2005 HONDA PILOT Complaints

RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG IMPACT SENSOR FAILURE. JUST REPLACED THE LEFT FRONT ABOUT 6 WEEKS PRIOR. PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE BY HONDA, I GUESS. *TR

BRAKES WENT TO FLOOR WHEN APPLIED TO SLOW DOWN FORWARD MOTION IN DRIVEWAY/GARAGE. TOOK VEHICLE OUT FOR TEST DRIVE AND COULD NOT REPLICATE. *TR

DRIVING AT APPROX. 30-35 MPH WHEN WITHOUT WARNING I EXPERIENCED HIGH RPM'S AND THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T GO INTO GEAR. WHEN I STOPPED THE CAR AND LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD THERE WAS FLUID EVERYWHERE, EVEN DOWN THE SIDE OF THE CAR. AFTER HAVING THE PILOT TOWED TO MY LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE LINES THAT RUN THE COOLANT HAD FAILED AND TRANSMISSION FLUID ANTI FREEZE HAD MIXED TOGETHER AND WERE INTRODUCED INTO THE TRANSMISSION. THIS HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY! I HAD THE RADIATOR REPLACED AND THE TRANSMISSION FLUSHED 27 TIMES IN ORDER TO COMPLETELY CLEAR THE SYSTEMS. THIS PROCESS COST ME $1000 AND THE REPAIR SHOP TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT FAIL AS THEY HAD NO IDEA WHETHER THERE WAS INTERNAL DAMAGE OR NOT. WELL, IT DIDN'T WORK! THE TRANSMISSION IS MAKING NOISES THAT IT NEVER HAD BEFORE AND SHIFTING ALMOST AT WILL. MY DILEMMA NOW IS REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION OR REPLACE THE VEHICLE. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY ANYONE COULD ANTICIPATE THIS PROBLEM OR DO ANYTHING TO PREVENT IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY THIS WAS ENGINEERED. WHEN I BOUGHT THIS PILOT I DID SO BELIEVING THAT I WOULD BE THE ONE TO DECIDE WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO BUY A NEW VEHICLE, NOT HONDA! I HAVE OWNED 4 HONDA'S IN THE PAST BUT THIS WILL BE MY LAST. *TR

WHILE EXITING A DRIVEWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES PER HOUR THE BRAKES LOCKED WITHOUT THE DRIVER APPLYING PRESSURE. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO THE CENTER PAINTED MEDIAN WITH EXTRA GAS AND STILL UNDER UNWANTED BRAKING. ONCE THE CAR CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP FOR 30 SECONDS OR SO THE BRAKES RELEASED. THE DRIVER THEN DROVE THE VEHICLE AT A SLOW SPEED ALONG THE CURB TO OUR HOUSE WITHIN 2 MILES. IT'S NOW PARKED AS WE ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. A CALL TO METRO HONDA IN MONTCLAIR WAS OF NO ASSISTANCE. THEY SAID MY VEHICLE WAS NOT EFFECTED BY THE RECENT HONDA RECALL ON THE ISSUE. THE VSA LIGHT REMAINS ILLUMINATED AS WELL AS THE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT. *TR

THE SRS LIGHT IS ON. I KNOW THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS FOR EARLIER MODEL PILOT. I WAS WONDERING IF THIS IS POSSIBLY THE SAME RECALL AS WELL. *TR

WHILE DRIVING I WENT TO APPLY MY BRAKES TO BEGIN SLOWING DOWN, I ONLY APPLIED A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF PRESSURE WHEN A GRINDING NOISE STARTED AND LASTED ONLY A FEW SECONDS THEN A SLIGHT JERK AS IF MY CAR WAS BRAKING ON ITS OWN AND THEN A WARNING LIGHT TURNED ON (EXCLAMATION INSIDE A TRIANGLE AND THE VSA LETTERS APPEARED) THIS STAYED ON UNTIL I TURNED OFF THE CAR. THIS HAS OCCURRED NOW 4 TIMES. FORTUNATELY I ONLY HAVE TO DRIVE 5 MILES TO WORK. FIRSTLY, I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE ANY DISTANCE ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHWAY SHOULD THIS GET WORSE AND SECONDLY I HAVE GRANDKIDS THAT I TRANSPORT AND AM CONCERNED THAT I COULD POSSIBLY BE PUTTING THEIR LIVES IN JEOPARDY!! I DO HOPE THAT SOMETHING IS DONE OR A RECALL IS MADE SO THAT THIS CAN BE FIXED. *TR

THE AIRBAG/SEATBELT LIGHT CAME ON WHILE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE. THE VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN IN ANY ACCIDENTS. MANY HONDA PILOT OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. HONDA SAYS THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF THE AIRBAG DOES NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. THIS A KNOWN ISSUE HONDA SHOULD DO A RECALL. *TR

LONG STORY BUT I BELIEVE IT IS ALL RELATED. BASED ON MY UNDERSTANDING THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM AND VSA ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME SYSTEM IN A 2005 HONDA PILOT. WE WERE HAVING A "NOISE" THAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE CAUSED BY A RANDOM ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM SELF CHECK. THIS WOULD HAPPEN AT ANY SPEED AND APPEARED TO BE ACTIVATED BY ANY SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD. THIS WAS MORE OF A NUISANCE THAN ANYTHING BUT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE THE DEALERSHIP LOOK INTO IT. MORE ON THIS LATER. IN ADDITION WE ALSO HAD THE VEHICLE STABILITY ASSIST (VSA) ENGAGE ONCE AND THE RESULTS WERE A LITTLE SCARY OR VIOLENT AT BEST. THE PROBLEM OCCURRED WHEN TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH UNDER WINDY CONDITIONS. THE VSA SYSTEM ENGAGED, THE BRAKES WERE HEAVILY APPLIED, AND THE VEHICLE WAS PUT INTO A CONTROL MODE THAT PULLED THE VEHICLE LEFT AND RIGHT. WE HAD VERY LIMITED CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE WHEN ALL OF THIS WAS HAPPENING. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT AND DEACTIVATE THE VSA TO FINISH OUR TRIP. WHAT OUR DEALERSHIP FOUND WAS A CRACKED ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ON THE MAIN ENGINE WIRING HARNESS WHERE IT CONNECTS TO THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE AND VSA MODULE. THE CONNECTOR IS LOCATED UNDER THE ENGINE SHROUD IN AN AREA THAT ISN'T ACCESSIBLE DURING NORMAL OR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND WE HAVE NEVER HAD ANY SERVICE DONE ON ANYTHING IN THIS AREA. OUR GUESS IS THAT IT WAS CRACKED DURING THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION OR IT FATIGUED OVER TIME. THE HONDA TECHNICIAN THOUGHT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WAS MOISTURE ENTERING THE CONTROL MODULE VIA THE DAMAGED CONNECTOR. THIS IN TURN CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD THAT CONTROLS THE BRAKING AND VSA SYSTEM. WE STOPPED INVESTIGATING THE REPAIR AT THIS POINT BECAUSE OF COST. IT WAS OVER $2000.00 TO GET THE HARNESS AND CONTROL MODULE REPLACED. I WANTED TO SHARE THIS BECAUSE OF ALL THE RECENT NEWS ON 2005 PILOTS. *TR

THE VSA LIGHT AND WARNING LIGHT COME ON WITHIN A MINUTE OF THE FIRST MOVEMENT OF THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE LIGHT COMES ON THERE IS A LOUD CLUNK NOISE AND THE FRONT BRAKE AND STEERING LOCKS FOR A FRACTION OF A SECOND. IT HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE ON THE HIGHWAY NEARLY CAUSING ME TO BE HIT FROM BEHIND. *TR

BRAKING AND STEERING PROBLEMS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN A 11 OR 12 MONTH TIME FRAME TOOK IT TO DEALER 4 TIMES AND THEY COULD NOT GET PROBLEM TO DUPLICATE AND NO REPAIRS DONE. ACCIDENT OCCURRED DUE TO THESE PROBLEMS A MONTH AGO HONDA WILL NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF PROBLEM. *TR