I have an automatic (power) door on my 2001 Honda minivan that is not
working because my daughter repeatedly tried to open it while it was
locked.  Rather than take it in for repair I was wondering if it could
be just the fuse.  Any ideas?  It will open and close manually and the
passenger side automatic door is fine.

rcr, 

I think this is a job for Honda. As Colin-ga noted in his comment
below, your fuses are apparently OK.

Siliconsamurai brings up the point that doors are a critical safety
component in any car. They should always open, close, and latch
properly. Door problems are not do-it-yourself repair items, so they
should be diagnosed and repaired as soon as possible by an authorized
Honda service center.

While your Honda Odyssey is in the shop, have them check and fix any
other door-related problems that you may not be aware of. A general
review of Honda vehicles by the Center for Auto Safety has this to
say:

The Center for Auto Safety 
http://www.autosafety.org/autodefects/HONDA.htm

"The Odyssey minivan launched by Honda in 1999 has not been up to
Honda's usual quality standards with eight safety recalls todate. The
van has particular problems with sliding doors that will not stay
latched. Honda has issued many dozens of Technical Service Bulletins
(TSBs) to dealers on how to fix problems in all of its vehicles."

For further details about Honda recalls and bulletins, see the "Honda
Safety Recalls & Technical Service Bulletins" section below.

Other Odyssey owners have brought up various door problems in this
online discussion board:

Minivan Magazine
Honda Odyssey Minivan Owners Board
http://forums.vmag.com/mvodyssey1199/index.html

You can search the board's archives for door problems (try simple
terms like "door" or "sliding door"). One Odyssey owner posted his
automatic door problem, but did not receive a reply:

"2000 Automatic door motors die"
http://forums.vmag.com/mvodyssey1199/messages/156.html

While it helps to know what other owners have gone through, they are
not going to fix your door either. This is all the more reason to
contact an authorized Honda service center. See the "Get More
Information" section below.

--------------------

Honda Safety Recalls & Technical Service Bulletins -

Car manufacturers send out recall and repair notifications to their
service centers on a regular basis. Lists of summarized "Safety
Recalls" and "Technical Service Bulletins" (TSBs) are available online
at:

ALLDATA
Recalls & Technical Service Bulletins
http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

Normally, you can subscribe to ALLDATA
(http://www.alldata.com/diy/handshake.html) and get the full text (and
images) of these documents online. However, this is not possible with
some Honda vehicles. The following notice pops up when you open
ALLDATA's lists for Honda Odyssey minivans:

- - -
IMPORTANT NOTICE

The American Honda Motor Company, Inc. has requested ALLDATA restrict
access to Acura and Honda repair information by individual consumers.
You will unfortunately not be able to register for access to Acura or
Honda vehicle repair information, technical service bulletins or
recalls.

We kindly request that all comments should be directed to:
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. 
P. O. Box 2206 
700 Van Ness Ave. 
Torrance, CA 90501 

Honda: 800-999-1009
Acura: 800-382-2238

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused
you."
- - -

However, you may be able to get full recall and TSB information from
authorized Honda service centers. You can also talk to Honda's
national Customer Service department: see the "Getting More
Information" section below.

Keep in mind that not all notices will apply to your Odyssey. However,
you should discuss them with your Honda service center just to make
sure that they have been resolved for your model year.

Browsing through ALLDATA's Web site, I found the following
door-related Safety Recalls for 1999-2001 Honda Odysseys (in
descending chronological order):

SR#     Date      Title  
----    ------    --------
00-047  JUN 2000  Recall - Defective Sliding Door Latch
99-054  OCT 1999  Recall - Sliding Doors 


I also found several door-related TSBs for 1999-2001 Odysseys: 

TSB#    Date      Title  
----    ------    --------
99-072  NOV 2001  Sliding Door Alarm - Beeps While Driving on Rough
Roads
00-091  NOV 2000  Manual Sliding Door - Difficult to Operate 
99-028  JUN 2000  Power Sliding Doors - Inoperative DTC 25 Set 
99-072  JUN 2000  Sliding Door - Alarm Beeps on Rough Roads
99-086  NOV 1999  Front Door Weather Strip - Loose
99-081  SEP 1999  Sliding Door, Left - Does Not Stay Unlocked
99-050  JUN 1999  Front Door Seal - Comes Loose
99-028  APR 1999  Sliding Door, Power - Not Working DTC 25 Stored
99-027  APR 1999  Sliding Door, Power - Problems
99-026  APR 1999  Sliding Door(s) - Tapping Noise
  
    
--------------------

Get More Information -

For additional details about Honda recalls, TSBs, or authorized
service centers, call their national Customer Service department and
talk to a representative:

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Honda Automobile Customer Service
P.O. Box 2964
Torrance, CA 90509
Tel: 800-999-1009 (Mon-Fri, 6am - 5pm PST)
Fax: 310-783-3023

As an Odyssey owner, you can get more information online by
registering (for free) on Honda's "OwnerLink" web site:

Honda OwnerLink
http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/login.asp

If you didn't already know, Honda's home page is here:

American Honda
http://www.hondacars.com/

--------------------

References -

From ALLDATA, here are summarized lists of all Honda Safety Recalls
and Technical Service Bulletins for 1999-2001 Odyssey:

Bulletins for 2001 Honda Truck Odyssey EX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/016704AE.html

Bulletins for 2001 Honda Truck Odyssey LX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/016705AE.html

Bulletins for 2000 Honda Truck Odyssey EX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/006704AE.html

Bulletins for 2000 Honda Truck Odyssey LX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/006705AE.html

Bulletins for 1999 Honda Truck Odyssey EX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/996704AE.html

Bulletins for 1999 Honda Truck Odyssey LX V6-3.5L SOHC (VTEC) MFI
http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/996705AE.html

--------------------

Search Terms & Google Results - 

honda 2001 minivan "automatic door" problem 
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=honda+2001+minivan+%22automatic+door%22+problem+

honda "technical service bulletins"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=honda+%22technical+service+bulletins%22

Dear rcr:

According to the 2001 Honda manual, page 327 there are two locations
for fuses that affect the power doors.

However, if either fuse were blown, *both* doors wouldn't work. There
is not a seperate fuse for each door.

Save the $10 for a repair/estimate.

Colin

I treat doors like seat belts and brakes, this is a safety question. 
If you aren't a qualified mechanic you shouldn't mess with either one
so I won't go into any details.

For example, some GM vans have had power doors open at speed.

I presume there are interlocks to prevent this and I suspect the
problem is in there. This is something for a dealer, not even an
independent mechanic.

Dear rcr:
Just encountered the same problem with my 01's door. It was a simple
five minute fix for the honda tech.  He cleaned both of sensors for
the door, the ones on the body and the ones on the door itself.  Now,
I had wiped the sensor's myself with clean cloth and it didn't work. 
He said the erasers work every time.  Hopes this helps, give it a try.

I had the very same problem and I found the fix from another google
search, I'll just cut and paste the fix as follows:

On the inside passenger side fuse box, find fuse #13 (4th in on top).
I think it is listed as "Clock Reset" and is a 7.5 size fuse. Remove
it for 30 seconds and then replace. Open the passenger side door and
then the driver side. I tried every other fix and this finally did it.
I have no idea why, but thanks to whoever gave me this suggestion.
Saved big $.

It really works try it out.

WOW, elrondxxx-ga, thank you very much!  None of my fuses were blown,
so I turned to the Internet for help.  The clock back up fuse (7.5A,
#13) removal and wait 30 seconds did the trick.

My wife and I have an '01 Odyssey and the driver power slider failed
today.  We live in an icy / snowy climate and the door did not want to
open do to some ice build up this morning.  The motor engaged, but
then failed.  I suspected a fuse.  It was stated by colin-ga that both
doors would not work if a fuse was blown.  Actually, there are 4 fuses
associtated with the auto doors.  One in each (30A) of the primary and
secondary fuse boxes under the hood and 2 in the fuse panel on the
passenger side interior, under the dash. In this fuse panel, there is
fuse for each door (20A) #1 and #5, I believe.

I wish I'd seen your comments before finding my own
solution.

My solution was to disconnect the battery cables
for 5 to 10 minutes (I tried 15 minutes to be safe) then 
reattach the battery and check to see if it worked.  The idea
is to reset the controller in the door, that shut itself down
for protection when encountering problems.  

This is very easy. It took about 1 minute to disconnect the 
battery cables and a couple minutes of wait.  However, remember 
to have the code for the cassette/CD handy.  This is much 
faster than taking the car to the dealer for service, even if
it's under warranty.  

My odyssey 2001 model driver side sliding door died a couple 
of times already in the past 3 years.  So from now on I keep the 
code for CD play in my wallet for easy access.  I will try the
fuse method the next time to see if its easier.

Truongx

I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey.  One of the doors jammed in the unlocked
position.  After taking it to the "dealer" I was told that not one,
but BOTH door mechanisms needed to be replaced.  This was infuriating
and obviously unnecessary.  I contacted Honda America and reported the
obvious abuse.

Honda America agreed and replaced BOTH mechanisms at no charge.  An
example of the squeaky wheel getting the grease.

Don't take it lying down.  There is an obvious defect in the design
and construction of the mechanism.

The fuse #13 trick worked for me when the driver side door on my 2001
Odyssey wouldn't open.  Thanks so much!  You just saved me a trip to
the dealer!

-- Steve