Just purchased towing materials to tow my 2006 Odyssey.
Looked at many posts about dangers and feel it is ok to tow.
Everyone mentions procedure for towing. All I see is Start vehicle put in drive then neutral and shut vehicle off. Is that it?
Then drive 4-6 hours and repeat.
Help???
I don't think Honda ever published a shift sequence for towing a Honda Odyssey newer than 2004. If you assume that the 2006 needs the same sequence, then here's what you would do. This is the procedure I use on my 2000 Odyssey.
Crank engine in park, shift to reverse, shift to neutral, slowly shift down through the gears 4,3,2,1 (or 5,4,3,2,1..whatever you have), then slowly shift up through the gears to neutral. Allow the engine to run for 3 minutes in neutral. Shut down by turning the key to accessory so the steering wheel can turn. Now you're ready to tow. DO NOT SHIFT FROM REVERSE TO NEUTRAL and then tow. This will kill the older (up to 2004) honda transmissions, and will probably kill yours also.
My 2000 Odyssey has a 65 mpg speed limit when towing. I've briefly exceeded that when passing, but normally cruise at 64 or 65.
On my 2000, towing increases the frequency of recommended transmission fluid changes. Since the fluid change really only changes about 1/3 of the fluid, I do the fluid change at every oil change.
If you have a chipped key that is required for cranking the 2006 Honda, you can use an unchipped key to crank by holding the chipped key against the unchipped key to get it to crank. Then when you shut down, you're leaving an unchipped key in the switch. If someone tries to steal your toad, they will not be able to get it to crank.
Fred
Fred & Vicki
Richmond Hill, Ga
2000 Holiday Rambler Endeavor/Freightliner/330 Cat
2000 Honda Odyssey toad w SMI Silent Partner braking system
Tire Sentry monitoring system
I do the exact same thing with my 98 Accord including using a non-chipped key. My owners manual had the procedures for getting the transmission into a true netural.
2006 Hurricane 31D aka 'Moby' the Whale
FCC(SW) US Navy Retired 1980-2003
Stella my Navigator
Bogart the All American RV Dog
and
Cocoui waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge
I have towed a 2001 Odyssey since 03 and have (knock on wood) never had a problem with towing. I agree with the posts on the prep procedure and would add that I always make sure the engine temp comes up to normal before I shift through the gears. My procedure is start, warm up engine, then shift to lowest gear and allow about 30 seconds in each gear as I shift eventually back up to D4 , then into neutral. Again in neutral 30 seconds and turn it off. Make sure to turn off everything inside. I then go thru the same procedure each time I stop for longer than 20 minutes or so.( Fuel, lunch, etc.) I now have 175,000 on my Odyssey and have had very good service from the car.
1999 National Tradewinds
2001 Honda Odyssey--Toad
Fulltime Wanabee
We towed our 05 Oddy for 15K miles with no problems, Start, park-rev-N-3-2-1 back to N shut it down and tow it. Make sure to turn off everything in the car, we left the rear HVAC fan on and had a dead battery after 6 hours on the road. I also towed at 75-80 mph at times with no problems, usually hold around 68-69 mph.
Not sure if the 06 is the same tranny?
howdy35 wrote: I have towed a 2001 Odyssey since 03 and have (knock on wood) never had a problem with towing. ....text deleted....I now have 175,000 on my Odyssey and have had very good service from the car.
Wow...is this on the original transmission? My 2000 has 125,000 and I keep waiting for the tranny to fail because many of this vintage failed at 70 to 80 thousand miles. I would love to get 175,000 out of my current transmission.
fcooper wrote: I don't think Honda ever published a shift sequence for towing a Honda Odyssey newer than 2004. If you assume that the 2006 needs the same sequence, then here's what you would do. This is the procedure I use on my 2000 Odyssey.
Crank engine in park, shift to reverse, shift to neutral, slowly shift down through the gears 4,3,2,1 (or 5,4,3,2,1..whatever you have), then slowly shift up through the gears to neutral. Allow the engine to run for 3 minutes in neutral. Shut down by turning the key to accessory so the steering wheel can turn. Now you're ready to tow. DO NOT SHIFT FROM REVERSE TO NEUTRAL and then tow. This will kill the older (up to 2004) honda transmissions, and will probably kill yours also.
My 2000 Odyssey has a 65 mpg speed limit when towing. I've briefly exceeded that when passing, but normally cruise at 64 or 65.
On my 2000, towing increases the frequency of recommended transmission fluid changes. Since the fluid change really only changes about 1/3 of the fluid, I do the fluid change at every oil change.
If you have a chipped key that is required for cranking the 2006 Honda, you can use an unchipped key to crank by holding the chipped key against the unchipped key to get it to crank. Then when you shut down, you're leaving an unchipped key in the switch. If someone tries to steal your toad, they will not be able to get it to crank.
Fred
I have never heard of the use of an unchipped key. That sounds great.
Other wise I follow your procedure with my 05 and it works fine.
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