Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH the brakes engaged independently without any warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the fourth year pressure switch was faulty and needed to be replaced. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The failure mileage was 79,450 and the current mileage was 88,450.
2005 Honda Pilot brakes complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 134, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While I was driving approx 40 MPH my 2005 honda pilot's brakes engaged on their own. The brakes stuck to the floor and the car jetted to the left into the median while stopping. During the event there was a loud groaning noise that was coming from the front end of the vehicle. I made my way into a gas station and turned off the vehicle. I restarted the car and proceeded home when it happened again 1/2 mile later at 30 MPH, brakes to the floor,loud groaning sound. At this point I was terrified as my 3yr daughter was in the car and we were in the middle of rush hour. The vsa light popped on after the second event.car was immediately taken to the shop where we were told by the technician who inspected and drove the vehicle that he was able to replicate the event 2x. They stated we had a problem w/the vsa or ABS system and we had to take it to the honda dealer. The technician also noted that when they hooked the car up to the computer there was a time when the ABS system was reading "no data".the car was taken to honda the next day and we were told we did not have a problem w/our ABS or vsa system. They were also unable to replicate the problem. Honda concluded that my brake pads/rotors & tires needed replaced. The original shop we took it to stated our brakes and tires were fine and would not contribute to the problem we were having. We trustedhonda and completed the repairs they requested outside of the dealership. New brakes & tires on the vehicle and we have had 4 add.'l incidents since these ?repairs? Have been made. All of the info we received from the first shop that inspected the vehicle was relayed to honda numerous times and they were adamant that we did not have a vsa or ABS problem. Clearly they were wrong. We are taking it back to the dealer next tuesday .the vehicle remains unsafe to drive and we are very displeased at how honda is handling the situation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the brakes suddenly engaged and the ABS warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 167,000.
Approximate date I put was today, but this has happened several times to my spouse within the last few years. Today is the first time I had been able to duplicate it. I just started the car, pulled out of the driveway on my way to work. About 300 yards down the road at approximately 25 miles per hour the car braked on its own twice and stopped the car. I had to get to work so I continued on. It occurred two more times on my way to work. I was never going faster than 40 miles per hour. It happened once while I was braking and two times while I was at a coast. My wife just told me that it happened again to her as recently as 3 days ago. I am concerned obviously because of the safety aspect of this. I have 3 children and god forbid this happen on the freeway or at high speeds. I have seen multiple complaints on the internet of this same occurrence with the 2005 honda pilot and they all said to file a complaint with this site.
On three hot afternoons (around 75 degrees) the car repeatedly had problems - mostly when turning. It felt like the antilock brakes went on by themselves even though my foot was not on the brake. The car quickly slowed and made grinding noises. Most of the times that it happened, the stability control warning light came on. It felt and sounded similar to the way it stops on icy roads in the winter, but the slowdown was more severe. The car seemed fine during the cooler morning hours and the problem worsened as the temperature rose. It is currently sitting at the honda dealership while the problem is being diagnosed.
My pilot has a very bad shake in the steering wheel whenever I reach speeds of 70mph. I've had three wheel balances (one road force balance), two alignments, rotors and brakes checked with no issues with those items. I've had to of the motor mounts replaced on the vehicle since I purchased it which I never had to do on any other vehicles I've ever owned. I told the honda dealer that I think honda corporation should do a recall on the motor mounts because all pilot owners are complaining about the same issues. I still have the shaking in the steering wheel and I'm afraid that I might have to replace the third motor mount to resolve the shaking in the steering wheel. This is another expense that I can't afford but it doesn't seem honda cares about their customers so I guess we have no other options since it seems we (honda owners) can't get through to honda corporation to help us!
My 2005 honda pilot brakes have automatically seized up a total of 5 times in the last year but 4 times in the last 3 weeks (may 2012). All 4 times it has happened have been at low speeds (10-20 MPH, thankfully!!!) and within 5 minutes of starting up after it has sat for an extended period of time. I have taken it into the honda dealer twice in the past three weeks (may 2012) the day after it occurred and both times they could not duplicate or find a problem. The first three times the vsa light came on but no code tripped in the computer system. The last two times it happened no dashboard indication occurred. It occurred 3 weeks ago, 1 week ago and yesterday back to back so the problem seems to be intensifying. So far, for a temporary fix, I have turned off the car and restarted it and the problem seems to stop for a while. As mentioned previously, yesterday the brakes seized up as I was driving but no dash indication came on. Because I was in the middle of an intersection, once the brakes released, I a decided to drive forward to try and get it out of the intersection only to have them seize up again about 100 meters later. I quickly turned off the car and restarted it and was able to safely return home where it sits currently.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact was driving approximately 60 MPH when the brakes engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they advised the contact that the vehicle stability assist (vsa) master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Prior to the failure, the brake switch was replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but they offered no assistance to the contact. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Traveled ~15 miles at highway speed. Exited highway onto secondary roads thru a busy town. Traveling approx 30 MPH. Car shuddered and speed dropped to about 10 MPH. Transmission wouldn't shift out of low with RPM approaching 4000 RPM. Stopped at light, car stalled all sensor lights came on and flashed. Got it restarted, had to put in low to move...got it moving at ~3500 RPM, went a block to get off the main road into parking lot. Cooling fan running, but temp gauge showed no issue. Puddle of brown fluid formed under passenger side front of engine. Looked like fluid sprayed through front passenger side of engine compartment no indication on sensor lights or temp gauge that anything wrong prior to stall and all sensor lights came on. Had car towed to honda...they diagnosed as 2 transmission cooling lines burst mixing the transmission and cooling fluid. Fix options...1) flush cooling & tranny system 5-7 times, replace radiator, filter, and lines for $1600-1800 but won't know if transmission needs replacing. 2) full replacement of radiator, lines and transmission $3800 or if option 1 chosen and subsequently transmission needs to be replaced it would cost the initial $1600-1800 plus an additional $4000 for a total of approx $5800. No indicator from dealer of the problem history for this vehicle. Had previously complained about shudder and the dealer replaced a wheel bearing first, then when kept complaining they replaced my rotors saying the rotors had warped ...after being resurfaced only ~3600k miles prior. Learned lesson....investigate any problems on -line before you accept the dealer explanation.
The first incident occurred while traveling at highway speeds. The car violently jerked forward 3 times and came to a complete sudden stop on the interstate. Luckily no one was following too close or we would have been rear ended. My foot was on the accelerator maintaining a steady speed, and it was like I stomped on the break rapidly three times and then the car came to a complete stop. We took the car to the honda dealership and they could not repeat the issue but said that the battery wasn't putting out the proper amount of amps and was likely resulting in the computer sending faulty messages. They replaced the battery. The car seemed to be fixed when the battery was replaced, but then the issue recurred about two months later at the end of february 2012. While accelerating at about 30 MPH, the car violently came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road. Again, we were lucky to not be not rear ended. We took the car to another auto shop, but they weren't able to duplicate the issue. They assessed the computer and noted a faulty egr valve and replaced it. The car drove fine for two weeks after that, then the issue recurred for a third time, again at about 30 MPH. The same thing occurred; the car came to a sudden stop in the middle of the road after the sensation of stomping on the breaks several times. The car is in the shop again, and they can't recreate the problem. Their assessment is leading them to believe there is a faulty ABS switch or brake booster. After several failed repair attempts, we aren't confident that anyone knows what the problem is. However, if you read the forums online, this is a problem that has been reported by dozens of people with my year, make/model and at the approximate mileage as my car. If we continue driving the car, we are scared we may injure ourselves or others.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated while traveling 30 MPH with the brake pedal engaged to slow down, the brakes became stuck and the vehicle started to shutter for approximately one minute. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated they could not find the problem. The failure mileage was 110,236 updated 04/10/12*lj updated 04/23/12
It was night, and my girlfriend and I just exited the freeway, we just turned onto a side street and made it 100 yards when all of the sudden it felt like my left front tire went flat or I hit something and it dragged, I immediately pulled over to inspect, and found nothing. I did notice the vsa and vsa activation indicators on, turning the car off and then on again reset the indicators. Oddly concerned we circled back to check for anything in the road, there was nothing. It happened again just a few minutes later, and the indicators came back on. It repeated itself a third time, and I drove home very worried it would happen on the freeway. Each instance was momentary and it pulled hard left each time with a load antilock brake type jarring vibration. From reading other stories I can see that this problem isn't one of a kind, and I haven't seen anyone post a fix for it.
Vehicle engaged anti-lock brakes randomly as coming to stop. Vsa light would come on and then disappear when the vehicle would start. Acceleration affected at highway speeds of 50-60 MPH and on side roads at 20-40 MPH. No indicator light when car was restarted as to issue with car. Car would lurch randomly both braking and accelerating. First dealer towed (willet honda, morrow, ga) did not find issue and sent driver on way. Car lurched randomly less than one mile drive out of the dealer service lot. Second dealer service station (ed voyles honda, marietta, ga) contacted american honda for issue. Identified as electrical system failure causing full brake failure including antilock brakes and vsa system. Total cost of repairs $1565.16. No indicator at all to indicate failures. Willet dealership should not have released vehicle to owner with safety issue.
2005 honda pilot .. Purchased used had for 2 weeks and the brakes locked up 4 times with 2 passengers in car. Occurred while tapping brakes at about 30 MPH also happened twice with out tapping brakes. Taking it back to dealership I purchased from.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact was driving approximately 30 to 35 MPH when the brakes engaged independently and then released within a few moments. The contact stated that the failure would occur sporadically and without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure but the dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 2,500 and the current mileage was 101,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. While driving approximately 15 MPH the brakes engaged involuntarily. The vehicle came to a stop for a few moments before the brakes released. The failure recurred intermittently. During the failure, the vehicle stability assist light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four times in which the vehicle stability assist was repaired. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 134,000 and the current mileage was 134,213. *VIN corrected smch
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle began making a clicking noise, suddenly stalled and the vsa light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was restarted and taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the brake sensor had failed but they could not see a blatant problem. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 105,864.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH the brakes decelerated on their own. The vehicle came to a complete stop and stalled. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Updated 12/23/11... Updated 02/17/12 *bf the consumer stated the electronic stability control system was defective, which caused the steering to fail and the brakes to apply involuntarily. Updated 04/2412 updated 05/03/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH there was a loud noise and the brakes locked. The vehicle also stopped moving while his foot was on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that they diagnosed and duplicated the problem but there was no defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 115900.
Had a honda dealership service center complete repairs on warped front brake rotors. Dealership informed me that the front motor mount is broken and collapsed and that the right rear shock is starting to leak. The vehicle has 77,606 miles and has been well taken care of and regularly serviced. After researching these issues, it appears that the motor mount and rear shock failures are not uncommon issues for 2005 honda pilots.
The brakes in my 2005 honda pilot suddenly apply themselves. Over the past 4 years, this has happened to me 3 times when I tapped the brake pedal and once just driving down the road. My wife recently had it happen once to her just after taking off from a stop sign. It happened to me while driving down the road at between 40 and 50 miles per hour. I've seen this problem reported on other web sites...one was going 60 when it happened. Two honda dealers did diagnostics and found nothing. They could not "reproduce the problem"...no surprise since it's random! The last time (incident date below) my wife was out of town had the car towed to the second dealer. (the brake pads were replace by them but we've put less than 150 miles on it since then.) I believe this is not related to the mechanics since it happens suddenly and unexpectedly under different conditions...but who knows.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. While driving 30 MPH the brakes felt soft and the pedal extended to the floor which made it difficult to stop the vehicle. He stated that the failure occurred intermittently. He took the vehicle to the dealer twice a few years ago for the brake failure. The dealer checked the brakes and could not find anything wrong. The manufacturer stated that his VIN was not included in the recall; therefore, they could not offer him any assistance. He will take the vehicle back to the dealer. The failure and the current mileages were 17,513.
2005 honda pilot brakes suddenly lock up while driving. Has occured on four occasions. Operator not touch brake pedal.
3/20/10. 2005 honda pilot ex with 110k miles. Brake pedals feel 'soft' and gradually exhibit a pedal height that gets lower (closer to the floor) before the vehicle stops. I noticed this issue a week ago, but thought it was just me being paranoid. However, it appears be increasing very slowly over time.this is the same problem as the 3/16/10 honda recall to modify the vehicle stability assist' (vsa) modulator for only 344,000 odysseys and 68,000 elements. I'm contacting the dealer on monday. Keep in mind that they replaced both my front and back breaks less than 6 months ago. The 2005 honda pilot should have been included in the 3/16/10 recall.
My wife was cruising down the highway at 50 MPH a week ago, under very good road condition, with her foot on the gas pedal, when she tried to dodge the passenger car from the next lane, her brake wasn't working properly, suddenly her car made lousy banging sound and sled 3 times in rapid toward left after toward right, and left again. Luckily no contacts was made while in devastating moment. Before heading to dealer, today snowy day, driving 10 MPH to my daughter's school dropping, it happened again as similar but not so panoramic. Barely avoid to collision with police patrol car on opposite lane.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. While driving approximately 45 MPH, she noticed that the brakes had suddenly seized and would not allow the vehicle to be moved in any direction. The dealer replaced the brake pads and rotors; however, the failure continued to occur. The current mileage was 45000 and the failure mileage was 35000.
Bt shimmy? Is this a new dance? Not!!!! Dangerous vehicle~brakes transmission? Shimmy? August 25, 2009 '05 honda pilot brakes lock up while driving. Did thorough investigation when this started in may: brakes lock up and vehicle veers and stops while going over 35-40 MPH. I am a journalist and did research. Numerous complaints: honda says they don't listen to 'websites' what about your customers honda? This was fixed for $500 back in may and happened again while three year old daughter is in the vehicle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Danger danger danger. Jack of diamonds service department in tyler texas wants to argue about it. Sales manager says I can leave it there ~ b/c he is sure nothing is wrong and will resell it!!!! Tyler, texas. Further: stranded in greenville, texas most of the day with child. Unsafe unsa unsafe. Brakes? Transmission? Shimmy? I don't know.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 honda pilot. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle slammed into brake mode and came to a complete and sudden stop. The failure continued for several minutes, causing items to be thrown from the seat onto the floor. During the failure, the vehicle stability assist warning indicator was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing, which produced a low battery voltage code and a brake sensor code. The dealer tested and replaced the battery. They also notified the manufacturer and opened a case. The failure and current mileages were less than 58,000.
Happened to me 3 times yesterday. Once while driving ~40mph the vehicle came to a sudden stop, throwing items from the seat into the floor. The first instance was brief and I drove ~2 miles before it happened again with the vsa indicator lights (caution and off) came. Manual states vsa can reset by turning car off and back on (must be a microsoft system). Drove the car to work. Later left work and went about 5 miles before the violent sudden stop event. Folks this is serious people could have been killed due to the violent nature of the car stopping. Car is at the dealer right now, they could not repeat the event , yet and claimed the computer could not read any codes. They have a call into the factory. Reference thread at www.hondapilot.org honda pilot .org > general > problems > vsa applies full brake for no reason.
2005 honda pilot ex have applied sudden brake which completely stopped the car. It happened three time in this week (2/2 - 2/4). The weather is cold after a minor snow, the road is wet or dry. But each time there were snow and salt residue on the road, when the car roll over it, then it happened. Moving speed was between 20 - 30 MPH. Since it was slow so not accident occurred, otherwise might cause an accident from behind.
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