Q: Disappointed with the auto sliding door

asked by on November 02, 2015

Is it bad to use the automatic sliding doors on my 2007 Honda Odyssey like manually sliding doors, but never use the automatic part? The automatic door mechanism is junk and has always been slow and inconsistent. I got into the habit of helping the doors close that I never realized when the mechanism actually broke. This is shoddy quality, but do I need to fix this? It’s a pretty good van without it and only has 70,000 miles.

It is not recommended to operate the automatic sliding doors manually for a long period of time, but as long as the mechanical aspect of the sliding doors are working, you can use it manually. If you have reached a point that you do not want automatic sliding doors anymore because of it has always been slow and inconsistent, then you do not “need” a repair unless you would like to have the automatic function on the sliding doors working again. Resetting the system has helped some owners with the sliding doors issue. Your owner’s manual provides directions under the Slider Doors section: With the key in the ignition (slider door switch off), remove Fuse #7 (back-up) from the fuse panel under the dashboard at the driver’s side kick panel (This clears error message in CPU). All the interior power should shut down. Then, put the fuse back in and manually open and close both slider doors. Finally, turn the ignition to the ON position only and turn the slider door switch on. Try working the doors. YourMechanic can also help with your doors.

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