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Good luck.
When I see the differential fluid changed at these intervals, it gives me pause for concern. Am wondering if this is a tell tale sign of future problems and even more concerned that the differential fluid changes may not be showing up in the car fax reports of all the vehicles.
Still thinking of biting the bullet and getting a new '10 Pilot but the leases stink right now. One dealer said they will get better when the new programs come out March 3 but who knows.
If anyone can comment on my concerns regarding differential fluid I would appreciate it.
Did not realize that it needed to be changed that frequently so now I look for that info on the CarFax report.
Any guess as to how much a Honda dealer would charge to change the diff fluid?
Is it every 15k? One posting said first change should be at 7500 because of the new differential, metal shavings etc and then every 30k thereafter.
Do you know if the maintenance minder system would tell me when the change is needed?
Appreciate your comments & knowledge sharing.
200 miles + and still no codes or lights indicating failure.
On the severe schedule, the first change is at 7500k, the next is at 15k, and then it is at every 15k after that. If you live in a snowy/icy climate where the VTM-4 is going to engage, it is probably advisable to lean towards the severe schedule. I have changed mine about every 20k.
Here is a link to a 2004 Pilot Owners Manual, that may help as you look at the vehicle. http://www.autoownermanuals.com/manuals.item.1675/PI0404O00160B.pdf
Honda Dealers charge about $60 to $80 to perform it in Minneapolis. If you have someone else change it STRESS and get in writing that they will only use VTM-4 fluid from Honda and not ATF fluid in it. Bad news otherwise.
I understand it is actually very easy to do yourself, but I have no desire, it's my wife's car and I'd rather spend the time with our kid. It comes in 1 gallon containers and the capacity is about 3 quarts.
Good luck with your search. Other than the transmission, it is a fine automobile. We just put 97000 on ours and really the only other stuff I had done was shocks, struts, tie rod ends and a few other suspension parts at 90k and then of course tires at about 60k.
I got very lucky through a dealership that I hadn't spend a dime at. Push through the service department up to the regional manager. If you've taken care of it, especially at their service department, they usually cut you a deal.
The new transmission is only warranteed for 36K miles which isn't something we wanted to pay $5200 for. At least now it may be worth something as a trade-in. If I would have known about this common problem, I would have traded it in last year as soon as I noticed the transmission slipping in 2nd gear (but before the engine light came on).
I will be going to my dealership today and hope that something happens that will allow me to get the car fixed, at least. Of course, I just don't have faith that I will be a repeat Honda owner. I used to only buy Toyotas but this new Honda had such rave reviews that I decided to try it. Now, I just don't see doing it again- unless the dealer works with me.
I don't know why those people at American Honda even exist. They were absolutely NO HELP. Even though they knew this vehicle had transmission problems and they knew I had the repair patch done on the car - back in 2004 - before I owned it, it took me visiting sites to be aware of the depth of this problem. Maybe now that Toyota is facing such challenges, I can get a good deal.
Hopefully, my dealer will step up and we will see....
Your Pilot was probably built in Canada or Alabama. Do you live in Hawaii?
Naively, I listened. Now, at 119K, the transmission is failing. I stopped going to that dealer for maintenance (for convenience reasons . . . they are about 15 miles further away and have worse hours). I'm hoping they will live up their word. I am hearing around $4.5K to fix with a rebuilt transmission. $2.4K for a used one (which, after reading this thread, I will go nowhere near).
What I find really strange about this is that I checked my VIN on the Honda web site to see if they had addressed the transmission recall in my car. It says they had. So, either I got a really lousy fix pre-60K or they didn't fix it post-60K.
I have the Pilot combo in my Saturn Vue. At 50K it is rumbling intermittently in driveline at 30mph, it has a grinding hum in right front axle. Of course we are completely on our own here, with Saturn gone. We bought it figuring we were safe with a Honda drivetrain...
After 20 years with Honda, I'll walk before I drive another one. I will try American again- even a Chrysler before I buy Honda. Corporate is incredibly rude and unsympathetic. Even my father who stuck with Honda because of the great treatment from his local dealer, says never again.
A few months ago during a cold weekend we could not get the car to shift below D into D3, D2, etc., and since that time the transmission will not shift past D. I have been meaning to take the car into the service department before the odometer reads 36k miles, but have not yet gotten around to it.
Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? Any thoughts appreciated.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/index.cfm
Also, the NHTSA has issued a "service bulletin" for this exact same problem for all Acura's for model years 2003-2004. To view the service bulletin, go to the following web site:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/tsbs/tsbsearch.cfm
Enter NHTSA item# 10022468 in the "quick search" box. Once you get the record, click "get summary" and you will see the exact explanation as follows:
"Torque converter shudder or vibration between 35-40 mph"
This is exactly the same problem that is so prevalent with the 2005 and on Acura MDX and Honda Pilots. Do not understand why a service bulletin has not been issued for more recent model years???????
For those who are interested, you can obtain the actual Acura/Honda Service Bulletin that addresses the Torque Convert issue and the repair instructions given to the Acura/Honda dealers if you Google:
Acura Service Bulletin 06-003 pdf
There is also a statement in the document that addresses "out of warranty vehicles" the the procedure for obtaining a "goodwill consideration" repair. It would appear that Honda/Acura was expecting a significant number of vehicles (both in warranty and out of warranty).
I have a 2005 Acrua MDX that was one year "out of warranty" and through persistence and documentation from web sites such as this one and also the 15 complaints filed with the NHSTA, I was able to get Honda/Acura to move from not covering my $2,000 repair to covering 100% of my repair.
CR seemed eager to investigate with reply e-mails almost immediately but I haven't seen any updates in their magazine or site.
It also seems that MDX owners have had more luck than Pilot owners in the area of goodwill repairs, as it should be.
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/thebesthonda/2010-02-04_181956_B06-003.pdf
The document describes the problem, how the dealer should repair and also mentions a "goodwill consideration" for vehicles that are out of warranty. I would open a case with Honda America and push this issue as far as you can up the ladder. Good luck!
Took car to dealer at 0700. They gave me a loaner. At 4 pm the called and said there is no problem that all 2011 Pilots have same shift pattern.
I think I am getting a runaround. Anyone having similar issues? Car shudders and hesitates when shifting gears between 40 and 60. I also notice a "burbling" sound from exhaust when egine is idling when I stand at rear of car