I took the vehicle to the dealership for a recall related to the steering mechanism that is making a loud cracking noise when I turn the steering wheel, when I back up. Were told that parts were not available, it is been almost one year ago. No respond from dealership or honda itself. My name is [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2011 Honda Pilot steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 34 of 34, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When vehicle crossing through a few inches depth of water puddle, the steering wheel was suddenly locked with odd noise and flashing battery warning. This happened several times and could cause fatal accident. The steering wheel resumed operation after turning off engine and re-start.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 honda pilot. The contact noticed that the vehicle was leaking black oil from the front driver side bushing. In addition, the steering wheel hesitated to turn left or right. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000. The VIN was not provided.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 honda pilot. While reversing, there was an abnormal sound coming from the steering wheel. The dealer diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,361.
My 2011 honda pilot touring had to have all 3 engine mounts and the transmission mount replaced. The whole front end of the vehicle would shake uncontrollably on acceleration and especially at high speeds. I bought the vehicle brand new. I do a lot of highway driving and put a lot of miles on my vehicle. Currently I have 128,000 miles on my vehicle. I realize that a vehicle with a high number of miles will experience some wear tear, I never thought I'd have to replace mounts that hold my engine in place. Also, I had to replace both bushings as they were both ripped. Needless to say this SUV has cost me a lot money in the last few weeks. Everything seems to be failing at the same time. I will have to reconsider my next honda purchase.
Rather than take vehicle back to dealership, decided to try local shop instead. Clicking & popping noise continue in steering when turning left. Sound getting worse and can now hear in a parking lot whereas before, was just turning on roads. Was told by local technician that sound coming from inside the steering shaft and would cost upwards of $500 to repair. Blower motor needs replacing, purchased new battery, and also told right front cv axle leaking oil, another $400 to replace. Surprise surprise, was told again (third time now having owned this vehicle for just 4 years) that the front rotors are warped and the front brake pads down to 50%. Total cost to replace again is upwards of $600 plus labor. Seriously?!
Back to the honda dealership for repairs. There is a pop or clicking sound from the steering well with left turns. Technician verified noise and felt a clunking noise with turns left - cost to run further diagnostic testing was upwards of $500. Decided to wait on repair since dealer said safety was not an issue.
We need a recall. Some one pay attention and care about this before lives are lost. Steering vibrates violently and shakes when coming to a stop. Also turning left or right results in a pop/click sound and you can feel in the steering wheel.
I began to accelerate from a stop sign and my steering wheel started to shake. In an effort to gain control of the vehicle, I pushed the brakes. The problem was, my brakes were not responding to any inputs. I had to drive my vehicle in a ditch in order to come to a complete stop. Luckily, I was only going 30mph when this occurred. This is a very dangerous and life threatening situation.
Took the car to the dealer for clicking noise when making slow turns, such as pulling into a parking space. Found 2 compliance bushings are broken and leaking. Approx 650 dollar repair. Dealer knew it was an issue and considers it normal wear and tear for a 3 year old car. Not covered under warranty.
2011 honda pilot experiencing a severe vibration issues when applying the brakes when traveling at highway speeds (45mph+). The vehicle stability, steering and control do not feel safe under these conditions. We first identified the problem with honda at 39000 miles in 2012 and they balanced the tires. Brought to honda's attention again at 69000 miles in august 2013. They replaced the front and rear brake pads and resurfaced front and rear the rotors for a charge of $478. Still experiencing at 80000 miles and they said we need new front rotors ($440) and need to replace compliance arm bushings (found compliance bushings split and torn) for $736.95. Please investigate as a serious defective issue that perhaps warrants a recall.
When driving on the freeway at speeds of 60 to 65 when I need to brake the front end of my pilot shimmies while I apply the brake causing me to not be sure if I'm going to be able to stop. I thought maybe it was rough road surface and my son thought it was out if balance tires. I don't drive the freeway that often and there were no issues while driving on city streets. Lately I've been on the freeway more than usual and I noticed the problem was getting worse. On may 1st I went to costco where I purchased my radial tires january 2013 and had them check the balance of my tires. They said they were balanced and pressure was good. Later that day I called honda san leandro while driving hands free stating I had a serious problem. The pilot was shimming/vibrating very hard. I felt the problem was so dangerous that I took my pilot to an automotive shop very close to my location leaving it for repairs. The owner of the shop called me the next morning may 2, 2014 telling me what he found. The bushings were cracked and broken. I asked to be shown where they came from and was shown the approximate area under a different car and was told that these two bushings had the job of providing a smooth drive. The owner told me that honda changed the design of the replacement bushings which leads me to believe they knew the original design was defective. Why didn't honda issue a recall? My pilot now has only 38,000 miles. My bill is $513.82 with the 2 bushings being $306.26.I have the original bushings that were removed from my pilot.
I was towing a trailer with a motorcycle in it. I was driving about 60 MPH and the front end started to vibrate really bad. I drove to a friends house and left my trailer there because I was on my way out of town. I didn't notice the vibration once the trailer was removed. I now have about 54,000 miles on the car and the vibration can be pretty bad when I'm stopping and also sometimes when I'm driving. I've had the tires changed and rotated so I know it's not the tires.
Steering wheel shakes when I brake. I have had this problem since it had 25k miles on it. I took to dealer and said steering column needs to replace at $400 dollars or wait for recall. They think. Researching this on line seeing all the other pilots having the same problem why are they not recalling the pilot for this issue??? Please help.
When slowing down in the vehicle the steering wheel vibrate and driver can lose control of vehicle. The brakes when applied to slow down or stop also has pulsating or feels like they may not be stopping the car at all and more pressure has to be applied to the pedal to stop. I have found same complaints from other consumers on different complaint websites. The only recommendations from honda are to have rotors resurfaced. When applying the brakes at any speed over 50 mpg, the steering wheel shakes like an earthquake. Dealer said brakes were fine and that there was no issue. Next trip the dealer said the brakes might need to be redone . And that the rotors were warped. Repairs would not be covered under warranty or extended warranty. This is obviously a defect and needs to be handled by honda. Now approaching 40k miles and the problem is making me nuts. I'm going to wind up paying out of pocket for their poor design.
Same issue as others have posted here. For the last six months the cars steering wheel and seat shake violently when you apply the brakes going over 50 MPH. When the weather is warmer and the car has been driven for over 1/2 hour, the shaking gets even worse. You have to reapply the brakes and hope that the car slows down. We had the rotors turned and it got better for a week and then right back to before (out $100) honda dealership is saying it isa "normal" wear and tear issue and there is no reason to be concerned and no safety issue. Sounds like they just don't want to address this dangerous problem. I, also, have never experienced this problem in a car before. I am afraid to drive it, but don't know how to fix it. I wish a recall would force honda to fix this dangerous problem before someone gets seriously injured.
I feel that the federal safety agency should look into 2011 honda pilot brakes and steering because when slowing down in the vehicle the steering wheel can vibrate and driver can lose control of vehicle. The brakes when applied to slow down or stop also has pulsating or feels like they may not be stopping the car at all and more pressure has to be applied to the pedal to stop. I have found same complaints from other consumers on different complaint websites. The only recommendations from honda are to have rotors resurfaced at this time but I believe there is defect in the brakes and steering rack and should be covered by manufacturer.
When applying the brakes at any speed over 50 mpg, the steering wheel shakes like an earthquake. Dealer said brakes were fine and that there was no issue. Next trip the dealer said the brakes might need to be redone (22k miles really?) and that the rotors were warped. Repairs would not be covered under warranty or extended warranty. This is obviously a defect and needs to be handled by honda. Now approaching 40k miles and the problem is making me nuts. I'm going to wind up paying out of pocket for their poor design. I just hope the new rotors & pads on the front end will make it go away.
Steering wheel vibrates when braking at or near 65 MPH, loss of control.
Brand new vehicle when it reaches aprox that speed or brake the steering wheel vibrates and shake violent at braking, also pulls to the left. Bring back to the dealership but not problem solve, they got a service bulletin 06-068 but it doesn't correct the problem, I got up to 23,000 miles and the tires became close to the carcase (all four), the vibration and pulling still.
Noticed the cars steering wheel shakes when brake is applied at approximately 65-70 miles per hour which is very scary. Brought the car to the dealership and was told the rotors need to be re-surface. I ask why because it's a brand new car with very low mileage and response was it could be the problem. Brought the car home 6/9/12 afternoon. Drove it the next day and steering wheel shaking still present. I research the web and found out, lots of honda pilot owner are having the same problems and that the remedy for it was replacing 1. Power steering pump 2. Power steering rack. Finding were presence of metal fillings from the power steering pump that's coming from the power steering rack itself and result was no more vibrations in the steering column...honda need to recall this existing problem for safety purposes before someone gets hurt...
A few weeks ago, I being to notice the steering wheel vibrates and wobbles upon applying the brake at 60+ MPH on our new honda pilot we purchased a little over a year. Concern for my safety and my family, I took the vehicle back to the dealer and they mentioned the forward rotors needed to be machined and was not covered by factor warranty and would cause $220 to do the job. I spoke with the service manager and dealer manager and they both would not offer to honor there 3 years or 36,000 bumper to bumper warranty to fix the issue. I decided to google for honda pilot 2011 owners with similar issues and sure enough I was not alone on this issue, just reviewing only two forums I saw over 50 replies on similar issues as to mine for new honda pilots. I strongly believe there is a possible defect in the material used for the brake pads or rotors on these pilots to be experiencing rotor issues with less than 20,000 miles to be . Please, I would like for further investigating and inquiries into this matter be taken for the sake of all our safety. Thank you in advance.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 honda pilot. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle would veer to one side without explanation. In addition, when depressing the accelerator and steering to the left he would momentarily lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed an alignment but it failed to remedy the failure. The vehicle was not further repaired and the manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 1,000 and the current mileage was 4,000. Updated 5/2/11 *cn updated 06/06/11
2011 honda pilot ex-l, engine is humming whenever the speed is up to 50 miles/hour.
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