CarComplaints.com Notes: Beware the 2003 Honda Pilot once the odometer reaches 100k miles, when two problem defect trends have shown up: transmission failure & ignition switch problems.
Typically a locksmith can fix the ignition switch or it can be replaced for around $700. However the transmission failure is a far more expensive problem, with the average repair cost at well over $3,000. A major transmission recall of over 1 million Honda vehicles back in 2004 dealt with transmission damage due to overheating, but 2003 Pilot transmissions have continued to fail.
The pilot had a difficult time maintaining control when braking on a downhill in wet/snowy weather. We have a fairly steep hill on our road and I would go down it slowly, less than 15 mph and have a difficult time keeping the back end behind me. It would slide out and I would have to stop braking in order to control my steering. I got new tires. I had all my brakes checked and the differential checked. I was told everything was in working order. I became afraid to drive this vehicle and my husband started driving it more. Then lo and behold he was going down a hill and tried braking when it was a bit slippery and he went off the road and totaled the vehicle (he happened to be in a road where there was a 30 foot drop on the side with trees and no guard rail). When the police brought him home, he immediately told me he now believed me that there was something wrong with that vehicle...
He was hit in the front, and drivers side and incidentally not one airbag went off...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The pilot had a difficult time maintaining control when braking on a downhill in wet/snowy weather. We have a fairly steep hill on our road and I would go down it slowly, less than 15 mph and have a difficult time keeping the back end behind me. It would slide out and I would have to stop braking in order to control my steering. I got new tires. I had all my brakes checked and the differential checked. I was told everything was in working order. I became afraid to drive this vehicle and my husband started driving it more. Then lo and behold he was going down a hill and tried braking when it was a bit slippery and he went off the road and totaled the vehicle (he happened to be in a road where there was a 30 foot drop on the side with trees and no guard rail). When the police brought him home, he immediately told me he now believed me that there was something wrong with that vehicle...
He was hit in the front, and drivers side and incidentally not one airbag went off...
- Jennifer M., Cortland, NY, US