2003 Honda Pilot: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Jul 12, 2018 · Body · 185,000 miles · KS

The rear driver side electric door lock mechanism is jammed not allowing the door to be locked or unlocked either manually or electrically. This, I imagine, can happen with any door. Luckily, the jam is in the unlocked position allowing the door to be opened. What is not safe is that door cannot be locked leaving the car vulnerable to theft or car jacking. If the door was jammed in the locked position, this can be unsafe for passenger exit in the event of emergency (a fire or emersion in water). Any electric door lock mechanism made by any vehicle manufacturer should be designed to fail safe allowing manual locking and unlocking of the door in the event of electrical power lock mechanism failure. This is just as much a safety issue as a jammed seat belt or faulty airbag. This should be a no cost repair by manufacturer dealerships like they do with jammed seat belts or faulty airbags. At least they should be able to free up the lock mechanism without charge to customers. This needs to be seriously reviewed and addressed by the federal safety agency for safety with policy and repair procedures and practices clearly spelled out. This failure happened as a result of remote key activation of the door locks with no manual physical operation of the door itself.

Filed Feb 27, 2017 · Electrical, Suspension · CA

First, door locks automatic now have to unlock myself, along wits the outside doors.alarm button no longer works to unlock. Door handles inside have been peeling and actually cut your fingers when opening the door, I have maswing tape in them and it's ugly, finally..lights inside are going out on radio, dimming on interior also.

Filed Jun 21, 2016 · Electrical, Seats · 174,000 miles · GA

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.

Filed Mar 15, 2015 · Body · 160,000 miles · WI

Interior door handle has metallic tape coating. Tape is peeling off. 2 of my children were cut by the metal. Kids cannot open interior passenger door without being injured. They are now scared, and may be reluctant to open door in an emergency.

Filed Oct 1, 2014 · Locks · 150,000 miles · FL · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. The contact stated that the chrome plating on the door handles was peeling and causing minor injuries to the contact's fingers. The contact mentioned that all four doors were affected by the failure. The problem persisted for the past two years. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that all four handles needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Aug 26, 2014 · Electrical · MO

A couple of years ago, we had our mechanic (who worked with a locksmith) rebuild the ignition switch because our keys were failing to turn the switch, making it impossible to start the car. This repair cost us about $400. We also had new keys cut. Now the problem has resurfaced. The keys are not worn, but they are still unable to turn the switch unless they go in "just right" -- which means 15+ minutes of fiddling with the key to start the car -- and sometimes it just doesn't work at all. The locksmith will charge us another $400 to rebuild the switch again -- or we can pay $535 (plus tax) to the dealership to have them replace it. [this does not include the door locks, by the way, which would still have to be opened with the old key -- and cost another $400 to replace.] we have started leaving a key in the ignition at all times to ensure that we can use the car. Once we get it in there, we just leave it there. We drape a small towel over the steering column to hide the key, but there it stays. It's a ridiculous situation, and we are not alone. I see a lot of people complaining about this online. Why has this not been recalled?

Filed Apr 19, 2013 · Electrical, Locks · 165,000 miles · NY

This problem is extremely common on all hondas and has never been addressed. The power door lock motors consistently go bad. So far, this has happened to the driver and passenger doors on my pilot. The honda dealer is asking for $300 per door!!! This needs to be recalled asap.

Filed Aug 11, 2012 · Body · MN · 1 injury

The chrome finish on the door handles from the inside, this chrome finish is a think later of material almost like flex metal - it's very sharp and easily creates cuts in hand when opening the car doors. Approx 3 days ago, I was moving my hand as I was driving and my finger touched the pealing chrome finish creating a deep cut causing pain and bleeding. I have kids and they may get hurt by this.

Filed May 3, 2012 · Electrical, Transmission · 15,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. The contact stated the door locks would not lock and the windows sporadically failed to open and close. The contact also mentioned while driving various speeds, the transmission would shift into gear. In addition, the lights within the buttons on the dashboard stopped working and there was an electrical short in the air conditioner fan. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 120,000. Updated 05/15/12 * bf

Filed Apr 10, 2012 · Electrical, Steering · 168,000 miles · CA

Having trouble inserting key into ignition. Have to try multiple times, turning the key upside down, right side up, repetitive in & out, eventually it goes in, but afraid that eventually it will not work. Called american honda as I saw multiple complaints online, but honda said they never heard of this problem and that it's not widespread enough for them to take notice. I'm afraid that I will not be able to get the key to work, so will take it to honda dealership for repair (apparently only dealership has to fix it because new keys will need to be programmed. There are 2 different choices for cost, one to just replace the ignition and get new keys, and another choice is to also change the door locks so that the new keys will open the door.) if you're having the same problem, please log a complaint so that it becomes "widespread enough to take notice" and may be those of us who pay/paid to get this issue repaired can get a refund. Thank you!

Filed Mar 8, 2010 · Acceleration, Electrical · 120,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda pilot. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH the vehicle felt as though it was surging forward. The contact pulled over and put the vehicle into park and the RPM's started to rev-up on its own. The contact has taken the vehicle to a local mechanic for a diagnostic test. Thecontact stated the vehicle has many safety problem and thinks the manufacturer should be responsible for the repairs. The failure mileage was 120,000. Updated 05/06/10. *lj the door lock cylindeers and ignition switch was replaced. The engine and steering locked up and the vehicle would not start. The key door lock broke and had to be replaced. The heater motor failed. Updated 07/06/10.

Filed Feb 16, 2010 · Body, Driver assistance · 87,000 miles · PA · 1 injury

There are several issues: 1. The problem began with the key not fitting properly as it once did, perhaps after several attempts. When I turn the key or put the key in the ignition it won't turn to get the vehicle started. I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left and it doesn't matter. The pilot still won't start. When reading the manual, it's a push sign under the ignition but this isn't addressed in the manual. It doesn't tell you the purpose of the push sign. I've tried everything to get the key to turn and I've let others try also. And it doesn't work for anyone. The steering wheel is turned all the way to the left but the wheels are not and it won't turn to the right it all; it's locked. The vehicle won't go in neutral, so I can roll it or nothing. 2. There is knocking noise that is louder when you accelerate on the left front side perhaps it's coming from the drive-train or axle on that side, almost sounds like something is loose and may fall off. 3. The radio turns off for a few seconds randomly and it may not happen again for a while and suddenly does once again. 4. The lock and handle to the glove compartment broke off and cannot be opened. 5. The wire to control the handles for the rear seats to recline and fold down broke from within the seats. I looked inside it's the piece of plastic to hold the wire in place that broke, there needs to be a better replacement part made of steel not plastic. 6. The floor mat sticks in bunches causing the carpet to soil can be hazardous I.e. Toyota, only remedy is to replace the floor mat for the truck entirely, very, very expensive... 7. When it reaches 30mph it shakes and you can hear a loud noise like you're driving over something ridged it's scary. 8. The button for four wheel drive does not function 9. The chrome on the door handles peeled off tearing the skin causing injuries to the hand, my finger still feels tingly and numb. Please help!!!