Honda Odyssey loses nifty in-van vacuum option after supplier shuts doors
Honda said it's pulling forward the 2022 model year due to the discontinuation.
The idea of a built-in vacuum in a vehicle like the Honda Odyssey is seriously smart. But the dream is dead for those with a gaggle of kids liable to create crumby messes wherever they go. The Drive first reported Friday on Honda discontinuing what it branded the HondaVac for the 2021 Odyssey minivan, and it comes down the fact that, well, the supplier doesn't exist any longer.
Shop-Vac, the Pennsylvania company responsible for building ubiquitous machines for dirty duty, closed its doors last September, and Honda never found a supplier to take its place. The automaker confirmed the end of the HondaVac with Roadshow and said the issue led to its decision to introduce the 2022 Odyssey much earlier, sans optional vacuum.
"We pulled forward the introduction the model year 2022 Odyssey primarily due to the discontinuation of the HondaVac feature in the Odyssey Elite at the conclusion of the 2021 model year based on a supplier issue," a spokesperson said. The HondaVac was only available with the fully loaded Elite trim, but nevertheless, it was a wonderful implementation.
The timeline of events sounds rather abrupt as Shop-Vac notified hundreds of employees of its closure last September with zero notice. Honda simply never found another company to replace the parts needed for the HondaVac and it's unclear if the company plans to reintroduce the feature at a later date. But, if you did scoop up an Odyssey with the in-van vacuum, know that you have something special, dear reader.
