Brake Fluid Leak Problems of Honda Pilot

Complete loss of power steering while stopped or at low speeds (trying to pull into a parking space) and front end/steering column shaking while breaking at 60 mph. I was told by the service rep at the Honda dealership that I lost my power steering because there was a leak from eroded seal, causing power steering fluid to leak into the boots on the underside of the vehicle. For this reason, there was never any leakage onto the ground to ever indicate that there was a leak. Additionally, a warning light never came on in my dashboard to alert me of the issue. As a result of the leak, I was told that I needed to replace my entire power steering rack because it was not something covered under my Honda power train warranty. I was also told that I needed new brakes and rotors for the shaking issue, but after researching this issue, I found that this has been a frequently reported issue in Honda Pilots and may actually stem back to the power steering issue. Yesterday, I received another call advising me that the power steering pump also needed replaced due to suspected damage that incurred due to it being dry from the leak.

See all problems of the 2009 Honda Pilot 🔎.

A new master cylinder from american Honda installed by a Honda dealership failed less than 1/4 mile from the dealership. The failure was detected by the brake pedal not coming to a complete stop when pressed though this was not very noticeable. Pressing the brake caused brake fluid to leak from the master cylinder and would have eventually caused enough loss so that the brakes would not work. The master cylinder had been replaced along with the front-left brake cylinder due to the front-left brake cylinder sticking closed according to the dealership. The original brake cylinder failure caused enough smoke to cause the driver to initially believe the car was on fire.

See all problems of the 2003 Honda Pilot 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2005 Honda Pilot 🔎.