Problems with 2003 Honda Pilot POWER TRAIN

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that the vehicle would not immediately shift out of gear. also, while driving, the transmission indicator erroneously changed from the drive position to the drive 3 position. while the vehicle was parked in the garage with the engine idling and the transmission in the park position, the owner exited the vehicle. moments later, the vehicle erroneously began to move forward, pushed against the owner, and pinned her against a storage rack located in the garage. during the incident, the owner sustained a left leg injury that required medical treatment. the cause of the failure was not determined. a police report was filed. the manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 189,000.

The gear shifter will not gauge is stuck in one position

Takata recall i was merging onto the highway and experienced total engine power loss. rpms revved high and car lurched forward. i had already merged into 60mph traffic when my car stalled. forced the cars behind me to slam on their brakes. thankfully i was able to pull off to the side of the road and avoid having a major accident. there was no check engine light on or any other indication of failure.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. upon starting the vehicle and shifting into drive, it failed to move. in addition, while the vehicle was at a stop light or while making turns, the vehicle continued idling. the check engine indicator was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to jeff wyler honda of colerain (8950 colerain ave, cincinnati, oh 45251, 513-741-3700) where it was diagnosed that the vehicle misfired and the transmission and gasket needed to be cleaned and replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 284,469.

I just bought a 2003 honda pilot with 164,000 miles on it a few days ago and noticed the transmission wasn't shifting correctly. it seemed like it would sometimes over rev before shifting but thought nothing of it. last night i picked my grandchildren up from town and was heading back up the highway going about 55mph, all of a sudden it jerked back and downshifted to 2nd gear, luckily no one was behind or they would've hit us. i noticed the engine light came on at that time also.

03 honda pilot transmission is slipping in between gears talked to honda dont want to take care of problem even wen they hav recall on it ive seen hundreds of same exact issue all over internet with exact same problem and honda is still trying to charge fior there own recall

When driving between 30-50 mph the vehicle will shudder/judder upon light acceleration and the rpms will rev briefly. this appears to be a common issue with the torque converters among early honda pilots

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while driving 30 mph through a residential area, the vehicle failed to accelerate. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road turn, turned off the engine, restarted the vehicle, and continued driving. however, the vehicle still failed to accelerate and would not shift out of gear. the vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who stated that the transmission failed. the failure recurred three to four times. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 163,420.

In a trip to the park (20 minutes highway trip) the d indicator start blinking, park the car and turn off, turn it back on, and the light keep blinking all the way back home. it never happened before.

I am encountering the same recall issues as other 2003 pilots. transmission locks up and will not re-engage while driving. i need to turn engine off while in traffic and restart in order to get back into gear. the vin search shows no recall, but the same safety issue has caused issues when i get out and push the vehicle off the road. most of the issue happen when starting from a slow start. the engine revs but will not move, both at traffic lights, during stop and go commutes. once it goes, it has not slipped out of gear.

The transmission slips in and out of upper and lower gears involuntarily causing the driver to be propelled roughly forward and backward causing a dangerous driving situation.

I was driving on the interstate and all the sudden it seem as if the transmission locked up, the tires squeeled and dropped 20 mph almost immediately. this happened twice in a 40 mile stretch, i'm scared to drive it.

After vehicle has been driving for a little while when i accelerate from a dead stop transmission slips seems like it happens when it goes into second gear watch the tach move but no acceleration so i know it's slipping. i've done the transmission flush 3 times with honda transmission fluid at $8 a quart and it seemed to help it dosent do it as much but every now and then it still slips. only on acceleration, around 20-30 miles an hour.

I drive between 20-40mph and my honda shakes and shudders for 8 seconds then goes away. any idea what can that be.

My honda pilot is having difficulty shifting gears in the city and on the highway. i will be moving in a few weeks and traveling about 40 miles on the highway everyday. a few days ago i called honda after looking up recalls and there was a transmission recall number 04v176000. i was told to take it to the honda dealer and if it is a problem with the transmission it will be replaced at no charge. i took it to the dealer and told them what honda told me and they said it is probably the torque converter. (code p0740) the supervisor was going to call honda and get back to me. i feel very frightened to travel on the highway when my check engine light is still on and having trouble with the transmission. i just can't believe that a 2003 honda pilot with only 130,000 miles would have issues with the transmission and/or torque converter !! if it is causing gears to chip or break i don't want to be driving on the highway and possibly be injured or even killed ! or causing injury to others. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while driving various speeds, the vehicle lost power. in addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. the contact was unsure about what warning lights were illuminated. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was previously repaired per nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train). the failure mileage was 150,000.

Transmission failure at 150k car became difficult to drive and was unsafe. happened quickly.

While driving on city streets in traffic and slow to 29 or 39 mph i feel a shudder or vibration. also intermittently my "d" light flashes when turn on my pilot but the maintenance light never comes on. this has been happening last 6 months. i have 160,000 miles

This goes with the complaint # 10876282, i just entered. i needed to correct my vin # by adding the number 2 in the front of the number. on the previous complaint i started the vin# with h, not 2.

When the vehicle is in motion and i have to press down on the gas to accelerate/ speed up the vehicle quickly the driver seat bounces backwards/moves and it feels like its going to come off the frame its mounted to like some bolts may be broke or something. the car locks are messed up. the both front door locks have to be unlocked with a key. the inside unlock mechanism only unlocks the driver side passenger door and the trunk. in order to unlock the passenger front and the passenger rear locks a window has to be rolled down and you have to reach in and manually unlock it and those also have to be manually locked back when you exit the vehicle. also, the passenger air unit does work. it does not blow out air even with the rear control on. the inside car lights have to be manually cut on and off and not set to come on when the door opens and closes because it runs the battery down. sometimes while driving the headlights flicker. and the power port to charge phones, etc. works but anything plugged into it gets hot real fast. all that points to electrical issues. the air bag lights kept coming on and going off. the transmission light has been flashing d and did not stop until fluid and filter was changed. so far that seems to have helped. and last but not least, the contacts in the ignition switch act defected. the key has to remain in the ignition switch and the spare key has to be used to unlock the car because if the key is removed, it does not want to go back into the switch to crank the car. the switch does not want to accept the key and turn to crank the engine once it has been removed from the switch. even trying to turn the steering wheel and pressing the brake to release the switch doesn't work. and the gear shift stick/shaft acts almost like it's not park, but it was put in park.

Had to replace water pump and belt payed for it at homda dealer then noticed it had a recall on it dealership didnt notify me of the recall. now i'm having problems with the transmition dealership said they couldn't find the problem but it also has a recall. but when i searched my vin it said no recalls were found. the transmition periodically comes out of gear if i stop quickly or 1st thing in the morning or if i go over a speed bump slowly or sometimes randomly in the middle of driving in traffic. i can switch it into 1st 2nd or 3rd and get it moving again. it hasn't happend at high speeds yet. and the the metal under the seats is all rusted. at this rate the transmition will cause me to have an accident and the seats will come off and the airbags that have also been recalled will kill us im highly dissapointed in this vehicle.

Second gear failure and shifting issues, 4th gear pressure switch failure, tc clutch failure; all resulting in seizing while driving at highway speeds, unable to shift into the next gear, unexpected shifting into a lower gear causing the vehicle to decelerate. all items were experienced while driving on the highway roads and without warning causing a safety hazard.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that the vehicle independently decelerated while driving at an unknown speed. in addition, the abs warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the two front wheel speed sensors needed to be replaced. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was confirmed that the speed sensors and the automatic transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired.the contact referenced nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train); however, the vin was not included. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 195,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while driving various speeds, the automatic transmission warning light illuminated. the contact also stated that there was transmission fluid leaking in close proximity to the transmission sensor. the contact stated that the transmission was overheated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or retrieve a fault code. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train). the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 196,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond without warning. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train). the failure mileage was 185,000.

While driving, i was stopped at a red light. when the light turned green i made a right hand turn and started to increase my speed. the rpm's increased at a very rapid rate, but the car did not shift. i was unable to accelerate my speed and there was a whirling noise in the engine. i tried manually shifting into a lower gear, but i was still unable to accelerate without the rpm's rising. i eventually had to shift into neutral three times before the car would automatically shift.

Transmission was included in recall but we were never notified. experienced catastrophic failure at 168,000 miles. lost power on the freeway going 65 mph with no warning. honda refusing to replace transmission because of the age and mileage of my car, despite the known defect in the transmission.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet pilot. the contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph and the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle stalled as the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was restarted. the contact mentioned that the check engine warning light illuminated several times. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 128,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that the transmission failed. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer in 2004 for nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train). the dealer repaired the oil cooler, but did not replace the transmission. the transmission failed and the manufacturer refused to replace it. the vehicle was never fully repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 185,000.

On may 26, 2015, i was traveling north on i-5 at 60 mph when the wheels of my car seized. at which point the car began a rigorous slide, black smoke billowed as the tread of my tires peeled off. the force of the slide eventually jammed the tires sideways causing the car to hop as it propelled forward, finally coming to a stop about a mile from the starting point. needless to say it was a horrific ride, which still causes me some stress. the car was towed to bill's tech trans where they informed me that the transmission was faulty. bill's sent the faulty transmission to the maker. at that time i was unaware of the recall on honda pilot 2003 transmissions. after hearing of the recall a couple of months later, i informed american honda of my incident. they requested receipts pertaining to the incident which i provided in full 3 times. one of the four customer service representatives had lost some or all of the paperwork that i had sent. it has been a year and a half of dealing with american honda and they continue to put me off, even closing the claim at one point; they sent a letter which stated, "we have attempted to contact you in regards to your request, but have not been successful in reaching you." i called immediately and they informed me they had closed the claim due to my lack of responding to their phone calls. i told them that both my home phone and cell phone keep logs of who calls and that they are not on either one. american honda reopened the case. since then i have been rebuffed repeatedly. about a month ago i was told someone was reviewing the case for possible reimbursement and have heard nothing since. it seems as if they do not want to honor the recall on the 2003 honda pilot transmission. is there anything you can do to help? american honda recall case no. 04263486

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while driving 30 mph, the contact discovered an abnormal grinding noise and a transmission leak. the contact pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle was inoperable for 20 minutes. the contact restarted the vehicle and took it to the dealer. it was diagnosed that the transmission and seal needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000. the vin was not available.

Driving vehicle on freeway, went to accelerate vehicle did nothing. took my foot off gas, tried again, nothing. got in slow lane, finally engaged but had to go slow on freeway. engine light comes on. next day vehicle wont shift from 3rd gear, can only go 35 mph and engine revs up. the drive light starts flashing. next day cant shift into reverse either. take to transmission shop, they say no reverse, no 3rd gear, fluid is full but smells burnt. pulled codes p0730 incorrect gear ratio and p0780 shift malfunction. recommended transmission replace. i only have 139,000 miles and don't drive it crazy. also found there was a transmission recall on this year pilot. i call honda so they can look it up, he says yes it was done to my car, but doesn't show on my carfax report? *tr

While accelerating on the gas to pick up speed the transmission slipped and hesitated to shift to a higher gear, once it did engage it then slipped and down shifted causing speed to decelerate while driving between 40-55 mph. later the d light came on the dash and the transmission continued to slip at various speeds and at times down shift. had transmission serviced and the technician reset the d dash light after driving it 3 days problem has now started to occur again and light has again come on on dash. *js

Vehicle began making a fluttering noise underneath and has continued to be problematic when driving from 35-50 mph. torque converter/transmission issue. mechanic says car unsafe to drive because transmission may lock up, causing possible loss of vehicle control. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that while driving at any speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine warning light illuminated. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter clutch solenoid valve needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 125,000.

My honda pilot shutters at 25-50 mph i had it check with my local dealer honda and it seems like its coming from transmission issue's. *tr

Anywhere between 35-50 mph i get a shudder that sounds like driving over a rumble strip on the freeway. the problem started out to where it sounded like a gush of air was flowing underneath the car for about 15 seconds, then progressed to a rumble strip noise. at that point, i had it looked at. mechanic says failed torque converter and will have to replace transmission. i have 132,000 miles on the car. haven't contacted honda as i'm the second owner and have read in many different places on the internet that honda won't acknowledge the problem. mechanic warned that the transmission will go at any time now and the car isn't safe to drive. i've decided if the transmission is going to fail at 132,000 miles, i'm not taking the chance of putting more money into it, only to fail again (several complaints about people ending up with several transmissions installed by honda with subsequent failures). i've owned three hondas. the lack of response from honda on this issue across the board means they lost me as a customer. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. while driving approximately 60 mph, the contact downshifted and the vehicle automatically shifted back into gear. the failure occurred twice. the dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 142,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that the vehicle decelerated from 65 mph to 30 mph without warning. an independent mechanic located a failure code at the transmission speed sensor. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 154,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that while driving various speeds, the transmission suddenly slipped between gears. the contact mentioned that the failure was experienced multiple times. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train). the approximate failure and current mileage was 160,000.

My honda pilot starts slipping when it changes from 3rd gear to 4 gear. now it starts shaking/jugging. with speed 60mph or 65 mph, it is very dangerous if it starts jugging because you never know how the car behind you reacts and your car will do. *tr

Loud scraping noise comes from car during cruising at around 35-40mph around 2000rpm. car seems to stutter at these speeds causing abrupt vibrations. other drivers have reported the same occurrence, many report it is from a bad torque converter. *tr

2003 honda pilot transmission started slipping in low gear after engine warmed up. whenever vehicle is going from a stop to movement, such as red lights, stop signs and traffic, vehicle doe not click into gear right away. took vehicle to honda dealer who stated transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $4100 + 12 hrs labor for installation. vehicle only has @78,00 miles on it. luckily my transmission has not seized as many others have on the highway causing grave safety concern. *tr

We purchased our 2003 honda pilot ex-l new at danbury honda on february 20, 2003. we have had ongoing issues with the "d" or drive light flashing intermittently since the car was new and had it checked at the dealer each time, with a report back that there was nothing wrong and it would go away. the dealer has done almost all of the preventative maintenance to our vehicle and we also do proactive care to our vehicle. most recently we spent a good amount of money on repairs to the transmission through honda dealerships in delray beach, florida (disaster there) and danbury, ct. we are now being told we need a new transmission, only months after putting a lot of money into the car. had we known we would be spending this kind of money (about $5k), we would have traded the car in. however, we are now caught in a financial burden with having to put a new transmission in the 2003 pilot, which we think should be part of a recall based upon all the on-line research we've done. can anyone please assist? *tr

Transmission slips when going around 30 miles. i have changed the transmission fluid multiple times. it seems like this year honda pilot has a lot of transmission issues like this. *tr

Car starts shimmering at 35 - 45 mph. had mechanic check car and said no mechanical issue. had new tires put on car. still shimmering. have similar characteristics as others on the honda web site that mentioned that the diagnosis is a bad torque converter. strong shimmer at 35 - 45 mph intermittent problem. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. the contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 04v176000 (power train) but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure and current mileage was 113,805. *tr

This is a 2003 honda pilot that i had never had any problems until i had to travel almost 2 hours--one way--for my job. on the way home of my 4 hour trip my pilot like got hot and then just stopped pulling. honda of richmond kentucky put one transmission in already, buy the 2nd or 3rd oil change after the transmission was replaced, we had to have it replaced again. not its about 1 thousand miles from another oil change and the transmission is slipping again. help what do i do?? *tr

We bought a 2003 honda pilot in 2006. 3 months ago we found out it had been recalled in 2004 for the powertrain. that apparently was fixed at that time. in april, we had an issue with the rpms showing 3000 while we were driving only 35 mph. we took it to the dealer who informed us that the powertrain needed to be replaced. this cost us over $6,000 to replace including over $700 to lease a car. american honda said that the warranty had run out and that it was a high mileage vehicle and they would not cover the cost of the repair. our question is why would the powertrain have to be replaced a second time within a 9 year period. the 109,000 miles on the vehicle is within if not lower than the national average. granted, a 10 year old vehicle will probably not still be under warranty. however, if the powertrain was fixed under the recall in 2004, should it need to be replaced again? *tr

While driving at 40-45 mph with shift lever in "d" the vehicle began to shift down a gear very hard and then back into the previous gear. it does this repeatedly. was told by a honda dealer repair shop that the transmission needs to be replaced. the car has been well maintained. the transmission on a vehicle like this with 160k miles should not be failing. *tr