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Honda Pilot Transmission Problems

392 messages,  Last post on Mar 07, 2013 at 5:52 AM

You are in the Honda Pilot Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Pilot, Transmission, SUV

Messages Page 23 of 40

#220 of 392 Re: File Complaint on NHTSA Web Site !!!! [kpsmith999] by blackdragon1

Nov 15, 2010 (10:20 am)

Replying to: kpsmith999 (Jul 22, 2010 6:55 pm)
OMG!!!
 
I have the exact same problem and my local mechanic figured out that it could be related to the recall of the vehicles up to 2003. Now of course Honda has come back and said that it does not implact my 2004 Pilot and wanted me to take it to the dealer to have it checked out. I have the same motor mount and Torque Converter issue and they say that my tranny needs to be replaced at $4500, waiting for the Honda CS to call me back right now, but having the knowledge that this has impacted others will hopefully help me out in dealing with them.
 
Thanks fellas!

#221 of 392 Re: File Complaint on NHTSA Web Site !!!! [blackdragon1] by blackdragon1

Nov 20, 2010 (9:19 am)

Replying to: blackdragon1 (Nov 15, 2010 10:20 am)
So American Honda will cover some of my costs for replacing the tranny. The bloated estimate from the dealer is $4350 for a rebuilt tranny replacement. Honda basically wants me to pay half. Should I be excited about this? There's no arguing with the customer service guy, he's got his script down pat saying that I am out of warranty and that since it lasted 1/2 its usable life, I should be happy to pay 1/2 for it. I about wanted to reach through the phone and wring his neck. I absolutely would have bought another SUV if I had known that this thing would have issues starting at 70k. I think I could have easily purchased a domestic SUV for $3k/$4k less and gotten more miles out of it.
 
Anyone have thoughts on getting Honda to pay more for it? I wouldn't mind paying for labor, but they need to at least throw in the tranny instead of covering all their costs and just removing their 50% markup on parts and labor...

#222 of 392 2004 Pilot LX, 91,000 miles Trans shot by nj62

Nov 24, 2010 (3:32 pm)

Our carefully treated, self maintained with all maintenance schedule work done 2004 Honda Pilot LX transmission died last month at 91,000.
Dealer estimate $4,500 for a rebuilt installed!
Honda regional gave me a real hard time but after several letters and half a dozen calls to national, got a deal for $2,100. My take: They know there is a problem and will give you an at cost replacement if you make enough noise.

#223 of 392 Help-'08 Transmission Shot? by lg2207

Dec 30, 2010 (9:55 am)

Hi There-
Just called my dealer here in NJ- my '08 Pilot EX with 29K miles- wont shift from D to D3- from any position; Park or slow moving from D. Is my trans shot? I have an appt for a test ride with a tech on Monday. My shift lever does not have a button. I am out of bumper to bumper and assume this is still powertrain- hopefully they wont give me some cock and bull story or runaround. Thoughts?
Thanks,
-Larry
Lg2207

#224 of 392 Re: 2011 pilot transmission issues [floridagramps] by tim170

Jan 20, 2011 (3:05 pm)

Replying to: floridagramps (Sep 17, 2010 12:54 am)
Took my 2011 pilot in for vibration from torque converter at various speeds with eco on and off seems to be around 1.5 to 2 on the tach. 3 computer techs from cal said car is normal. "Customer is feeling torque converter lock and the cylinder cancellation at roughly the same time, causing it to be more pronounced. No repair scheduled at this time." Great so I now purchased a $30k plus car that shakes. Friend has same car and do not notice the problem. I am going to keep pursuing this issue with the dealer.

#225 of 392 hesitation on take off after park for a hour by okeedokee

Jan 30, 2011 (5:25 pm)

I have an 04 Pilot that hesitates when stepping on throttle after being in park for an hour. Engine is still warm . The Engine comes on . It tells me 02 sensors were bad and egr valve
I replaced them and still have problem. I also replaced fuel pump but same thing. Somebody suggested catalytic convertor . I have 160,000 miles on it . I bought it with 36000 on it. It does not hesitates when cold . weird ??? any thoughts. Also my vtm-4 light occasionaly comes on after hitting a bump but eventually goes out. I can`t use 4wd when this light is on. If I shut engine off and restart the light goes off and I can use 4wd again.

#226 of 392 Re: hesitation on take off after park for a hour [okeedokee] by gatdammit

Feb 14, 2011 (4:00 pm)

Replying to: okeedokee (Jan 30, 2011 5:25 pm)
I'm almost positive you have the clogged EGR port issue. This plagued me for over a year. Just replacing your EGR valve will only mask it. You have to soak the EGR port that runs from the valve up to the intake manifold, plus all the intake ports that will be completely filled with carbon. I even had to run weed eater line through the main port and spin it with my drill to break up the sludge. EGR valves are cheap so doesn't hurt replacing this.
 
try this: unplug the EGR connector. The VTM-4 and Check Engine lights will probably come on but the car will run fine. I also had misfire codes for all cylinders.
 
you can search at piloteers.org

#227 of 392 vtm-4 on 2005 pilot by wildjackle

Feb 19, 2011 (9:07 am)

my check engine light is on and the vtm-4 light comes on after a few minutes, car has 200k miles no major problem in fact no problemm i worry a little about the vtm-4 lightm had the check engine light checked at Auto zone and they showed something with the catalitic converter. any idea about this lvtm-liight? don't want car to break down on the road.

#228 of 392 Re: 2011 honda pilot ECO issue [hugh7] by chasemag

Feb 21, 2011 (8:54 am)

Replying to: hugh7 (Sep 22, 2010 9:14 pm)
We have a 2011 pilot 4wd with the same issues. We have had it to the dealer a couple of times and they basically tell us the pilots operate that way. We live in central Ontario and it is very cold here and our transmission has a definite delay between 2 and 3rd gears especially when it is cold. They tell us that Honda changed the transmission fluid to a new generation type but obviously it didn't work. We also have the issue with the eco mode when it is kicking in and out and the dealer says use an upper quality gas in the engine but that doesn't help either. We like the roominess and the style of this vehicle but we do NOT like the way it runs. We are sorry we bought this pilot and will not buy another honda.

#229 of 392 Re: File Complaint on NHTSA Web Site !!!! [blackdragon1] by blackdragon1

Feb 23, 2011 (3:08 pm)

Replying to: blackdragon1 (Nov 20, 2010 9:19 am)
Here is an update from my last post on 11/15/10. After thinking about and considering my options for a while, I decided to go ahead and take my Pilot in to get the tranny replaced, however I didn't trust the dealership closest to my place and took it to a second dealer. They said that they didn't care if the other dealer had recommended a tranny replacement, they had to check for themselves. I had to pay them another $110 to evaluate the vehicle again, and this time they said that the tranny fluid was overdue for a change and that the fluid level was also a little lower than expected so they recommended a double drain and fill with Honda fluid. I really just wanted to pay them the 2k+ and just get the tranny done, but I could not convince the new dealership to just go ahead and do it, and I didn't want to go back to the other dealer because I didn't trust them (these were the same guys who wanted me to replace the belts and brake pads and rotors on my vehicle because they weren't genuine Honda parts and wanted me to pay then an arm and a leg for them). I decided to go ahead and have the tranny fluid replaced and differential serviced, which ran me about $500.
 
I tried to replicate the vibration issue when I picked my vehicle up from the dealer and even though I tried several times, was unable to do so. On the way home from the dealer however I was able to replicate the issue after I tried really hard to basically get into 4th, then lay off the gas, bring the rpm really low and then slowly give it some gas while going up a slight incline - too much incline or too much gas and the vehicle would downshift and there were no issues, so I had to have the conditions just right. Even though this was way better than before when I could reproduce the vibration at will, I was still unhappy about being able to reproduce the vibrations and complained to the dealer. They wanted me to come back in again, but I decided to wait and see what happens.
 
Since then it has been about 3 months and I have put on 3+k of mixed driving on the vehicle. Although I think I have felt some minor tremors, I have really been unable to reproduce the major shudder and noise that I used to have before and I really feel that whatever was wrong with the vehicle before is no longer an issue now. I think that I can only attribute the issues I was having to the Pilot tranny being extremely sensitive to the type of fluid in the tranny, level of adherence to the maintenance schedule for the fluid, and possibly the level of tranny fluid in the system, it seems like once these conditions were fixed, the problems that I was having have basically gone away.
 
I love my Pilot again. It is an awesome vehicle for what I need it for. I could never see myself driving a minivan and this is and was the only vehicle that could offer the convenience of a minivan with the style of an SUV and one of the best fuel efficiencies for its class of vehicles. I don't think I will be going back to that first dealership again...

Messages Page 23 of 40

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