CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012-2013 Honda Pilot have a small complaint trend of owners reporting the engine hesitates sometimes when accelerating.
While it's not a widespread trend with the Pilot, it's a little concerning because of the possibly safety ramifications. While it's certainly something to keep in mind, most Pilot owners are not experiencing this problem.
Starting about 5 years ago, I began to experience a chatter or shudder while driving. There was also a sound that I described as gusts of wind that sounded like it was happening under the driver side of the car (without any shaking of the vehicle). It put me in the mind of an obstruction of air supply, either trying to get into or out of the vehicle. On another blog, an '03 Pilot owner posted a video of the sound and it is exactly what I heard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
I took it to the Honda dealer several times and they could not elicit any such sound or vibration. Either they didn't drive it like they said they did or it simply didn't occur in their presence. I must admit that it happened infrequently at first but became increasingly worse--particularly during this last year. All sorts of lights would appear on the dash and as is common, the "D" light flashed almost incessantly. Initially, my husband insisted I must be driving on rough roads but the highway could be smooth as glass and it would still occur. My observance wasn't as detailed as other complaints I've read. For instance, one gentleman said it would happen only after reaching 35-40 mph, or another said that if he kept it in D3 until he reached 60 mph, he could then gear down to just Drive and that would solve the problem for the moment. I never was able to determine, specifically, when the rattling or wind gust sounds would happen and as a matter of fact, it seemed too random to be able to pinpoint.
Because I was required to have a vehicle that would safely take a thousand mile trip, I finally took it to a reputable auto service guy about 3 weeks ago who called me and said that he had to install a heat sensor (don't know if that is the same thing as an engine coolant temperature sensor??) before he could diagnose the problem at all but added that he was pretty sure he knew what the problem was. Four days later came the news that the transmission bushings were shot and that a new tranny would need to be ordered at a total cost of $4660.
That's my complaint and from reading blogs and other websites, this apparently is very common. With no extended warranty (after all, it is 11 years old), of course I had no recourse but to either submit to the new transmission or just drive it until it bottomed out but that just seemed so cruel.
According to tales like mine, Honda was not at all helpful nor forthcoming with any type of assistance--either monetary or informational. It was almost as if they hid their collective heads in the sand.
One more thing: your questionnaire doubted the mileage of my vehicle when this started and I'm estimating 130,000 because that was 5 years ago and it is now at about 188,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Starting about 5 years ago, I began to experience a chatter or shudder while driving. There was also a sound that I described as gusts of wind that sounded like it was happening under the driver side of the car (without any shaking of the vehicle). It put me in the mind of an obstruction of air supply, either trying to get into or out of the vehicle. On another blog, an '03 Pilot owner posted a video of the sound and it is exactly what I heard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
I took it to the Honda dealer several times and they could not elicit any such sound or vibration. Either they didn't drive it like they said they did or it simply didn't occur in their presence. I must admit that it happened infrequently at first but became increasingly worse--particularly during this last year. All sorts of lights would appear on the dash and as is common, the "D" light flashed almost incessantly. Initially, my husband insisted I must be driving on rough roads but the highway could be smooth as glass and it would still occur. My observance wasn't as detailed as other complaints I've read. For instance, one gentleman said it would happen only after reaching 35-40 mph, or another said that if he kept it in D3 until he reached 60 mph, he could then gear down to just Drive and that would solve the problem for the moment. I never was able to determine, specifically, when the rattling or wind gust sounds would happen and as a matter of fact, it seemed too random to be able to pinpoint.
Because I was required to have a vehicle that would safely take a thousand mile trip, I finally took it to a reputable auto service guy about 3 weeks ago who called me and said that he had to install a heat sensor (don't know if that is the same thing as an engine coolant temperature sensor??) before he could diagnose the problem at all but added that he was pretty sure he knew what the problem was. Four days later came the news that the transmission bushings were shot and that a new tranny would need to be ordered at a total cost of $4660.
That's my complaint and from reading blogs and other websites, this apparently is very common. With no extended warranty (after all, it is 11 years old), of course I had no recourse but to either submit to the new transmission or just drive it until it bottomed out but that just seemed so cruel.
According to tales like mine, Honda was not at all helpful nor forthcoming with any type of assistance--either monetary or informational. It was almost as if they hid their collective heads in the sand.
One more thing: your questionnaire doubted the mileage of my vehicle when this started and I'm estimating 130,000 because that was 5 years ago and it is now at about 188,000.
- sad, Morenci, MI, US