Honda Pilot Tranny and Radiator

further

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Had quite the scare on a dark hilly road the other night. Thought I lost the tranny (actually still may have, just waiting on the local shop to confirm). Anyway, was driving about a mile from my house and felt the trans start to slip when I gave it gas. This is the first time anything like this happened. No prior slipping or issues with gear switching, etc. Always smooth. No lights on the dash, no warning signs at all. Progressively got worse over another 500 feet so I turned around and headed back home, couldn't get it out of first gear and it would rev up and down. Finally got it about .5 mile from my house on a big up hill and it wouldn't go any further... In drive, on the gas but no go. Park is the only gear that seemed to work and the engine ran fine - would shut off and start up with no issues (in park). Got out of the car, fluid all over the road....So, of course first thought is @#$% the tranny is shot! Called tow and got it over to the local shop. Called me yesterday after taking a look and said its not the tranny!!! Said the radiator blew its pressure? fitting at the bottom and all the fluid leaked out which caused loss of pressure and the tranny to act like it did. I'm hoping he knows what he's talking about but that sounds odd to me?? Does this sound legit? It was dark so I couldn't make out the color of the fluid on the road, but he said it was all coolant at his shop... I've read up on line about a similar issue where there is an internal leak of coolant into the trans that causes trans failure, and I brought it up with him; but he insisted that this was an external issue with the radiator. Just having a hard time understanding how loss of pressure in the radiator would cause the transmission to slip and act as it did. Anyone care to explain? Thanks in advance.
BTW, its a 2009 Honda Pilot Ex-L 3.5l 4WD with 196k miles
 

Volphin

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Once you lost enough fluid, the trans cannot operate. This is a legit repair. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a mess! Your trans will be fine once they refill it with Honda ATF. DO NOT let them use aftermarket ATF in your Honda, only OEM fluid. This fluid should be changed every 30K mi. Capacity on a drain and refill is 3.5 to 4 Quarts.
 

GA_Boater

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What the shop is talking about is the trans cooler built into the radiator. One of the fittings for the trans cooling lines failed and all your fluid ended up on the road.

You need a new radiator because the internal trans cooler is not replaceable or an aftermarket cooler added to bypass the radiator cooler. If there is room, the aftermarket would be my choice and much cheaper. The trans needs all new fluid and a filter.
 

further

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Update - Shop just called. Got the new radiator in and fluid changed. Said she's running well and trans is shifting normal. Phew!!! I was really sweatin the tranny there for a bit.... Thankful for the $800 bill and not the $4k bill!!! That would've put a dent in my boat budget for the year :)
 

bruceb58

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You should be changing your transmission fluid on your Honda. Since there is no pan and you can't get much out, you should be doing it at least every 30k miles. Always use the Honda ATF. What I do on my GF's Honda is drain fluid. Refill. Drive around. Repeat process for 2 more times. Don't ever have a power flush done.
 
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further

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Thanks Bruce. First thing I asked when I picked up the pilot this morning was if they used Honda ATF. THe answer was "no, we use a synthetic that's better" UGGHHH!! Guess I should change it out.
So i'm not familiar with this. Should I just buy a case of ATF from Honda, drain then fill with 3-4 quarts, then how long should I drive it around for? Then do the same thing another two times??

Should I be doing similar for the transfer case/rear diff? Sorry i've become very familiar with my volvo boat motor but not my Honda lol....
 
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bruceb58

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Thanks Bruce. First thing I asked when I picked up the pilot this morning was if they used Honda ATF. THe answer was "no, we use a synthetic that's better" UGGHHH!! Guess I should change it out.
So i'm not familiar with this. Should I just buy a case of ATF from Honda, drain then fill with 3-4 quarts, then how long should I drive it around for? Then do the same thing another two times??

Should I be doing similar for the transfer case/rear diff? Sorry i've become very familiar with my volvo boat motor but not my Honda lol....
You don't need to drive it more than a couple miles.

On the Element there is a small filter that looks like a fuel filter inline with the radiator. If you have that on the Pilot, you should change that as well. Go to a Pilot forum and see what they recommend.

If you have AWD, you should be changing it as well. On my GF's Honda Element, it uses the Honda Dual Pump II fluid and I change that every 15K. Lot of failures on Elements when you don't change the fluid. Not sure on the Pilot.
 
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further

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You don't need to drive it more than a couple miles.

On the Element there is a small filter that looks like a fuel filter inline with the radiator. If you have that on the Pilot, you should change that as well. Go to a Pilot forum and see what they recommend.

If you have AWD, you should be changing it as well. On my GF's Honda Element, it uses the Honda Dual Pump II fluid and I change that every 15K. Lot of failures on Elements when you don't change the fluid. Not sure on the Pilot.


Thanks Bruce!! I'll check that out.
 

bruceb58

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Thanks Bruce!! I'll check that out.
Make sure you buy a bunch of crush washers to have on hand for the diff and tranny change. You should be changing the crush washer on your oil drain plug too every time. I bought a whole bunch of them so I have a large supply.
 

bassman284

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Well, I wish you the best, but in my experience, running an AT out of fluid while driving is a kiss of death. Fill it back up and it might work for awhile, but not long. Hope your experience is different.
 

dolluper

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You have just experienced your first LIMP MODE with your vehicle ....good luck down the road
 

further

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Well hopefully not the case. Wasn't driven more than 1/2 mile or so from when the issue started so crossing fingers. Thanks for the info
 

Volphin

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You have just experienced your first LIMP MODE with your vehicle ....good luck down the road

This was not limp mode. Limp mode is when the computer limits fuel and timing while isolating the offending sensor circuit so you can reach a repair facility. This was straight up fluid loss so the clutches and servos could not articulate. The trans itself will be fine. It's not like an old 727 body trans. There are strong springs that prevent clutch slippage and the sticky synthetic nature of Honda ATF will preserve any needle bearings during the 1/2 mile. Now if was a 2000 accord, I'd say it was toast right off the showroom floor! LOL
 

further

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Thanks Volphin.... For putting my mind at rest somewhatšŸ˜¬
 
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