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Summary

How do you get to the battery on a 2012 Honda Odyssey, given that it is blocked by some type of intake tube**?

**Edit: this used to say exhaust but I changed it to intake tube, given the answers, below.

Details

We have a new 2012 Honda Odyssey and our old car battery just died. So I'm trying to give it a jump but the Odyssey's battery is blocked by something that I can't remove.

Does anyone know how to remove these fastener/screw things (at the bottom of the picture below)? I've tried turning them as well as prying them with a butter knife. The red terminal is accessible but the black one is completely blocked by this thing. I need to get to both to jump my car.

Battery blocked by something I cannot get off

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    You can also attach the ground (negative) to the engine block for jump starting.
    – Tim
    Commented Nov 12, 2012 at 14:21
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    I'm pretty sure that, unless there's something special about Honda Odysseys, it doesn't require both battery terminals actually. When I say I'm "pretty sure" I mean I have done this multiple times with my BMW, where the battery is in the boot.
    – Sam Jones
    Commented Nov 12, 2012 at 16:44
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    I'm with @SamJones. It is conventional to connect the "good" battery at both terminals, and it definitely helps avoid connection problems, but you should be able to use any suitable grounding point on the "good" car in place of the battery negative post. That's what I'd try first if my car looked like yours.
    – mac
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 19:26
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    Have you tried looking around for a remote "black terminal", or another location specially labeled to show that it's intended to be used as the negative post in a jump start? Of course, there's always the friendly manual.
    – Iszi
    Commented Nov 15, 2012 at 21:42
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    @Iszi: There is indeed an auxiliary negative (ground) terminal lug nut in the engine chassis for this purpose.
    – Cᴏʀʏ
    Commented Nov 30, 2012 at 14:41

2 Answers 2

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You should be able to sneak a clamp on to the positive terminal, and there's an auxiliary negative (ground) terminal lug nut to clamp onto right in front of the coolant fill tube and power steering fluid reservoir.

odysseybattery

Otherwise if you really want more room, you need to remove the intake tube (nothing to do with exhaust) by disconnecting it at the rubber snorkel attached to the throttle body. Loosen any hose clamps on it, and use some force to pry it loose the first time. It might be stubborn, but just keep wiggling!

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    @BobCross: Found the picture on a forum somewhere, so can't take full credit for that :)
    – Cᴏʀʏ
    Commented Nov 30, 2012 at 19:14
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    Looks like I don't have enough reputation to upvote :) I just want to confirm that this solution works. Today I jump-started an old Lexus (with dead battery) using a Honda Odyssey 2014 (with good battery). You can use the +ve of the (good) battery and the (-ve) bolt (Shown in picture) on the car's body.
    – gameboy
    Commented Apr 20, 2016 at 16:29
  • see also How to Jumpstart a 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey (tutorial with videos) and How to jumpstart a Honda Odyssey (short video with reference to the ground screw)
    – Ricardo
    Commented Jul 12, 2019 at 2:00
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To answer the actual question of "how to remove these fastener/screw things": Use a flat head screwdriver to pop out the inner, smaller circle thing. Once that is done, you can use your fingers to pick up the outer circle thing. Then grab hold of the entire air intake box and wiggle it free of the rubber sleeve/seal and the entire thing will come of cleanly and give a lot of room to get at the battery. Good Luck.

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2
  • On our 2013 Odyssey these plastic bolts look different. They're in the same locations on the air intake, but they have a philips head. If you try to loosen them with a philips screwdriver they loosen to a point that they just turn but they won't come loose. Any idea on how to remove these to get to the battery?
    – Kevin Hooke
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 6:13
  • Here is a video showing the fastener removal: youtu.be/0QDHOplrGsc?t=106
    – buzz3791
    Commented Aug 22, 2019 at 15:37

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