general problems of the 2005 Honda Pilot - part 2

While driving on city road I heard a loud bang and smoke appeared under the vehicle. The vehicle then started running very rough so I pulled off the side of the road. I got out of vehicle and found a coil laying on the ground along with some other plastic pieces. I had the vehicle towed to my mechanic. My mechanic examined the vehicle and found that a spark plug had blown completely out of the engine block head along with the blown coil that I had picked up. The spark plug was never recovered even though I returned to the scene of the incident.

Driving along highway, headlights fail to turn on. Brights work. Unable to use headlights for any driving. Checked fuses all good, though incorrect marking on a 15a fuse slot that is 20a. All lights bulbs are good, even replaced to be sure. Found melted 16 pin connector with combination stalk switch. Unable to repair yet.

Both the left and right airbag sensors for my 2005 Honda Pilot exl failed six months apart. In the first case, in February 2009, the sensor light came on while we were driving back to pennsylvania from north carolina. Examination at the Honda dealer in PA determined that one of the two front sensors had failed due to corrosion and an electrical short. The unit was replaced. Six months later the sensor light came on again and it was determined that the other sensor failed. The cause of the failure was corrosion and an electrical short. In both cases, the airbag would not have operated had their been an accident. The dealer claimed the failures were, "just one of those things". Having worked with passive restraint systems in the past and having worked with nearly all automobile companies (including Toyota and Honda in japan), I doubted this explanation. These were improperly manufactured and sealed sensors and corrosion/failure was inevitable. This is a rare failure if the components are manufactured properly.

All of the dashboard lights in the ac control panel in my 2005 Honda Pilot have burned out. This seems to be a common problem with the 05 Pilot. It's just he ac control panel lights. It is very dangerous at night, as the only way to see the controls is to have to turn on the inside dome lights. Seems like a manufacturer's defect to me.

All the the dashboard lights in in a/c heating panel burned out. Every one, and just in this panel. All the other dashboard lights are fine. This seems to be a common complaint with this model and is widely reported in Honda Pilot forums. The is a safety problem when driving at night. One is forced to turn on the interior dome lights to adjust the dashboard controls.