2003 HONDA PILOT Complaints

TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING WITH ONLY 115,000 MILES. HAD TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION FOR $4,000.00. I PURCHASED IT FOR RELIABILITY & THIS IS THE 4TH HONDA I'VE OWNED. LEAVES BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH. *TR

HIGHWAY DRIVING, VEHICLE SUDDENLY LURCHED FORWARD AFTER AN ENGINE HESITATION (HEARD A LOUD NOISE, PASSENGER THOUGHT THE VEHICLE HAD HIT SOMETHING...FELT UNDER PASSENGER SIDE FOOTWELL.) DROVE HOME, NEXT DAY THERE WERE PROBLEMS GETTING THE VEHICLE INTO REVERSE. AGAIN, IT LURCHED INTO REVERSE AND MADE A LOUD NOISE. IMMEDIATELY TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP WITH ONLY ONE "RACING" ENGINE NOISE AT 35MPH. DIAGNOSED WITH CODE #P0740 (TORQUE CONVERTER) REQUIRING COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT. VEHICLE IS ORIGINAL OWNER/ALL RECOMMENDED SERVICE AT CORRECT TIME INTERVALS (INCLUDING A DOUBLE TRANSMISSION SERVICE DONE AT 60,000 AND 77,000) NO PAPERWORK INDICATING 2004 RECALL SERVICE WAS DONE, HOWEVER DEALERSHIP INSISTS IT WAS COMPLETED (THEY'RE STILL LOOKING FOR PAPERWORK.) ONLY MAJOR REPAIR: $1100 REPAIR DONE 82,400 - LEAKING TRANSMISSION FLUID (REPLACED FRONT PUMP SEAL, O-RING ON CONVERTER AND REAR MAIN) NOW, 2200 MILES LATER, TRANSMISSION IS OUT AND MUST BE REPLACED. DEALERSHIP QUOTING $5200 (NOT INCLUDING LABOR), AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH HONDA THEY HAVE OFFERED TO COVER 40% OF REPAIR PRICE (NOT INCLUDING LABOR). I HAD A REASONABLE EXPECTATION THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD LAST LONGER THAN 87,000 MILES, CONSIDERING THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND SAFE DRIVING RECORD. THANKFULLY, I HAVE ALL REPAIR/SERVICE PAPERWORK AND WILL BE GOING TO BBB ARBITRATION, AS SUGGESTED IN THE HONDA WARRANTY HANDBOOK. ALSO, EXTREMELY THANKFUL THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT/INJURY/DEATH RELATED TO THIS SEVERE TRANSMISSION ISSUE (HAD I BEEN AT FULL HIGHWAY SPEED, 65MPH, THE OUTCOME MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SO POSITIVE WHEN THE VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION HESITATED AND THEN SURGED.) *TR

JUST STARTED HAVING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. 2003 PILOT EX WITH ONLY 150K MILES, JUST STARTED SLIPPING. GOING 65MPH ON THE FREEWAY AND SUDDENLY IT FEELS LIKE I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES, AND ENGINE REVS WITHOUT CHANGING SPEED, LIKE, I JUST SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. TOOK THE CAR INTO HONDA AND THEY ARE TELLING ME IT WILL COST $4500 TO GET A REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION, NOT A NEW ONE. SINCE I BOUGHT IT FROM ITS ORIGINAL OWNER I ASKED IF THE CAR WAS BROUGHT IN ON THE RECALL IN 2004. THE ORIGINAL DID NOT REMEMBER, BUT I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID YES BUT COULD NOT PROVIDE ME WITH A DATE IT HAPPENED. NOW I'M A LITTLE WORRIED. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ALONG A ROAD AT ABOUT 30 MPH, THERE WAS A VERY INTENSE LOUD VIBRATING NOISE UNDER THE FRONT CONSOLE OF OUR 2003 HONDA PILOT. IT WAS VERY INTENSE AND LOUD AND LASTED ABOUT 10 SECONDS. WE PULLED OVER AND LOOKED BUT COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING VISIBLY WRONG ON THE OUTSIDE. THEN THE NEXT MORNING, WHEN PULLING IT OUT OF OUR PARKING STALL, IT DID IT AGAIN. THE FIRST TIME, WE HAD DRIVEN IT FOR A WEEK STRAIGHT(AFTER BUYING IT) WITHOUT HEARING A PROBLEM. THEN IT HAPPENED TWICE. AFTER LOOKING THROUGH MULTIPLE FORUMS ON THIS ISSUE, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE ACURA MDX AND WITH HONDA PILOTS. IF THERE ARE SO MANY ISSUES, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A FACTORY DEFECT. *TR

BOUGHT USED 2003 HONDA PILOT IN MARCH 2009. HAD TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION IN APRIL 2009. PURCHASED A NEW TRANSMISSION FOR OVER $4,000 TO GET A 3-YR, 36,000 MILE WARRANTY. PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 2003 HONDA ACCORD (BOUGHT NEW) THAT HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY IN 2006. DIDN'T THINK ABOUT PILOT HAVING THE SAME TRANSMISSION, OR I WOULD NEVER HAVE PURCHASED THE PILOT. NOW AT 166,000 MILES MY DRIVE LIGHT IS BLINKING AGAIN, BUT OF COURSE THE WARRANTY IS OUT ON THE TRANSMISSION!! *TR

TRANSMISSION LOCKED WHEELS, SHIFTED TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT GEARS WHILE AT MODERATE SPEED (APPX 45 MPH). *TR

MY CAR IS EXPERIENCING A WEIRD SLIPPING ON THE TRANSMISSION, IT DOESNT SEEM TO CHANGE GEAR SOMETIMES. ITS ALWAYS THE 2ND GEAR GOING TO 3RD GEAR WHEN IT STARTS SLIPPING. BUT WHEN I STOP AND PULL OVER FOR A MINUTE AND DRIVE THE CAR, THE PROBLEMS GOES AWAY. ALSO THE AIRBAG WARNING TURNS ON AND OFF FOR SOME REASON. I CALLED HONDA A FEW MONTHS AGO AND ASKED IF MY CAR IS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL BUT I WAS SURPRISED THEY SAID NO. I JUST DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON WITH THIS CAR. *TR

VEHICLE ALMOST STALLED IN A BUSY INTERSECTION,CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND VEHICLE ENGINE WAS REVVING AT A HIGH RPM. HAD A FRIEND CHECK THE CODE WITH A SCANNER WHICH CAME BACK WITH CODE PO740 -TORQUE CONVERTER SOLENOID CIRCUIT. I THINK THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE MANUFACTURER. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. CALLED AMERICAN HONDA AND SAID THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THIS ISSUE AND DID NOT OFFER ANY SUGGESTIONS. DID A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND I WAS NOT THE ONLY PERSON HAVING THIS ISSUE. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH HONDA - WILL NOT BE BUYING ANY HONDA PRODUCT IN THE FUTURE. *TR

I INADVERTENTLY TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH OFF WITH THE TRANSMISSION STILL IN DRIVE, AND I WAS ABLE TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. I THEN EXITED THE CAR. THE CAR STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARD AS I WAS PASSING BEHIND IT, SO I HAD TO UNLOCK THE DOOR AND CLIMB BACK INTO THE MOVING VEHICLE AND APPLY THE BRAKE. THIS SAME FAILURE WARRANTED RECALLS FOR 2003 ACCORDS, CIVICS, AND ELEMENTS, BUT SO FAR NOT FOR PILOTS. I WONDER IF THE INTERLOCK MECHANISM IS COMMON AMONG ALL THESE DIFFERENT MODELS, AND IF SO, WHY HONDA WASN'T REQUIRED TO ISSUE A RECALL FOR THE PILOT, ALSO? THE DESIGNS MUST BE VERY SIMILAR FOR SO MANY MODELS TO BE EXPERIENCING THE SAME FAILURE. *TR

MY 2003 HONDA PILOT HAS BEEN SHUDDERING AT 35-45 MPH. I ALSO HAVE HAD THE "D" LIGHT FLASHING. I SEE THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH WAY TOO MANY PILOTS. HONDA NEEDS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THIS PROBLEM AND FIX IT! I LOVE HONDA - WE ALSO HAVE A 2004 CIVIC. HOWEVER, I AM BEGINNING TO WONDER IF OUR NEXT CAR WILL BE A HONDA. I HAVE TWO SMALL CHILDREN THAT I DRIVE DAILY IN THE PILOT, AND I AM TERRIFIED AFTER READING ALL OF THESE COMPLAINTS TO DRIVE THEM IN THIS CAR. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. *TR