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Comments
Is it worth it persisting with this car?
The dealer said starter might need replacing. It's about 600$
it needs timing belt replaced. That's another 500$
do you think the starting problem and break switch failure have anything to do with the transmission change.
Thanks
I would trade it in around its 48K mi service before it acts up again. So far we are hearing tranny problem reports from 2003 and 2004 models.
UPDATE: Received word today that Honda will be replacing the transmission with a "REMAN'd" transmission, on Honda's dime.
Can anyone else shed some info on this, please?
I'd like to be able to use your post as leverage with my dealer (Canada) if necessary.
"Transmission was slow to transition to 3rd gear while going approx. 30-35 mph. A few days later, the "D" light started flashing, but when car was turned off, it did not go on again. Took it to my mechanic thinking it was a "3rd switch" issue I had read about on car sites. My mechanic said one solenoid was cold, while another was hot. He took it to the dealer to run the codes and get a second opinion. The dealer says it needs a new transmission. My mechanic picked the car up and on the way back, it started shifting from 4th to 1st or 2nd gear on the highway. He said he almost smacked his head on the windshield it jerked so hard. This marks a very rapid decline over less than a week and after my mechanic thought the issue was not the transmission. I believe the car was part of the 2004 transmission recall which was serviced by a Honda dealer."
Question: For those who have gotten a rebuilt transmission, how long is it supposed to last? I just got a local quote in Arlington, VA for $2,450 installed w/ one year warranty. It sounds good, but I can get a low mileage used transmission for 1,000 less from an Internet site. That one has a 2 year warranty but has to be shipped and installed locally. It now seems like I have to pick the lesser of 2 evils. Any helpful comments are appreciated!
-Karen
Larry
I switched from an 01 Volvo to an 04 Honda Pilot specifically for the reason that I would not have to shell out so much money for repairs. I wanted something reliable so I bought the Pilot with 70k miles on it and then at 90k the transmission completely went out. There were no signs of it slipping but the engine light came on, so I was on the way to Honda when it just completely went out. It was towed to Honda where the mechanic quoted me 4258 for a new transmission. He did not check for discoloration in the fluid even though he was well aware of it being considered for a recall. I had it towed to another guy who looked at it said there was no jet kit installed and that it burned out due to heat damage to the second gear. Exactly the way it is supposed to burn out if it was under a recall. Now Honda is saying that it is not within the VIN recall, but my mechanic looked it and my VIN falls under the Odyssey recall which I am told is the same transmission. Any thoughts?
My original case manager would not call me back after leaving four messages so I escalated it to her supervisor. Her supervisor switched me to another case manager who was completely unreasonable. He started yelling at me and I told him I was recording the conversation and he immediately stopped and said that was against policy and hung up. I then tried to get in touch with the supervisor again but couldn’t so I left a message. I waited for three business days for her to call me back and then I called in trying to get the contact info for her supervisor which they would not give me. She called me back an hour later but nothing is resolved nor will I think it be resolved. Any advice on how to proceed or will Honda win on this one?
If that happens then maybe a lawyer can help. We own an 04 Pilot and (knock on wood) have had no issues with it. I have played the 'game" of contacting a, then b, then c..... and finally something was done years ago to fix our problem on another car which owned.
Good luck to you and from our experience, just keep playing the game, go thru the procedure and see what happens, and lastly if necessary get legal help. Hope it don't come to that.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
Any comments?
The problem only happens under part-throttle acceleration shifting from 3rd gear to 4th. It goes away immediately if I ease off the throttle, at which point the shift completes successfully.
I now have 68K miles. Luckily, I sprang for the 10-year/100,000 mile extended warranty at purchase, and I am now going to pursue this problem with a vengeance until it is fixed. This is my wife's primary vehicle and I do not wish her or my son to be stranded or hurt because of it.
(My personal car is a '63 Studebaker. This, I can fix myself. There are no computers within a thousand yards of it.)
Any luck getting an answer to the VTM-4 / transmission / rumble issue?
Thanks,
Mybing
Imagine my consternation when, only weeks later, the transmission refused to engage Drive after backing out of my driveway! I took it back to the dealer who looked at it and said that they could not duplicate the problem. One of my classmates from tech school replaced the transmission, so I know it was done correctly. I think it is a linkage problem (internal or external). Just yesterday it decided not to fully engage Drive after leaving the driveway. After shifting back to Neutral and then to Drive it worked normally. I am leaving it at the dealership tonight for appointment for tomorrow to see if it will malfunction when cold so my friend can tell me what is wrong with this thing.
This definitely the last Honda automatic transmission I will ever buy! The standards seem to be bulletproof but the automatics stink.
Recently got the erratic down/missed shift on the highway. This one happened when coming back on the gas at about 45 mph in D. My wife (yep, family car with 2 young children in the back) also reported it shifting weird. I took it for a spin and it slips/hesitates on the 1st-->2nd shift, and the RPM's really race between 2nd & 3rd. D3 is a bit more manageable than D, but it's not pretty. Sometimes there's a hard clunk when coasting to a stop and reverse tends to take a couple seconds to engage. Wife reported a flashing D once, and I pulled codes P1750, 0730 and 0780. The 1750 was related to a pressure sensor and was the cause for getting my hopes up that it wasn't shot. Changed the 3rd/4th pressure sensors hoping for the best. No dice. I even ordered the shift solenoids because I just couldn't believe a Honda tranny could go this early. I've since sidelined it having luckily just bought a back & forth to work car...another Honda! Oh, own an Acura, too...
My Pilot has approximately 112K miles. 2nd owner - Honda Certified and dealer maintained by previous owner. It also had the jet kit recall and I serviced the transmission and rear diff twice in 40K miles of owning it. This is such a kick in the junk as I battled an EGR valve problem for over a year (I have the fix on that if anyone else has the MIL, VTM-4 lights and misfire's with codes around a steady 45 mph).
She's heading to the dealer tonight for official $150 diagnosis in which I know what they are going to say: "You need a new transmission". This is merely a costly formality on the road to the Honda Customer Service Hotline for aggressive negotiations. I will also be filing the above mentioned NHTSA and BBB complaints.
This should be at class action level. Again, there's no telling how many just purchased a transmission thinking it was something they did wrong. Like many before have stated, I bought a used Honda because of the renowned reliability. I've owned my Acura for 4 years (no drivetrain issues) and just bought an Element for getting around. This is depressing for those of us buying into that legendary reliability and I do believe they were just covering their a$$es with the 04 jet kit recall.
Bummed.
I have an 03 Pilot with 65K miles on it........to date I have had no trouble, knock wood, however my Pilot was included in the 04 recall and was repaired. (not replaced).
Is everyone who is having problems had their vehicle recalled and serviced and should I expect these problems as well?
I am a bit freaked out after reading all the posts.....I did have my trans fluid replaced as part of the 45K service but not since......I suspect I need to.
My transmission and rear differential was serviced twice in 40K miles since I purchased it. It hualed my wife and 2 young children in a very local town/highway environment. The only towing I ever did was pulling the smallest trailer u-haul rents with maybe 500 lbs of luggage in the back. That only happened once and my Pilot didn't even have a trailer package until I installed it.
I guess what I'm saying is, Good Luck.
All I have to go on is the transmission recall that is listed on the Owners Link site and my records of service starting at 75K miles.
What do you guys think my chances are American Honda will pony up if I can't confirm it's service history before I owned it? Any pointers on how to attack this in general without geting laughed at?
Oh, anyone know of a resource for hunting down a used vehicles service history?
thanks in advance.
the writing is on the wall...
So, screw American Honda and score local dealership. I'll be writing Honda a nasty letter of what they consider "reliability" and "customer service" and I strongly encourage anyone with similar problems to visit the NHTSA ODI site and file a report of your failure.
Keep those receipts because I smell a class action brewing. Oh, we were two steps away from buying one of the Japanese competitors that offers a 10yr/100K mile warranty...
From reading this board, most of the problems reported are from 03-06 and not much reported for 07-08 models. Not sure if this is because the older units have higher mileage or because the transmissions have been fixed on later models.
Any comments and feedback are appreciated.
Problem is you probably won't find many, if any, 07's with 100K miles, the average failure point of 03/04's with this problem.
If you really want an MDX, I would recommend a Cert Pre-Owned. They come with extended factory warranty. You might be able to negotiate an extended powertain warranty if you voice concern about the trans and the salesman sees its the only thing blocking a sale.
I like the MDX, it is a nicer vehicle but am not in a position to spend that kind of money they are asking for them. Typically they could knock $5k off the price of used and still make a profit based on residuals, reconditioning and certification but with the new car business hurting, they are trying to make up their losses with used vehicles.
I offer this which assisted me in buying an new 08 Acura RL. I looked at the sticker prices at my local dealer, then I went to Consumer Rports and paid about $ 20 for one of their new car buying rpts.
Then I sent out emails to every dealer in the Bay Area CA. I asked them for their best price. I got a variety of prices within two days.
I remembered an old friend that was also a BMW sales manager who told me that their dealership played with about 20 % mark up.
So long story short, after haggling with the Acura sales person/his manager and threatening to walk out, my wife an I purchased a RL with tech package, sticker price $ 52000 for $ 42500 plus tax. And I realize that there are posters here who probably got a better price, however for two days of work sending out bids, and two hours "negociating", we saved SOME money.
Also my wife bought a 06 Pilot and we negociated a discounted price of $ 30000 for a EXL which had a sticker price of $ 35000 plus taxes.
When my bride of 45 years finally wants another new vehicle, and if she wanted an MDX, I would probaby sell private party her 06 Pilot and then purchase the MDX. And I will do the same procedure plan to purchase it at a discount.
I posted this to help other buyers, and I didnot puff up prices ect, and no I don't work in the industry. Good luck to all and I wish all of you well.
jensad
We don't know yet if we are going to get any help from Honda, but I can say we as a family wil be extremely disappointed if the don't take care of the problelm, and they will lose us as loyal customers. Obviously from what I've read there have been other consistent Honda Pilot transmission problems. They also have a track record with Honda Odyssey transmissions failing from 1999 - 2001 years, and Honda ended up extending the warranty's to cover their transmissions. We'll see what happens.
Private -party sale with disclosures may be the way out for me.