I'm 72 and the 2013 Odyssey is my 4th Minivan - the earlier 3 were the Chrysler Town & Country. The first unusual problem I had at 27,465 miles was the need for an all wheel realignment. The second problem I had was an early tire failure (replaced two tires at 32,163 and the other two at 35,886 after Honda said the second two needed to be replaced - they gave me an exorbitant price for the tires so I went to Goodyear and saved $200 and got tires with a 65K warranty). The next problem I had was vibration in the steering wheel when braking. I took my van into Honda and they said "REAR BRAKE PADS WORN and rear rotors have hot spots" and for the front, "front rotors warped".

They recommended replacing the rear brake pads and resurfacing the rear rotors and resurfacing the front rotors and brake pads". I told them to replace the front brake pads as well (they were at least 50% worn) as I saw little merit in keeping them only to have to pay to have them replaced in the very near future (a $75 dollar difference).

If you do your research you will find:

Honda has have significant rotor problems historically. They obviously have not fixed it very well. And, you will find statements that smack of an engineering side step (brakes and tire wear is a highly individually influenced issue - how you drive can impact on the life of both tire wear and break wear - many of our customers do not have this problem - there word for the latter).

As indicated above, I am 72 and have been a long time minivan consumer. I never had the need for a realignment (absent a severe pot hole confrontation) with any of the many vehicles I have owned in my 56 years of vehicle ownership and operation. Nor have I EVER EVER had tires wear out in the 30K range or the need for a brake job at 38K. The norm on prior vehicles was in at least the 50K range for both tires and brakes.

Methinks the real problem is that Honda is using sub-par materials/designs for tires, rotors and brakes and benefits from what we have to pay for new ones. Had I done my research before the last job, I would have gone to Goodyear for brakes after being assured that they do not use OEM pads and rotors!

Have to say that my next minivan will definitely not be a Honda!

Hope all of you out there who have had similar experiences take the time to file a complaint on the Web so that those who do their research before purchase will be better informed.