2005 HONDA PILOT Complaints

TRAVELED ~15 MILES AT HIGHWAY SPEED. EXITED HIGHWAY ONTO SECONDARY ROADS THRU A BUSY TOWN. TRAVELING APPROX 30 MPH. CAR SHUDDERED AND SPEED DROPPED TO ABOUT 10 MPH. TRANSMISSION WOULDN'T SHIFT OUT OF LOW WITH RPM APPROACHING 4000 RPM. STOPPED AT LIGHT, CAR STALLED ALL SENSOR LIGHTS CAME ON AND FLASHED. GOT IT RESTARTED, HAD TO PUT IN LOW TO MOVE...GOT IT MOVING AT ~3500 RPM, WENT A BLOCK TO GET OFF THE MAIN ROAD INTO PARKING LOT. COOLING FAN RUNNING, BUT TEMP GAUGE SHOWED NO ISSUE. PUDDLE OF BROWN FLUID FORMED UNDER PASSENGER SIDE FRONT OF ENGINE. LOOKED LIKE FLUID SPRAYED THROUGH FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF ENGINE COMPARTMENT NO INDICATION ON SENSOR LIGHTS OR TEMP GAUGE THAT ANYTHING WRONG PRIOR TO STALL AND ALL SENSOR LIGHTS CAME ON. HAD CAR TOWED TO HONDA...THEY DIAGNOSED AS 2 TRANSMISSION COOLING LINES BURST MIXING THE TRANSMISSION AND COOLING FLUID. FIX OPTIONS...1) FLUSH COOLING & TRANNY SYSTEM 5-7 TIMES, REPLACE RADIATOR, FILTER, AND LINES FOR $1600-1800 BUT WON'T KNOW IF TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACING. 2) FULL REPLACEMENT OF RADIATOR, LINES AND TRANSMISSION $3800 OR IF OPTION 1 CHOSEN AND SUBSEQUENTLY TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED IT WOULD COST THE INITIAL $1600-1800 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $4000 FOR A TOTAL OF APPROX $5800. NO INDICATOR FROM DEALER OF THE PROBLEM HISTORY FOR THIS VEHICLE. HAD PREVIOUSLY COMPLAINED ABOUT SHUDDER AND THE DEALER REPLACED A WHEEL BEARING FIRST, THEN WHEN KEPT COMPLAINING THEY REPLACED MY ROTORS SAYING THE ROTORS HAD WARPED ...AFTER BEING RESURFACED ONLY ~3600K MILES PRIOR. LEARNED LESSON....INVESTIGATE ANY PROBLEMS ON -LINE BEFORE YOU ACCEPT THE DEALER EXPLANATION. *TR

MY HUSBAND AND I NOTICE A SHUDDER WHEN YOU REACH A SPEED OF 35-40 MPH. WE IN TURN TOOK IT INTO HONDA TO HAVE IT CHECKED SEVERAL TIMES AND TO TEST DRIVE, I EVEN DROVE THE HONDA WHILE THE SERVICE MAN WAS IN THE CAR AND IT WOULD NOT SHUDDER. IT IS STILL HAVING THE SHUDDER PROBLEMS, I AM TAKING IT IN FOR THE 4TH TIME FOR SERVICE AND OIL CHANGE AND MAYBE THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CAN TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG AND WHY IT SHUDDERS. FROM RESEARCH WE HAVE FOUND OUT THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONLY HONDA PILOT OWNERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. THERE ARE 98 TOTAL DISCUSSIONS ON THIS WEBSITE ( HTTP://WWW.EDMUNDS.COM/HONDA/PILOT/2005/CONSUMER-DISCUSSIONS.HTML) DISCUSSING THE SAME PROBLEMS WE ARE HAVING, I TRULY HOPE THAT HONDA IS GOING TO STAND GOOD ON TAKING CARE OF THIS PROBLEM OR WE WILL NO LONGER PURCHASE ANOTHER HONDA. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT IT IS THE TORQUE CONVERTER. *TR

THERE IS AN OBVIOUS SHUDDER WHEN MY HONDA PILOT REACHES 35-40 MPH, I HAVE 107,000 MILES ON THE PILOT. WE JUST STARTED FEELING THE SHUDDER SO I DECIDED TO GO ONLINE TO SEE WHAT COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE THIS BEFORE I SHELL OUT TONS OF CASH ON A BUNCH OF "WELL THIS SHOULD FIX IT" AND IT DOESN'T. I BINGED "MY 2005 HONDA PILOT IS SHAKING WHEN I DRIVE" AND ABOUT THE 5TH SITE DOWN I FOUND A SITE THAT CONTAINED COMPLAINTS ABOUT MY ISSUE ONLY THEY CALLED IT A SHUDDER, NOW I'M TERRIFIED BECAUSE THE INDIVIDUALS ON THIS SITE HAVE HAD COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND I NOW KNOW THAT THE LITTLE SHUDDER THAT I FEEL IS THE ONLY WARNING AND I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE AND I CAN GET A REBUILT TRANSMISSION BUT THAT IS DOOMED TO FAIL ALSO. HONDA IS IN DENIAL ABOUT THE SITUATION EVEN THOUGH SEVERAL HAVE CALLED AND ASKED FOR ASSISTANCE WITH REPAIRS AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT HOW MUCH THE REPAIRS ARE AND HOW PEOPLE ARE PLACED IN DANGER BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE, I AM AFRAID TO LET MY NEWLY LICENSED 16 AND 17 YR OLD DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE DRIVERS EDUCATION DIDN'T TEACH THEM HOW TO HANDLE TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND I DON'T WANT THEM HURTING THEMSELVES OR ANYONE ELSE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT REQUIRES A NEW TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT, NOT A PATCH OR CODE OR A REBUILD THAT'S GOING TO BREAKDOWN AFTER A FEW TEN THOUSAND MILES. CLEARLY THIS IS A PROBLEM AND SOME INVESTIGATING ON BEHALF OF THE CONSUMER NEEDS TO BE DONE TO KEEP US SAFE. *TR

THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE CAR VIOLENTLY JERKED FORWARD 3 TIMES AND CAME TO A COMPLETE SUDDEN STOP ON THE INTERSTATE. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS FOLLOWING TOO CLOSE OR WE WOULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED. MY FOOT WAS ON THE ACCELERATOR MAINTAINING A STEADY SPEED, AND IT WAS LIKE I STOMPED ON THE BREAK RAPIDLY THREE TIMES AND THEN THE CAR CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP AND THEY COULD NOT REPEAT THE ISSUE BUT SAID THAT THE BATTERY WASN'T PUTTING OUT THE PROPER AMOUNT OF AMPS AND WAS LIKELY RESULTING IN THE COMPUTER SENDING FAULTY MESSAGES. THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY. THE CAR SEEMED TO BE FIXED WHEN THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED, BUT THEN THE ISSUE RECURRED ABOUT TWO MONTHS LATER AT THE END OF FEBRUARY 2012. WHILE ACCELERATING AT ABOUT 30 MPH, THE CAR VIOLENTLY CAME TO A SUDDEN STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. AGAIN, WE WERE LUCKY TO NOT BE NOT REAR ENDED. WE TOOK THE CAR TO ANOTHER AUTO SHOP, BUT THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. THEY ASSESSED THE COMPUTER AND NOTED A FAULTY EGR VALVE AND REPLACED IT. THE CAR DROVE FINE FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT, THEN THE ISSUE RECURRED FOR A THIRD TIME, AGAIN AT ABOUT 30 MPH. THE SAME THING OCCURRED; THE CAR CAME TO A SUDDEN STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AFTER THE SENSATION OF STOMPING ON THE BREAKS SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP AGAIN, AND THEY CAN'T RECREATE THE PROBLEM. THEIR ASSESSMENT IS LEADING THEM TO BELIEVE THERE IS A FAULTY ABS SWITCH OR BRAKE BOOSTER. AFTER SEVERAL FAILED REPAIR ATTEMPTS, WE AREN'T CONFIDENT THAT ANYONE KNOWS WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. HOWEVER, IF YOU READ THE FORUMS ONLINE, THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED BY DOZENS OF PEOPLE WITH MY YEAR, MAKE/MODEL AND AT THE APPROXIMATE MILEAGE AS MY CAR. IF WE CONTINUE DRIVING THE CAR, WE ARE SCARED WE MAY INJURE OURSELVES OR OTHERS. *TR

2005 HONDA PILOT --- 60,000 MILES -- GARAGE KEPT. INTERNAL TRANSMISSION HOSE INSIDE RADIATOR BURST WHILE SITTING IN MY GARAGE ALLOWING TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR COOLANT TO MIX AND LEAK. NUMEROUS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED SAME ISSUE WITH SAME VEHICLE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE. RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *TR

DRIVING ALONG AND CLOSE TO HOME FELT A POP AND NOTED THE TEMP GAUGE IN HOT RANGE OF MY 2005 HONDA PILOT. I HAVE 77,565 MILES ON IT. IN MY DRIVEWAY NOTED A GRAY LIQUID UNDER FRONT RIGHT SIDE OF VEHICLE. ON INSPECTING IN ENGINE AREA NOTED THE GRAY LIQUID OVERFLOWING FROM RAD OVERFLOW CONTAINER. OIL LEVEL OK BUT NOTED NO TRANNY FLUID IN IT. TOWED TO SERVICE STATION. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION COOLER LOCATED IN THE RADIATOR HAD FAILED, MIXING UP THE FLUIDS. TOTAL COST $1900 WITH MULTI FLUSH. I HAD COVERAGE OF TRANSMISSION IN EFFECT BUT HONDA SAID NOT PART OF TRANSMISSION. I HAVE ATTORNEY NOW WORKING ON THIS CASE FOR ME. THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN SHIFTING POORLY BEFORE AND NOW WORSE. TOOK TO HONDA DEALER TO CHECK OUT. THEY SAID NO PROBLEM THAT THEY NOTICED. WITH ONLY A FEW WEEKS LEFT ON THE WARRANTY I TOOK IT TO A PROFESSIONAL TRANNY CENTER AND PAID $50 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE REPORT NOTED AN INTERNAL FAILED IN THE TRANSMISSION AND A NEED TO REPLACE OR REBUILD UNIT. BACK TO THE HONDA DEALER WITH THE REPORT. THEY LOOKED MORE CLOSELY AND AGREED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACEMENT. UNDER HONDA CARE THEY REPLACED WITH A REBUILT UNIT. MY CASE WITH HONDA PAYING ME BACK FOR THE INITIAL REPAIR IS STILL BEING HANDLED BY MY ATTORNEY. I FEEL THAT THE TRANSMISSION COOLER IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE TRANSMISSION UNIT. NO ONE AT HONDA IS ABLE TO TELL ME IF MY REBUILT IS UNDER ANY KIND OF EXTENDED COVERAGE. STILL WAITING TO HEAR FROM THE DEALER. *TR

I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE A SLIGHT SHUDDER WHEN VEHICLE SPEED REACHED 35 MPH. NOT SURE CAUSE AT THE TIME SO HAD TIRES AND WHEELS CHECKED AND HAD MECHANIC TRY AND REPLICATE. NO INDICATION OF A PROBLEM WAS NOTED AND FREQUENCY AT FIRST WAS OCCASIONAL BUT BEGAN TO INCREASE IN FREQUENCY AND DURATION. PROBLEM HAS BECOME WORSE BUT ALWAYS BETWEEN 35-45 MPH AND DISAPPEARS AS SPEED INCREASES. I HAVE CONTACTED DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THERE HAD NOT BEEN ANY UNUSUAL INCREASE IN PROBLEMS LIKE THIS AND WOULD HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT. ALSO INFORMED NO EXISTING RECALLS OR NOTICES WERE ON FILE. CONTACTED MY TRANSMISSION SERVICE REP. AND WAS INFORMED THE TRANSMISSION WAS VERY LIKELY FAILING AND WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO BE REPLACED. HIS ESTIMATE TO REPLACE $4000-$4500 ! 55,000 MILES ON VEHICLE?????? *TR

OUR 2005 HONDA PILOT HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD FOR LAST SEVEN YEARS AND 132,000 MILES, ALTHOUGH WE WANTED TO KEEP IT TO 200,000 MILES. LAST SATURDAY, OUT OF NOWHERE, IT STARTED TO LEAK THICK, PINK LIQUID ON OUR DRIVEWAY. IT APPEARED TO ME, AND AFTER LOOKING AT THE OWNER'S MANUAL, THAT THE ISSUE WAS THE RADIATOR. IT WAS A COLD DAY SO I STARTED TO DRIVE TO THE DEALER, WATCHING THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE LIGHT ON THE WAY. THE CAR ONLY WENT TWO MILES BEFORE TRANSMISSION STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR HAS NOW BEEN AT A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP FOR A WEEK AND THREE DAYS WHILE I RENT ANOTHER VEHICLE. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE IN PILOT'S AFTER GOING OVER 100,000 MILES (CATASTROPHIC RADIATOR FAILURE THAT LEADS TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE). HONDA SHOULD MAKE CERTAIN THAT OWNERS REPLACE THE RADIATOR COMPONENTS THAT LEAD TO THIS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE BEFORE THE OWNER HAS TO REPLACE BOTH THE RADIATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION. I WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY BOUGHT A NEW CAR IF I HAD KNOWN THIS WAS COMING UP ON THE HORIZON, BUT NOW MY INVESTMENT IN THIS VEHICLE WILL BE TOO HIGH TO GET RID OF IT. IT SEEMS THAT WITH SOME PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, $5000 TO $7000 OF REPAIRS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, AND I BET THE HONDA DEALER DOES NOT OFFER ME $5K TO $7K IN TRADE IN. *TR

INTERMITTENT VIBRATION IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE WHEN ACCELERATING, AT ABOUT 30-35 MPH. SOMETIMES JUST SLIGHTLY NOTICEABLE AND SOMETIMES SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH SO THAT THE ENTIRE VEHICLE VIBRATES FOR A FEW SECONDS. WE JUST PURCHASED IT USED YESTERDAY AND DID NOT NOTICE THE VIBRATIONS WHILE TEST DRIVING IT. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY BRAKE TO ABOUT 10 MPH. THERE WAS A VIBRATION IN THE FRONT END LIKE THE ABS SYSTEM WAS WORKING--EVEN WITH THE FOOT ON THE THROTTLE. DROVE ABOUT 2 BLOCKS TO A PARKING LOT. VSA AND TRIANGLE WITH "!" WAS ON DISPLAY. STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF. AFTER 5 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED AND DRIVEN BACK HOME. THERE WERE NO DISPLAY LIGHTS OR SUDDEN BRAKING. THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE WAS NOW 35 MPH. AFTER DRIVING FOR 10 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY BRAKED AGAIN AND DECELERATED TO ABOUT 10 MPH.THE VSA AND TRIANGLE W/"!" DISPLAY LIGHTS REAPPEARED. THERE WAS A GROANING SOUND COMING FROM THE CAR AND THE VIBRATION RETURNED. THE MORE THE THROTTLE WAS PUSHED, THE MORE THE BRAKING EFFECT INCREASED. THE VEHICLE FINALLY MADE IT BACK TO MY HOME. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AT HOME WHERE IT WAS LATER TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY. *TR