Odyssey or Sienna

ahgirls · Dec 29, 2010

My DH is ready to drive my van up to the just reopened mountain road and push it over minus car seats of course. Its a 05 Grande Carvan, we have had nothing but problems for the last 18 months. When we replaced the brakes before Thanksgiving he said one more things goes wrong and its gone. Its now the alternator.

I am looking at the older (05+) Odysseys or Siennas are there any certain years to stay away from. I know that I want side air bags and thats about it. I really like how big my interior is on my current van. I wished it did better in the snow. The kids don't weigh enough to help with weight in the back due to its length.

Any thoughts???

QuassEE · Dec 29, 2010

AWD Sienna.. 8pass?

I had a 2005. The first year of the model didn't have the dual sliding doors, which is a big avoid for me. Otherwise, I have no issues with any of that 2004+ run. I would avoid most years of the older style Odysseys in about 99-02 with the tranny problems. I have an '08 Odyssey now and I plan to get a 2011 Odyssey to replace it, but I have an AWD and 4wd SUVs as my secondary vehicles.

-N.

npauli · Dec 29, 2010

An alternator isn't that bad of a DIY job. $150 for the part, and a couple hours of quality time in the garage. You can even justify buying a socket set and set of ramps and still come out a lot cheaper than changing vehicles.

But, if you hate it and are sick of it eating parts and want an excuse, any excuse, to get rid if it... then an alternator is as good an excuse as any.

For the years you're looking in:

- Toyota did offer AWD, but I believe it was only w/ 7 passenger. It's a shame, because their 8 passenger seating setup was great. Lots of flexibility.
- The Ody let you remove the useless middle seat in the middle row and scoot one of the captains chairs next to the other, which helps for access to the back.

There's dedicated forums for both vehicles. odyclub and siennachat, I believe. They'd know more than I about years to avoid for reliability.