I actually called Honda just now to make sure and the description for the video does in fact have the right part # for the proper sides. Thanks for pointing that out and doing your own due diligence. I don't even know if I have the original footage for this video anymore to make the appropriate corrections to the presentation.
That was awesome. Thanks for the video. It will help me put in new speakers on my Honda Odyssey.
glad you liked my vid. Thank you for watching :)
I was reading on a forum that instead of removing the whole door panel that the door checker could be replaced by popping the speaker cover, removing the speaker, and reaching in from there to replace the door checker.
I do not believe that is possible with the 3rd gen (I could be totally wrong on that) but I will say that the door panel removal was so easy that honestly I don't know how much easier one could make it. Since the making of the video I have replaced at least another 4 door checkers on the same van and each door takes me about 10-15 minutes max from start to finish.
Disculpen a todos ,pero quisiera saber como se llama esa pieza que cambia, para poder ordenar, muchas gracias
awesome video! I found my ody had the same issue but not know what this door checkers called. It did bug me sometimes. Now I will fix it by myself, parts ordered $27 for both left and right side. again, awesome!
@ Lee Alison - yep a door that doesn't stay open is annoying as heck and with 2 kids and a pile of groceries and other "family" related items we're constantly removing from the car it is sure as heck nice to have a door that actually stays open on us.
piercedasian
I tried to remove the door panel today, it seems that it has been removed before as I found broken clip and pry scratch on the plastic. Not sure how long will door checker last but my driver side is not working at all, and passenger side is barely working at fully open position.
the trickiest part is remove the door panel without proper tool so I ended up buying a nylon trim removal tool from harbor freight tools.
One suggestion is, since I am first time doing this, and I am not as fast as piercedasian, I disconnected the battery negative cable to prevent battery drain by the courtesy lights while removing and installing the door checker.
Lee Alison mine has just 100k and 7 years old
@ lee alison - yes our oddy just turned over 120K miles and it's 8 years old now. Time to start saving for a new one coming in perhaps 5 more years :)
piercedasian Yup.. if you had a Sienna you wouldn't have to worry about it.
I also have a 2008 EX-L Res/Nav Ody, traded my 190K mile Sienna for it, (only because it was wrecked), now with only 60K mile, already had to do the Tranny (torque converter issue), fuel pump at 80K, door actuator on driver sliding door, and now i'm going to replace both door checkers at 82k, and the van is really "noise" compared to our Sienna. Never did ANYTHING to our Sienna, except oil and the timing belt (as required at 100k, even though it looked brand new). Honda has really disappointed me with their built quality. Door checkers should not need to be replaced at 80k, or tranny's at 60k.
Anyways, THANK YOU for the video, GREATLY appreciated, I need to save all the money that I can with this van as I foresee MANY repairs to come.
Awesome video! I just got my OEM replacement checker in the mail, but misplaced the bolts for the checker. In the video you mention a 12mm going into the car frame, and 2x 10mm going into the door frame - what lengths are they? I'm hoping its something I can pick up at my local home improvement store down the street and not have to order from Honda. :(
12mm for the door frame bolt and 2 - 10mm ones for the checker mounting to the door. Hardware store? I wouldn't bother as hardware stores I've gone to generally don't quite have the right size. They're only a few $ at Honda anyways. You might as well buy the right parts so the fit and finish is perfect.
This is a great video! Enjoyable and it showed me what I was looking for! Thanks!
+***Classified*** glad you liked my video. Thanks for watching :)
piercedasian No problem. Any other issues on these vans that are pretty common? I just bought an 06 myself.
+***Classified*** nah there isn't much that really goes wrong with this specific generation of van. I would suggest as preventative maintenance to replace the a/c clutch relay. They're cheap to buy new from the dealership (only buy NEW from honda). The issue is that the a/c relay over many years of clicking on and off constantly that they begin to wear out and then could "fuse" together and not let the a/c clutch disconnect which would mean the compressor would keep pumping until it self destructed. I would highly recommend you change it asap and you should be good for another 5-7 years of reliable operation. Throw the old one out as you don't want to inadvertently reuse a potentially bad relay. I believe the original relay is a Omron and the revised one is from Mitsuba (or something along those lines). Make sure you change all fluids regularly and you should easily get over 300, 000 miles out of your van.
piercedasian I'll check into the relay. I had the timing belt package done which replaced the original 215,000 mile belt, water pump, and belt tensioner. I can't believe the belt made it that long.
The Honda belts are better designed that you're led to believe. Granted I would have never run the belt for as long as you have so consider yourself extremely lucky that you didn't ruin your motor. Replace the t-belt no later than 100, 000 miles or 160, 000kms. Anything beyond that Honda doesn't guarantee how long it will last before it snaps.
I replace belts at 100, 000kms or 60, 000 miles because I am that paranoid about belts snapping and ruining the valves on my engines. A bit wasteful on my part but it buys me my peace of mind.
awesome work! Glad to hear the video helped you out.
@ Kolka Cmelmax - you're welcome!
I have a question. In ur video u are using the replacement Right front door checker - Honda Part #: 72340-SHJ-A01 on the Driver side. Is this correct? Seems that the driver door would be the left door? Ur help is greatly appreciated.
I thought I replied to this but I'll reply again. Left door - left door checker, right door = right door checker.
GREAT Channel. Found it on Facebook. Gen3 Odyssey Club....
Nice!
Wow, nice video. Exactly what I needed to do this efficiently (without breaking anything ;-) Thanks much!
glad you liked my vid. Thanks for watching!
Very helpful. Thanks for making this video!
you're welcome!
Nice crx.looks very clean.
Lol, thanks! It's my baby. Hardly sees the light of day.
So glad to find this, thank you.
Glad you found it useful!
Thank you very much! Great video
You’re welcome!
Great tutorial. You've earned a new subscriber. :)
glad you liked my video!
Just what I needed. Thank you.
Glad to be of assistance.
Great intro! Thanks for the video.
Dan Tucker you're welcome. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video, thanks for the help!
You’re most welcome!
Thank you very much, that was very helpful.
Thanks for the video it was much help :-)
Very funny and helpful thx!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice job--thank you!
Kat Fish you're welcome!
THANK YOU!!!
you're most welcome!
Thx for the video but I see that red crx si! Nice!
LOL, you saw that did ya? Its a 1990 CRX Si and has gone through a VERY thorough restoration job. New paint, new trim, new seals, hell new practically everything! I think I spent more money on replacement parts than the car was worth new :(
I used to have one and loved it. Wish I could've kept it. But I ended up selling it and got me a del sol, and sold that and now driving a Lexus gs350. I love old classic cars like crx.
Yeah the CRX was my first Honda I ever owned and I was getting all flustered back in 2000 when i couldn't find one that wasn't badly molested by some young racer wannabe. Fortunately for me I found one for sale by a very mature college student that was the same age as me that like the CRX but wanted a truck more than the CRX. That was my ticket to what you see in my garage now - except I restored it to near factory condition. It doesn't see many miles anymore because of the fear of some idiot crashing into me and writing off my precious CRX. Del sol? That would've been another interesting Honda that I tried to buy in 2000 but sadly they were BIG $$$ that I simply didn't have at the time. In hindsight I am glad I have the CRX and not a Del Slow :)
GS 350 is a sick ride too :)
You saved my marriage
J D lol glad I could be of assistance!
Thanks my friend
who puts the keys in the cluster before you get out of the car
Thank you.
you're very welcome!
very nice give you five stares that help a lot.
.
you're very welcome! Thanks for watching.
Except visual and explanation of R& R door stop
most ppl don't but if you've got your hands full like a typical mom would and is carrying another child and is scatter brains they COULD put it in the cluster and because of their clumsiness they can inadvertently lock themselves out of their own car b/c they were struggling to get out of the van b/c of their preggo body. I have seen it it happen the odd time with people hence why the mock video...
Very useful Mr. Jacky Chan
Thank you.
Javier Flores lol! you're welcome. Thanks for watching!
yo you are a G ty
Thanks!
Wife wins.
"We need a new car" lol
lol we laugh about her cameo in this video. She's still driving the old car but she will one day get a new car when I get enough views on my channel lol.
@@piercedasian go electric!
If you get a dune buggy, you won't have doors to worry about. But will spend a fortune at the hair dresser.
very entertaining video and funny acting
lol, my wife didn't want to do the vid as she was preggos with our child and felt self conscious about the whole thing.
If you want to save the money for a replacement check out this : th-cam.com/video/06U2f6qyre8/w-d-xo.html
Our Odyssey has actually 2 rubber pieces in there. It is sufficient to only turn the upper piece. The result is rock solid !
If your wife actually thinks you need a new car because I be doors won’t stay open on your current car I would say maybe you need a new wife... imagine what she’ll say when it’s time to change the oil or when you get a flat tire?? I almost feel sorry for anyone who would marry someone so dumb....
Wow you are one dense idiot. If you didn’t clue in the exaggerated joke of the door not staying open then I feel sorry for anyone that marrys YOU since you seem to have a below average IQ.
Found this by search. Shitty Honda. I've never heard about this problem while stying with Toyota. Why the hell did I buy Acura?
I wouldn't say Honda and Acuras are shitty. I would admit that NO car company gets everything perfect and door checkers are unfortunately Honda's weak point (at least on their more recent vehicles). I would take a Honda engine and it's ease of serviceability over a Toyota any day - I own both Honda's and Toyotas and there are things I love and hate about each manufacturers products.
piercedasian I didn't do anything to a Honda engine yet; I've just ordered a timing belt kit for a 3.5L V6 - will do it myself and will see - this is 1st gen MDX. I have experience with Toyota in-line 6 engines - all OK. The only thing I like in advance with Honda - its engines have 1 camshaft per head. But overall I had a bunch of issues I've never had with Toyota, all are "known" and Honda doesn't care: air vent tabs all broken, some seat belt stop buttons broken, tailgate door handle sticking, the tranny shift cable is rusted to the tranny shifter mechanism. I fixed all of those after I bought the SUV from its first owner, but... Yesterday I replaced front sway bar bushings... OMG... no good access especially to the driver's side one, bolts are too short... I didn't yet mention that Toyota, especially if it's Lexus, is much better painted than Honda/Acura. The bottom of my MDX '04 is a bare rusted metal, while on my Toyota Avalon '00 - some good tar with no rust under. The muffler has large holes (MDX), no holes (original Avalon). The mileage is close - about 170 tkm (~110k miles). I'm still puzzled why Honda is so popular in the US and Canada. I've owned 3 Toyota, 1 Mazda (same shit as Honda but rusts even faster) and now Acura. Yet I like Acura exterior design.
I can simply share with you my thoughts on the brands you've mentioned:
Lexus/Toyota: Ultra conservative, boring but good quality, reliable cars. They get you from point A to point B with not much excitement or innovative technologies under the hood. Toyota's quality has been the most consistent across the board for many many many decades.
Honda/Acura: Very engineering centric company with neat innovative ideas that are often introduced well before other car makers make the features mainstream. Quality is still quite good BUT because they employ new technology in their cars all the time while trying to maintain a certain price point that there has to be some give on quality to certain parts on the car. Honda/Acura as a whole are generally easier and LESS complicated to repair than their toyota equivalents but that is just my personal opinion. Honda quality has been a bit of a roller coaster (albeit a small one) where in the late 80s and early 90's their cars were so well made that even today they're still desirable. They had a stint in the late 90's - early 2000's where I will admit their cars weren't the best (their V6 transmission were absolutely terrible). They've since stepped up their game again and have gone back to making good quality vehicles. Your MDX falls in this "dark period" of Honda's quality woes.
Mazda: There is a reason why I don't buy Mazda's - to your point they rust out like no man's end very fast so even though their cars are priced very competitively their lack of anti corrosion coating and premature rusting devalues the car MUCH faster than Toyota/Acura.
Why is Honda so popular? Because they give you a lot of features and "tech" for less money than what a Toyota could give you. I was shopping for a minivan back in 2010 and between the Odyssey and the Sienna the Odyssey won hands down for less money, better looks and better handling. Reliable? I'd rate the Odyssey a 8/10 and the sienna a 8.5/10 but given the sienna was so painfully boring that I opted to take a slight hit in quality and reliability to get the features I really wanted in a minivan.
Hope my response sheds some light to your comments :)
Thank you for your thoughts.
I believe the most technologically advanced Japanese company is Mitsubishi, and - in accord with your idea - it seems they produce the greatest number of people complaining on the company cars' quality :)
Well, anyway, it reminds me of one of my former co-worker (software developer) who worked so fast that, with our tiny and weak QA team, I had and still have to clean up numerous bugs in the code he left. I'd better go slower but with better quality - it turns out to be faster and cheaper in fact.
Mazda used to be better. I still can see some 626 and Millenia here in Southern Ontario with rather little rust. Whether it is the migration to water-based painting technology or an approach to making people change cars "a little bit" more often, I don't know :) I have a friend who works at Toyota. He confirmed that the water-based technology is much more environmentally friendly but may affect rust resistance.
As for the door checks, I recently went to a scrap yard, found a Toyota Avalon - the same model I also own so I trust its quality - and got its door checks. Then I removed and disassembled MDX's door check and put in Toyota checks' internals - inspired by www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/pcar_com/993_door_check_strap_detent.htm and www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=387097.
Probably Toyota's nylon shoes are better and the checks will last longer. And it was cheap! :)
I used 06 Sienna and 08 Odyssey, the only better thing is Odyssey has large tire. Quality ratio is 80:20, Odyssey is 20. Only parts good is the front door inside puller. Other parts are of poor quality, a few are designed by short brain lack of common sense, I replaced lots of things on Odyssey.
Too much to do not worth
too much work? Hardly. I was done in less than 20 minutes.