When driving 30-50mph my 2005 honda pilot shudder/vibrates as if I'm driving on a rumble strip. I bought my pilot at 113,000 in 2017 and I noticed the issue first at about 120,000 miles. I now have 134,000 miles and the research I'm doing on this issue suggests there is a major defect with honda/acura transmission and or torque converters. What can I do at this point?
2005 Honda Pilot: shudder or vibration when accelerating
67 of the 679 complaints about the 2005 Honda Pilot describe shudder or vibration when accelerating.
- owner complaints
- 67
- of this car's complaints
- 10%
- typical repair cost reported
- $5,000
- typical mileage
- 90,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 4 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Shudder or vibration when accelerating by model year
What owners say
While driving normally in any condition the vehicle without any warning will make a bang noise, shudder and brake without applying the brakes. The vsa light comes on and the vehicle will not function correctly until after the car is turned off and restarted. This has happened many times. The vsa recall was done yet the vehicle continues to have the same issues.
2005 honda pilot, when cruising between 35-45 miles car shudders/vibrate never fixed since I bought this vehicle.
At 105,000 miles I took my 2005 honda pilot for some preventative maintenance-oil change, transmission service, and an air bag recall. The mechanic noted that the vehicle shuddered on his test drive. Now the d light is blinking and the vehicle does shudder between 35-50 MPH. The service writer alex schenbeck at dick's honda in hillsboro said he didn't notice the mechanics note and had no idea what this could be. After doing some research this is a very common problem. Acura issued a recall on the mdx for the exact same problem caused by a design flaw in the torque converter. On the federal safety agency website there have been 208 complaints on the 2004-2005 honda pilot transmission and 66 complaints on the torque converter specifically. I will be contacting honda north america to see if they are interested in helping a loyal honda customer or losing my business for life.
When the vehicle gets to about 30 MPH you feel a shudder in the transmission. After momentarily losing inertia, the vehicle is able to increase speed and continue without hesitation. I've had the dealer check it and they think it may be a faulty torque converter. This has been ongoing for a number of years.
At speeds up to approximately 35 MPH, the car randomly has a shudder or vibration. It is not felt in the steering but in the body of the car. When accelerator is pushed harder or if the gear selector is moved to d3 the shudder stops. This occurred from 60k mile when purchased to now at 170k miles. Dealer can't identify the problem but recommends a new torque converter. Honda america will not do anything because of the age. I've seen numerous complaints with the same symptoms. Honda is ignoring that this problem exists. It point to transmission issues. Tires have been replaced, rotated, rebalanced, realigned and it had no effect on the problem.
When I slow down from going higher then 40 miles per hour my pilot shudders between 35 and 40. It quits at about 35 but it started happening a year ago and does it every time I drive now. I have read on line of other pilots doing the same thing. Seems tome this is a recall issue as well as a safety one if my transmission quits because of defective torque converter as a dealer once told me. I don't want to pay the costs of a new transmission when it sounds like a defect. I am getting airbag recall fixed this week I plan to ask about this problem. Thank you, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
While driving on the road at speeds betweeb 35-40 miles per hour the car begins to shudder intermitently. Also when driving between speeds of 75 to 80 miles per hour the same shudding occurs. I first thought may be it was the tires, but I purchased the vehicle with 85000miles on it with brand new tires. After several occurrences I took it back to the dealer for service. The service dept informed that it was the torque converter needed to be replaced and my 30 warranty had expired. After researching this I found out this problem exist with many pilot owners but no recall was done.
Car shudders occasionally around speeds 30 while accelerating, the shudder lasts few seconds and stops. This could happen only once or several times if you continue to drive around speeds 30 MPH. From honda forums it looks like a common problem with same year honda pilots and accura rdx. Driving with such an condition shakes the driver for an unknown vehicular behaviour that may cause an accident/ fatality. It is suggested honda corp may be asked to put a recall for all vehicles in this manuafcture year.
When I am going in a speed range about 35 MPH I get like shudder/grinding sound coming out of the bottom of the pilot. I am getting very concern because I've driven other pilots and they all do the same and they shouldn't be doing this noise.
My honda pilot 2005 shudders at about 35-50 MPH speeds. The shuddering lasts for about 10-15 seconds. The shuddering goes away by either increasing or decreasing the speed. This problem has been happening for a few years. Today I am sitting at the honda dealership and I complained about the shuddering and the honda technician mentioned that the torque converter might be the problem. I researched on this site and there are complaints for this issue. I was wondering what could be done about it. Thanks
At speeds of 35-40 MPH under light throttle there is a shudder. Letting my foot off the accelerator and stomping back on it sometimes helps make it go away. It seems to be worse on inclines where the throttle is under load at the described speed. There is a hill in my neighborhood that it repeats almost every trip. It almost feels like the pavement is rutted perpendicular to traffic but doesn't happen in other cars. It also returns around 70-75 MPH. I thought it was out of balance of tires but I have had an alignment done and asked the mechanic to look into the suspension to see if there was any play. He said there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I have also taken it to a local repair shop which I trust and they drove it, inspected it from underneath and they too couldn't figure out the problem and chalked it up to out of balance tires. My pilot has been through 3 sets of tires since I've had it and the problem is exactly the same with every set of tires. I have used bridgestone, yokohama, and kumho tires trying to rule out brands.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2005 Honda Pilot shudder
Is shudder or vibration when accelerating a common problem on the 2005 Honda Pilot?
67 of 679 owner complaints about the 2005 Honda Pilot (10%) mention shudder or vibration when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2005.
How much does it cost to fix shudder or vibration when accelerating on the 2005 Honda Pilot?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $5,000 (median of 10 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2005 Honda Pilot?
There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2005 Honda Pilot
Airbag light 45ABS 25Transmission failure 24Headlights 23Stalling 18Grinding brakes 16Jerking 14No deployment 13Engine failure 13Check engine light 11Phantom braking 11Harsh shifting 10Loss of power 10Pulling 10Fire or smoke 8Slipping 7Steering lock-up 7Brake failure 6Hesitation 6Overheating 6Sudden acceleration 6Knocking 5
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