This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
On 9-9-15, our 2005 Honda Pilot abruptly stopped on emerald parkway - police assisted. Leaking fluid was clumpy red/brown and vehicle hot. Shop today says radiator and transmission and possibly engine need replaced and instructed us to contact a Honda dealer. This is our second safety complaint on this vehicle - 1st was dangerous "phantom braking" or inadvertant application on brakes in 2012, which Honda subsequently recalled in 2013. After reading thru complaints, I see the exact same problem - transmission line in radiator suddenly came loose and transmission fluid leaked into radiator and coolant leaked into transmission, ruining both has occurred numerous times. We anticipate a very expensive repair.... we are thankful this did not occur on the highway, during rush hour or with any of our 3 kids in the vehicle, and are angered at Honda's failure to recall this as well - as some said they did for 2003 and 2004 models?
After coming home from work I noticed a drip line in the driveway. When I turned around I saw a pool of milky red liquid under the passenger side engine compartment. After opening the hood I saw that the coolant overflow bottle was in fact overflowing with this milky red liquid. After having the vehicle towed to the service station I was told that the transmission cooler failed in the radiator causing the coolant to mix with transmission fluid. I was told that this a common problem in the 2005 Pilot and that now the transmission will have to be replaced or rebuilt at a cost of $2500 plus the cost of replacing the radiator and lines, total bill $3500. I am told and I have since researched that Honda is aware if this issue and has not at least warned owners that the radiator will most certainly fail, had they informed me I would have replaced the radiator before this happened. I recently came back from a 1500 mile road trip and was told that I was lucky this did not happen on the road at speeds of 70mph. I would like to see Honda held accountable for the aftermath of a known faulty part and the cost of replacing the transmission when there should have been no need.
The powertrain has a very irritating vibration when accelerating through or holding it at 35 - 40 mph. The vibration lasts about 5 seconds and has a very odd noise that happens at the exact same time. Kind of like deep base. All info I can find points to the torque converter and my mechanic says all his information points to the torque converter also.
Car shudders occasionally around speeds 30 while accelerating, the shudder lasts few seconds and stops. This could happen only once or several times if you continue to drive around speeds 30 mph. From Honda forums it looks like a common problem with same year Honda Pilot and accura rdx. Driving with such an condition shakes the driver for an unknown vehicular behaviour that may cause an accident/ fatality. It is suggested Honda Corp may be asked to put a recall for all vehicles in this manuafcture year.
Traction control system (vsa) light came on. Took to mechanic, who advised me of recall and that I should take to dealer. I took vehicle to dealer, who tells me that the car is not under the March, 2013 recall, even though my vehicle issues are the same as the issues which led to the 2013 recall.
- Seattle, WA, USA
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On our way home to NJ from a family trip to Canada we stopped for a bathroom break in the "middle of nowhere" Maine. The car hesitated to go when stepping on the gas. I managed to drive down the road, the "temp" light went on, then I pulled over. I checked the fluids....the transmission fluid was milky red. We were lucky to have cell phone service to call for a tow. I had my family, wife and two younger kids in the car. We waited for over 30 minutes for the tow truck to arrive, he had to call for Transport for my family. We managed to find a service center that was willing stay open to fix our car. The car needed a new radiator and have the transmission flushed ($800), a valve broke sending coolant into the transmission. We learned that other 2005 Pilot had the same problem of which there was a recall for this issue on the 2004 Pilot, Honda would not do anything! (as a side note, I had some seat leather replaced and the color match was that of a 2004 Pilot). Since the day of the repair the transmission is very rough/bucking while shifting gears. To date, besides routine maintenance, oil changes and small parts, I have replaced the timing belt, starter, water pump, and the radiator. To have the transmission replaced would be a very costly repair. This was our family travel car and I now will only take the car around town for fear that the transmission will go. I was not in the market for a new car but due to this situation I need to get rid of this car!
Heard a weird noise while driving home from work. When I pulled over to see what it was, tranny fluid was bubbling out of the radiator overflow. Had the transmission and radiator replaced by aul, the extended warranty co. They sent a used tranny and within a week it was shaking the whole car on the downshift at 35-40 and 60mph. Another used tranny was sent. On day one, began noticing the whole car shakes at 40-45 and 60-65mph on the upshift. I am waiting for my mechanic to be available to diagnose and request another tranny. This will be number three in three months.
When I am going in a speed range about 35 mph I get like shudder/grinding sound coming out of the bottom of the Pilot. I am getting very concern because I've driven other Pilot and they all do the same and they shouldn't be doing this noise.
My Honda Pilot 2005 shudders at about 35-50 mph speeds. The shuddering lasts for about 10-15 seconds. The shuddering goes away by either increasing or decreasing the speed. This problem has been happening for a few years. Today I am sitting at the Honda dealership and I complained about the shuddering and the Honda technician mentioned that the torque converter might be the problem. I researched on this site and there are complaints for this issue. I was wondering what could be done about it. Thanks
My wife was driving to work when suddenly she heard like a whirring sound and the car just suddenly shut down. She pulled on the side and noticed fluid was leaking underneath the front side of engine. We have the vehicle towed to dealership. Talking to the agent, they told us that transmission fluid leaked into radiator and radiator coolant/trans fluid leaked into transmission. Cost of repairs: $1130 to flush out the fluids and 5000 to fix transmission. My problem is that we're upto date with the service check-up and upset that this was not prevented from happening.
At speeds of 35-40 mph under light throttle there is a shudder. Letting my foot off the accelerator and stomping back on it sometimes helps make it go away. It seems to be worse on inclines where the throttle is under load at the described speed. There is a hill in my neighborhood that it repeats almost every trip. It almost feels like the pavement is rutted perpendicular to traffic but doesn't happen in other cars. It also returns around 70-75 mph. I thought it was out of balance of tires but I have had an alignment done and asked the mechanic to look into the suspension to see if there was any play. He said there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I have also taken it to a local repair shop which I trust and they drove it, inspected it from underneath and they too couldn't figure out the problem and chalked it up to out of balance tires. My Pilot has been through 3 sets of tires since I've had it and the problem is exactly the same with every set of tires. I have used Bridgestone, yokohama, and kumho tires trying to rule out brands.
This is a 2005 Honda Pilot we bought in 2009. The dealer called me to say that the radiator burst and the antifreeze got mixed in with the transmission fluid causing the transmission to fail. He is now quoting a $5,000 bill to replace the radiator and the transmission.
The contact owns a 2005 Honda Pilot. While driving approximately 45 mph, the front end of the vehicle vibrated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,000.
The transmission line that goes into the radiator was dislodged and all the transmission fluid leaked out as well as coolant. The car had been driven about 4 miles and was parked at the time of the incident. There was no visible damage to the transmission line or the radiator but both had to be replaced according to the Honda dealer.the cost of replacement was $641.55 and none of this was covered by Honda. We believe that this is a serious defect in the Honda Pilot and is a major problem in both the Honda Pilot and Odyssey van. This connection was not damaged and simply let loose. It has occurred in many other vehicles at different amounts of mileage from my vehicle. This connection should never come loose under normal driving conditions and is a serious defect with significant safety concerns. The repair person at the dealer told me that they are seeing a lot of these problems and that the line simply blows out under the pressure from inside the radiator (he said about 110 psi) Honda should be held responsible for this defect and all Honda Pilot and Odyssey vans should be recalled and the defect corrected before serious injuries occur. We believe you should investigate this further and have Honda take corrective action. As I investigated this I determined that in some cases the coolant and radiator fluid mix together and cause serious damage to the transmission. This is caused by the same problem but the repair cost go into the thousands $ because of the damage to the transmission.
I was driving my Honda RPM started going up and down vehicle started violently started to shake. I luckily made it home. The transmission fluid and coolant had mixed. I bought a new radiator, extensive transmission flush 15 qts. Now 2 months later the vehicle is shifting hard, shaking at 35-40 mph and have been informed I need a new transmission. I have read numerous comments and reports of this Honda should be notified and a recall put in place.
Vehicle shudders at 40-45 mph. Causes severe shaking that could hinder driving ability especially in slippery conditions. Lots of complaints on internet related to torque converter and motor mounts. Threats of class action suit against Honda for multiple people complaining of this ongoing problem.
I had been driving for about 15 minutes when car suddenly failed to maintain speed and slowed from 45 mph to 30-35 mph. I could not get car to accelerate, engine was audibly strained and smoke was shortly evident from under hood. I put on my emergency flashers and pulled off the road as soon as it was safe to do so. No warning lights were illuminated. Smoke ceased when I turned the engine off. Upon exiting the car I observed a heavy stream of brown oily liquid draining from hood and additional blue oily fluid following shortly thereafter. I checked the fluid levels to find totally depleted transmission fluid and rapidly diminishing engine coolant. I called my Honda dealer service dept. And was advised not to drive the car and to have it towed to the service dept. Which I did. It was determined that a hose had disconnected and the radiator would need replacement. He could offer no explanation as to what caused the problem stating it had not seen it before. Total cost: $825. Given the many internet complaints of this identical problem unreported to official agencies combined with those reported to Honda corporate and NHTSA I am unconvinced that all Honda dealerships are unaware of this issue. I am, however, totally convinced that serious injury or death would have resulted had I been driving on a crowded highway at 70 mph when this hose disconnected causing an instantaneous loss of speed with impending engine failure. I am equally convinced that Honda Corp. Is negligent in not admitting this to be a manufacturing defect worthy of a voluntary recall and financial reimbursement to it's customers. NHTSA is negligent in it's lack of attention to the serious nature of this problem and failure to mandate a recall.
I have been having problems with my transmission since I financed it in 2009. I was driving and the D would constantly flash. I took it back to the dealership and they informed me they put to much fluid in the transmission. A few months back I started hearing funny noises and when I go to make a U-turn the steering wheel will become locked and it will be hard to turn the wheel back. I thought I didn't have enough power steering fluid but once it was checked everything was full. Two days ago I am driving my car and go to turn and the car wouldn't move with the gear in drive. I had to cut it off and back on then it moved and kept stopping until I was able to park it. Once I went to go park it I put the gear in reverse and the car went forward now it don't move in any gear.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dublin, OH, USA