The contact owns a 2025 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, upon acceleration from a complete stop, the vehicle shifted into neutral and would not shift into drive. When the failure occurred, the contact was forced to restart the vehicle before continuing to drive. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where a diagnostic evaluation was performed; however, the vehicle was not repaired as the contact was advised that the failure was not duplicable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000.
Honda Passport won't shift problems
12 of the 1,700 owner complaints about the Honda Passport describe stuck in gear or won't shift, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2019
By model year
- 20261
- 20251
- 20231
- 20221
- 20212
- 20193
- 19991
- 19971
- 19951
Often reported together
Check engine light 2Start-stop 1Headlights 1Harsh shifting 1
What owners say
Passport 10 speed harsh shifting at low speeds. Does not shift from lower gears smoothly. Engine revs between gears. It's a hydraulyic shift flare. In addition, harsh downshifting and abrupt deceleration when lifting off the gas pedal.
Vehicle stuck in neutral at stop light, unable to turn off or move vehicle for several minutes. This has happened THREE different times.
Traveling up a hill of 5-degree incline. 20 MPH speed limit. Came to complete stop, pushed reverse button. Back over prevention camera did not activate. Did not depress gas pedal. Vehicle rolled backward 35 feet before coming to rest partially in traffic and partially in private driveway. Instrument panel indicated vehicle P for park throughout the entire event. After coming to rest: (partially in traffic) Vehicle would not shift out of park. Error messages on Instrument Panel stated: "Stop Driving When Safe. Transmission Problem. See Manual." Check Engine was not illuminated. Turned off car and back on. Same error message was still present. Gear selector buttons would not respond and vehicle remained in Park, partially stuck in traffic. Repeatedly attempted to get vehicle to shift out of park. Eventually the Battery Positive Terminal was removed and reapplied and tightened Vehicle started, error message no longer present. Vehicle shifted out of Park into Reverse. Back Over Prevention Camera activated at this time.
Was driving at highway speed on the Garden State Parkway when the vehicle went into limp mode and many errors codes appeared. Was barely able to get on the shoulder then limp to a parking lot at an exit. Car had to be towed to the dealer where it is in the process of having a rocker arm spooler valve replaced that controls the VCM in the bank one cylinders. This created an extremely unsafe condition that nearly caused me to have a high speed accident
Transmission, radio, and automatic braking system. Transmission lags when going slow. From a stop on a hill, the car did not accelerate when the gas pedal was pushed, almost causing a crash as I merged into oncoming traffic. It felt like it did not go into gear properly or was not recognizing the gears. Dealership advised it was the design of the transmission and not something they can fix. Auto brake sensors pick up cars that are not there, braking while driving. Especially noticeable on windy roads, though it has started to happen at stop lights. Radio has static and flashes white when operating with Bluetooth connection (Android product). Dealership recognizes and was able to replicate the sluggish feeling at low speeds, attempted to fix stereo (didn't work), and did not replicate the slow accelerate from a hill, but stated that there are issues with the transmission design.
We were driving at 55mph and every warning light came on. It quickly decelerated to 20mph then wouldn't shift from first gear. We were in an area where there was no places to pull over. We pulled over and the car wouldn't shift from park. We were told to let it sit 15min then try again. After 20 min the car worked normally. The computer system deletes all the errors once it sits. The dealership says there is nothing wrong. This is the 2nd time it's done it. We were told to check the battery. It's new and we do not trust this vehicle. If it does it on the freeway it would be catastrophic. Honda needs to fix this problem. The crash avoidance also says to brake at every car in the opposite lane. I purchased a code reader to try and save all the codes when the car acts up.
My 2019 Honda Passport has the fuel-saving stop-start system. At least once a day while driving, my engine will not restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or intersection. While I am waiting at the intersection, the engine cuts off and shifts to neutral and will not shift back to drive when I release the brake. It usually takes a couple of times to try to restart the car before it can be put into drive. This situation has been going on for approximately one year and there are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.
Multiple times when my car is in drive I will receive a message on the dashboard saying "Transimission Problem. See Manual" When this happen the car automatically shifts into Neutral and will not shift back into any gear other than Park unless I completely restart the car. Many other people have also had this problem, can be seen here https://www.passportforums.com/threads/major-transmission-failure.2984/ I believe there is a major issue with the transmission on some Honda Passports that is potentially fatal. I took the car in once to get it looked at and they could not find anything wrong with the car, it has happened since I took the car in to repair.
Consumer complained about electrical system and power transmission problems. When applying brakes, dash lights, headlights and brake lights went dim. When pressing on brake pedal radio cut off, and sometimes the vehicle shut off. Also, when driving at 30 MPH or above there was a transmission problem, vehicle did not shift gears. Consumer took vehicle to dealer, and couldn't find anything wrong.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Honda Passport won't shift
Which Honda Passport years have stuck in gear or won't shift problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (3 complaints), 2021 (2 complaints) and 1995 (1 complaints).
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Honda Passport?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history