2023 - Skipping 1st gear? Not shifting smooth?

8579 Views 94 Replies 32 Participants Last post by Zx12-iowa, 2 d ago

jcraines96

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

Just purchased a 2023 Pilot EXL. Traded in my 2015 Pilot with 210k miles on it. Needed a new engine, so it was time, I guess. So, obviously, I drove the 2015 all the time and was so familiar with how it drove and changed gears. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, or just need to adjust to the new one, but it's so different. Going from stop, to go, it feels as if it's jumpy and trying to skip 1st gear? Or maybe it's just changing gears quick and I'm not used to it? I'm not a car person at all, so don't know too much about transmissions, gears, etc. All I know is its different than my 2015 and I'm having a hard time getting used to the stop and go. Once it get going, it's so smooth and I love it. But it's just jumpy it seems to start off. Maybe I'm not pressing the peddle right? Maybe I'm pressing it to quickly? Not sure. I have turned off the idle setting, that turns the car off, as I don't like that right now, so that's not it. Just thought I'd come on here to see if anyone else had these issues or what others thought? Thank you in advance!

41 - 60 of 95 Posts

TheGoKart

· #41 · 2 mo ago

Below is what the service department told me when I asked about the shifting.

"In short terms, the vehicle's TCM is undergoing a learning process of which it adapts to your driving (how heavy your foot is on the pedal). This process may take at least 500 miles or up to a couple thousand miles, especially if there is more than one person driving the vehicle. The rough shifting is not going to hurt/damage the transmission. This a procedure that has been implemented to previous models as well that include the 9-speed and 10-speed tranmissions such as yours."

I'm at about 600 miles and don't disagree that I need to give it more time before considering it an issue that needs to be fixed. I'm going to give it until 2500 miles and see where we're at.

blairellis

· #42 · 2 mo ago

No. I’ve got 5k miles on the car. It can’t still be learning at this point. I don’t buy that excuse.

Hogan773

· #43 · 2 mo ago

blairellis said:
No. I’ve got 5k miles on the car. It can’t still be learning at this point. I don’t buy that excuse.

Perhaps the Pilot is programmed to be one of those "lifetime learners" that everyone says we should all strive to be

WayneM.

· #44 · 2 mo ago

I know someone with a $90k Cummins Ram with the Aisin automatic, and he has shift logic issues as well.

Our Pilots are still new and I’m sure the PCM is still “learning”. I’m also sure that if there enough complaints down the road, there could be a flash coming. My ZF 8 speed kinda does something like this, but at least, with that one, I can see what gear I’m in. I’m more bothered that I can’t see what gear I’m in with this Pilot.

WayneM.

· #45 · 2 mo ago

blairellis said:
No. I’ve got 5k miles on the car. It can’t still be learning at this point. I don’t buy that excuse.

You have 5k on your 4 gen Pilot?

DoctorBuzzBee

· #46 · 2 mo ago

I’ve been noticing it too. I thought it was a tranny issue. I moved from a 2012 Nissan Sentra to a 2023 Honda Pilot Elite, so I am still getting used to the power difference. Nonetheless, sometimes it just feels like the tranny is slipping between first and second gear…especially when going uphill.

Chillers

· #47 · 2 mo ago

WayneM. said:
You have 5k on your 4 gen Pilot?

It's definitely possible - I've got 1600 miles on mine and my 20 day plates aren't even up yet... 🤦‍♀️

Also explains why I had 216k on my 2013 before it got totaled.

MrT422

· #48 · 2 mo ago

I haven’t noticed it on acceleration runs, but I have yet to stop smoothly in the Pilot. I’ll be coming in for a nice, smooth stop, and around 5mph, the transmission kicks down to first gear and sends a mild judder through the cabin. It isn’t violent, but I always prided myself on smooth stops, and I can’t get one in the Pilot. It isn’t the brakes. Definitely a last second gear change that is tougher than it should be. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a problem. More of an annoyance. I don’t anticipate dealer would do anything for it. If there’s a service software update for it at some point, I’d jump on that, though.

Reactions: 1

DoctorBuzzBee

· #49 · 2 mo ago

MrT422 said:
I haven’t noticed it on acceleration runs, but I have yet to stop smoothly in the Pilot. I’ll be coming in for a nice, smooth stop, and around 5mph, the transmission kicks down to first gear and sends a mild judder through the cabin. It isn’t violent, but I always prided myself on smooth stops, and I can’t get one in the Pilot. It isn’t the brakes. Definitely a last second gear change that is tougher than it should be. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a problem. More of an annoyance. I don’t anticipate dealer would do anything for it. If there’s a service software update for it at some point, I’d jump on that, though.

I can confirm this. I’m so glad I found this forum because I definitely thought it was maybe an issue with my Pilot.

blairellis

· #50 · 2 mo ago

WayneM. said:
You have 5k on your 4 gen Pilot?

Chillers said:
It's definitely possible - I've got 1600 miles on mine and my 20 day plates aren't even up yet... 🤦‍♀️

Also explains why I had 216k on my 2013 before it got totaled.

Yes. We had an unexpected funeral halfway across the country and just got back from another trip. I got the pilot on 2/2/23, so I've had it for a little while.

WayneM.

· #51 · 2 mo ago

blairellis said:
Yes. We had an unexpected funeral halfway across the country and just got back from another trip. I got the pilot on 2/2/23, so I've had it for a little while.

Not to derail the thread, but obviously you’ve dropped the oil (maybe twice), so what oil/ filter are you using?
Sorry about the funeral.

Hogan773

· #52 · 2 mo ago

WayneM. said:
Not to derail the thread, but obviously you’ve dropped the oil (maybe twice), so what oil/ filter are you using?
Sorry about the funeral.

Dropped the oil twice after 5,000 miles?

Are you still a believer in the Jiffy Lube marketing campaign from 1992? "Every 3 months or 3000 miles, whichever comes first!"

WayneM.

· #53 · 2 mo ago

Hogan773 said:
Dropped the oil twice after 5,000 miles?

Are you still a believer in the Jiffy Lube marketing campaign from 1992? "Every 3 months or 3000 miles, whichever comes first!"

No, but I do believe in dropping engine break in oil at a short interval. I don’t know the Honda maintenance minder algorithm yet, but my other vehicle is 6-7000 @ 20% life and I’m comfortable with that. Sometimes I go further and have a lab perform an Engine Oil Analysis.
Yes, when you’ve been in heavy truck fleet maintenance for over 30 years, vehicle maintenance is “your thing”.

Reactions: 1

blairellis

· #54 · 2 mo ago

I would do the 3k mile changes with something like a full synthetic on performance cars. But with my daily drivers I just follow the manufacturer recommendation. And for the first 2 years its included in the price of the car.

My oil life is at 50% at 5k miles, so if we extrapolate that out, its a 10k mile oil change interval that Honda recommends.

JSMississippi

· #55 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

EX-L with just over 2000 miles here. I think ours still does this a bit, but has smoothed out considerably since we got it. I think it has learned over time, but I also think it could also partially be from me "learning" it and adjusting how sharply/softly I depress the pedal leaving from a stop. It still occasionally seems to want to hold 1st gear a bit longer than I would in some situations. Overall, I think there's been noticeable improvement over the first 2k miles.

Here's a thought: The 4th gen Pilot has a really short crawl ratio, and I think that contributes some to this issue we are experiencing. For an example comparison, let's use the OP's 2015 Pilot, as well as the 6spd and 9spd from the 3rd gens:

	2015 5spd	2019 6spd	2019 9spd	2023 10spd
1st gear	2.563:1	3.36:1	4.71	5.34:1
Final drive	4.428:1	4.25:1	4.33:1	4.17:1
Crawl ratio (1st gear x final drive)	11.35:1	14.28:1	20.39:1	22.25:1

Not factoring in the minor differences in tire height (all are between 29"-30" besides the TrailSport at 30.5"), this is a large overall difference in crawl ratio/gearing between the 5 and 6 speed autos and the new 10 speed from a stop. I think this is part of why it feels so "jerky." Maybe some of the previous 3rd gen 9spd owners can chime in on whether those behaved more similarly to the 10spd, since it has a much closer crawl ratio.

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Reactions: 2

mikeln

· #56 · 2 mo ago

My experience...so far... 1500miles... Economy Mode: drives smoothest around town...very similar to my old 2011 pilot. Sport Mode: fast shifting and smooth. Normal Mode: clunky, feels like 2nd gear slips sometimes, seems to get confused on when to up/down shift when driving around town stop signs, hesitates when I attempt to "kick down".

I really tried to use Normal Mode, but have not been able to get myself (or the transmission) to understand each other. Economy Mode, however, has proven to be best...and it kicks down w/o hesitation.

blb128

· #57 · 2 mo ago

mikeln said:
My experience...so far... 1500miles... Economy Mode: drives smoothest around town...very similar to my old 2011 pilot. Sport Mode: fast shifting and smooth. Normal Mode: clunky, feels like 2nd gear slips sometimes, seems to get confused on when to up/down shift when driving around town stop signs, hesitates when I attempt to "kick down".

I really tried to use Normal Mode, but have not been able to get myself (or the transmission) to understand each other. Economy Mode, however, has proven to be best...and it kicks down w/o hesitation.

Interesting. Surprisingly I haven't tried any mode other than normal.

Hogan773

· #58 · 2 mo ago

mikeln said:
My experience...so far... 1500miles... Economy Mode: drives smoothest around town...very similar to my old 2011 pilot. Sport Mode: fast shifting and smooth. Normal Mode: clunky, feels like 2nd gear slips sometimes, seems to get confused on when to up/down shift when driving around town stop signs, hesitates when I attempt to "kick down".

I really tried to use Normal Mode, but have not been able to get myself (or the transmission) to understand each other. Economy Mode, however, has proven to be best...and it kicks down w/o hesitation.

I may give Eco another chance. It felt a little too subdued to me but that could just be placebo effect

NAW

· #59 · 2 mo ago

jcraines96 said:
Just purchased a 2023 Pilot EXL. Traded in my 2015 Pilot with 210k miles on it. Needed a new engine, so it was time, I guess. So, obviously, I drove the 2015 all the time and was so familiar with how it drove and changed gears. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, or just need to adjust to the new one, but it's so different. Going from stop, to go, it feels as if it's jumpy and trying to skip 1st gear? Or maybe it's just changing gears quick and I'm not used to it? I'm not a car person at all, so don't know too much about transmissions, gears, etc. All I know is its different than my 2015 and I'm having a hard time getting used to the stop and go. Once it get going, it's so smooth and I love it. But it's just jumpy it seems to start off. Maybe I'm not pressing the peddle right? Maybe I'm pressing it to quickly? Not sure. I have turned off the idle setting, that turns the car off, as I don't like that right now, so that's not it. Just thought I'd come on here to see if anyone else had these issues or what others thought? Thank you in advance!

I have had my Trailsport for a couple weeks now and certainly noticed the jerky shifts in 1st and 2nd gears. Tried different modes and it was better in Econ and Sport. I have 600 miles now and noticed it is shifting considerably better the past two times I have driven it in normal mode, and the jerkiness is mostly gone it seems. Maybe there is some truth to the “learning” thing, at least for me.

ScottMN

· #60 · 2 mo ago

NAW said:
I have had my Trailsport for a couple weeks now and certainly noticed the jerky shifts in 1st and 2nd gears. Tried different modes and it was better in Econ and Sport. I have 600 miles now and noticed it is shifting considerably better the past two times I have driven it in normal mode, and the jerkiness is mostly gone it seems. Maybe there is some truth to the “learning” thing, at least for me.

Yeah, I've switched to Econ mode and it's much better.

41 - 60 of 95 Posts