Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity (How Much Can Each Year Tow?)

The Honda Odyssey is one of the most popular Honda models on the market today and is a great choice for large families (since it can fit up to 8 people). With Honda’s exceptional longevity you really can’t go wrong with getting a new Honda Odyssey.

However, if you are planning on getting a trailer hitch on your Honda Odyssey so you can tow anything and everything that you want to on your next cross country road trip you will need to know exactly how much it can tow before you buy it.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey can tow up to 3,500lbs no matter which trim level that you get. However this is only if you have two people in your vehicle. The more people and weight that you have in the vehicle the less weight you can tow with your trailer. 

An important thing to note is that according to the 2022 Odyssey’s manual your maximum towing capacity is: 

• 3,500lbs with 2 passengers
• 3,350lbs with 3 passengers
• 3,150lbs with 4 passengers
• 3,000lbs with 5 passengers
• 2,000lbs with 6 passengers
• 800lbs with 7 passengers
• Towing is not recommended with 8 passengers

The above recommendations are with each person weighing an average of 150lbs and having 17.7lbs of cargo (per person). So if the average weight of the people in your vehicle is higher or lower than the 150lbs you might be able to tow more or less than the numbers mentioned above. 

Honda also says that the towing capacity is with their towing package as well. So before you decide to tow with your Honda Odyssey you need to make sure that it is equipped with the towing package. 

For 2022 the Honda Odyssey’s Towing Package will include some or all of the following items: 

• Towing hitch receiver
• Trailer hitch harness
• Trailer hitch locking pin
• Trailer hitch ball
• Transmission cooling

So if you purchase a brand new 2022 Honda Odyssey it will have all of these popular options already installed. If you are buying a used Honda Odyssey though you will need to make sure that everything that you need to tow is included when you make the purchase. 

If not you can certainly go to an auto shop and purchase the needed parts. 

All of the Honda Odysseys are equipped with automatic transmissions and when you upgrade to the towing package you will get some additional cooling for your transmission/ transmission fluid as well. This is because the extra weight that you are hauling could cause your transmission to overheat without it. 

So if you are buying a used Honda Odyssey make sure that it includes a transmission cooler. 

Of course the Odyssey has been around since 1994 (the 1995 model year) so the latest model year is far from the only one around that you might need to check out the towing capacity on. In the next section I will cover the towing capacity of the Honda Odyssey no matter which model year that you own. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity For Every Model Year

Below you can find the towing capacity for the Honda Odyssey for each model year. As mentioned above these numbers are affected by the number of passengers and cargo that is inside the van as well. So if you are hauling a lot of cargo or people you cannot haul as much weight with your trailer. 

All of the below towing capacities are directly from the Owner’s Manual for each Honda Odyssey model year. Each towing capacity number is with 1 or 2 passengers and only 20-40lbs of cargo.  

Does Honda Odyssey Trim Levels Affect Towing Capacity?

The Honda Odyssey has many different trim levels and they vary from model year to model year. Is the towing ability different depending on the Honda Odyssey model trim level or is it all the same? 

All of the Honda Odysseys trim levels have identical Towing capacity except for the 2018 and 2019 models. In 2018 and 2019 the Elite & Touring trim level had a higher towing capacity than the other trims did. 

Besides those two years, the towing capacity of the Honda Odyssey has always been the same no matter which trim level that you purchase. However the older Honda Odyssey models did require you to have either trailer brakes, a transmission cooler, or a power steering fluid cooler to tow with them. 

Exactly which model years needed those extra fluid cooling systems is mentioned in the table above.

Does Honda Odyssey Need A Towing Package? 

If you are planning on towing a trailer with your Honda Odyssey then what exactly do you need to get with it? Do you need to get special fluid coolers installed like with some of the older models? Do you need to get the towing package? 

If you are planning to haul a trailer with your Honda minivan then you need to get it equipped with the Towing Package. The towing package will traditionally come with a transmission cooler, wiring harness, hitch, etc. so you are ready to tow. 

However every dealership may be slightly different when it comes to what is included with the towing package. Some will include everything you need while others will just get you towing ready and you will have to go out and buy your own hitch and ball mount. 

I would not buy an Odyssey for towing unless it comes with at least the transmission cooler as otherwise you risk damaging your vehicle every time you haul something with it. 

What Can The Honda Odyssey Tow? 

So I have already covered exactly how much weight a Honda Odyssey can tow. But what does that mean when it comes to real life? What exactly does the 3,500lbs of towing capacity get you? 

With the 3,500lb towing capacity of a Honda Odyssey you can tow: 

• A Travel trailer (up to 20ft)
• Jet skis (single or double)
• Small boat (20-25ft max)
• Pop-up camper (up to 22 ft)
• A small vehicle (Honda Civic size)
• An empty horse trailer (adding a full size horse will likely make it too heavy)

Now just because you can tow a lot of travel trailers that are up to 20 feet long doesn’t mean you can tow all of them. It is important to consider the weight of the trailer but also anything else that you might be putting inside of it as well. 

The same thing holds true with towing boats with your Odyssey. You shouldn’t have any problems with fishing boats but if you are trying to pull a houseboat it will be far too heavy for your minivan to handle. 

It’s also really nice that towing a vehicle is possible with the Odyssey. Although it certainly can’t tow a large vehicle, being able to tow a compact vehicle could come in handy if you are moving cross country or just had your small car break down and need to tow it to a local shop. 

Also remember that the 3,500lb towing capacity of an Odyssey is with only two people inside. If you have a van full of people your towing capacity will drop substantially so keep that in mind. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity Vs Pickup Trucks

Everyone knows that pickup trucks are designed to haul and tow things. But with so many smaller trucks on the market today how exactly do they stack up against the Honda Odyssey? 

The Honda Odyssey can tow anywhere from half as much to even more than the smallest pickup trucks on the market. The towing capacity of the 2022 compact trucks are: 

• Nissan Frontier: 6,260lbs to 6,720lbs
• Honda Ridgeline: 5,000lbs
• Ford Ranger: 7,500lbs
• Chevy Colorado: 3,500lbs to 7,700lbs 
• Ford Maverick: 2,000lbs to 4,000lbs
• Toyota Tacoma: 3,500lbs to 6,800lbs

Exactly how much these compact pickup trucks can tow depends on how they are equipped, which size engine that they have, whether they have a towing package on them, and more. That is why there is such a large range with the different towing capacity listed above. 

However, the really surprising pickup truck is the Ford Maverick in that even at the top of its towing range it can barely tow more than the Honda Odyssey can! Even the Toyota Tacoma has the same towing capacity (3,500lbs) on the low end as the Honda Odyssey does! 

Crazy, right?  

Let’s now compare the Odyssey to other similar sized vehicles that you might also be considering purchasing. That way you know exactly how much the Odyssey’s competition can tow as well. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity vs Honda Pilot

If you have looked at the amazing vehicles that Honda has to offer you have likely looked at both the Honda Odyssey and the Honda Pilot. But what about when it comes to towing? How does the Honda Pilot compare to the Honda Odyssey? 

The Honda Pilot 2WD and Honda Odyssey both tow the same amount at 3,500lbs each. However, if you get the Honda Pilot with AWD it can tow 5,000lbs. So if you are looking to tow more weight then you will want to go with the AWD Honda Pilot. 

However, just because the AWD Honda Pilot can tow more than the Honda Odyssey that doesn’t mean that it is the best choice for you. The 2022 Honda Pilot Sport with the AWD upgrade has an MSRP of $40,080 (before taxes and fees) while the 2023 Honda Odyssey has an MSRP of $37,340 (without fees) for their cheapest model. 

So essentially getting that extra 1,500lbs of towing power in the Pilot will cost you about $3,000 extra (since you have to upgrade to the AWD model). 

That’s just one more thing to consider when you are looking at a vehicle that can tow. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity Vs Honda Ridgeline

Another option that you might be considering when looking to tow a decent amount of weight is the Honda Ridgeline. But how does it compare with the Odyssey when it comes to towing capabilities? 

The Honda Ridgeline can tow 5,000lbs whereas the Honda Odyssey can only tow 3,500lbs. That means the Honda Ridgeline can tow 42% more than the Honda Odyssey can. 

The main issue with the Ridgeline when compared to the Odyssey is that the Ridgeline can only fit 5 people while the Odyssey can seat 8. Of course when you have both the Ridgeline or the Odyssey fully loaded the towing capacity decreases significantly. 

Still if sometimes you need to pull a camper, a boat, or a travel trailer and other times you need to haul around 8 people, the Odyssey is the only one that can actually handle doing both of them. 

So if you are looking to tow a wide variety of smaller things while also being able to fit a lot of people in at another time then the Odyssey is the better choice. If you are always towing things and want (or need) the extra towing power but don’t need the extra passenger space, then the Ridgeline is a great choice. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity Vs Ford Explorer

Now I want to look outside the Honda line to another popular SUV and see how its towing capabilities stack up against the Honda Odyssey.  The Ford Explorer is an incredibly popular full sized SUV but how much can it tow when compared to the Odyssey? 

The Ford Explorer can tow 5,600lbs while the Ford Explorer Hybrid can tow 5,000lbs. That means the regular Ford Explorer can tow 60% more than the Honda Odyssey while the Ford Explorer Hybrid can tow 42% more than the Odyssey can. 

The Explorer can only seat 6 or 7 people so although its seating capacity is better than the Ridgeline that I mentioned above it isn’t quite as many as can fit into the Odyssey (8). 

With an MSRP of $36,760, the 2023 Ford Explorer is only a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Odyssey ($37,340) when comparing both base models. So when it comes to towing capabilities and price the Ford Explorer wins in both categories. 

However, one thing that Honda has going for it is longevity. Honda’s vehicles just seem to run and run for several hundreds of thousands of miles while many people complain about Ford’s longevity. Of course this isn’t always the case with both Ford and Honda vehicles but it is why Honda is able to charge a bit more than their competitors. 

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity Vs. Chrysler Pacifica

So I have compared the towing capacity of the Honda Odyssey to a few different vehicles now but what about comparing it to the most popular minivan on the market… the Chrysler Pacifica. How much can the Chrysler Pacifica tow? 

With the towing package the Chrysler Pacifica can handle towing 3,600lbs. If your Pacifica doesn’t have the towing package it can only tow 1,500lbs according to the manual. 

With the Odyssey being able to tow 3,500lbs and the Pacifica being able to tow 3,600lbs I would say that is close enough to be a tie in my book. Sure, technically the Pacifica can tow more but doesn’t it seem like then just changed a few tiny things to barely bump up their towing capacity so they can claim to be the “best”. 

That’s just what it seems like to me. 

The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica has an MSRP of $37,020 so in regards to price it is a virtual tie with the Odyssey as well. 

One thing that the Odyssey for sure beats the Pacifica in is seating. The Odyssey can fit one extra person (8) inside than the Pacifica can (7). But even that is a razor thin margin. 

With price, towing capacity, and interior seating a virtual tie between these two I would go for the brand that has proven most dependable over a long period of time. And that is where Honda wins hands down.

Honda Odyssey Towing Capacity Vs Toyota Sienna

The last comparison that I would like to look at is the Odyssey versus the Toyota Sienna. Both of these minivans have excellent ratings but how do they compare when it comes to towing capacity? 

The Toyota Sienna can tow up to 3,500lbs while the Honda Odyssey can tow 3,500lbs as well. So both the Sienna and the Odyssey can tow the exact same amount. 

Since both vehicles and brand are well renowned for their durability and reliability I would consider that a toss up between these two vehicles. And obviously the towing capacity is a tie as well. 

The Toyota Sienna is a bit cheaper than the Odyssey is based on their base models and MSRP. The 2023 Toyota Sienna has an MSRP of $35,385 while the 2023 Honda Odyssey’s MSRP is $37,340. So the Sienna is almost $2,000 cheaper than the Odyssey and also has the same towing capacity. 

Hmmmm, it’s looking pretty good for the Sienna. 

The 2023 Toyota Sienna also has seating capacity of 7 or 8 which is the same as the Odyssey offers. So in that category they are a tie as well. Truthfully the only difference between these two models in regards to specs and other things that might sway you is that the Sienna is slightly cheaper. 

So while both the Sienna and the Odyssey are great choices for your next minivan when it comes down to it I l personally like the cheaper price of the Sienna since both models have the same towing capabilities.