[dimensions4700]

Hi all, I'm just posting here to see if anyone else has had this issue. We have a 2017 Pilot Elite. I've done lots of searching and can't find anything besides some early Jeeps with the ZF 9HP that were recalled for randomly dropping into neutral.

I personally first experienced this issue a few weeks ago when I was moving over to the left lane to pass a semi. I pressed the gas pedal down about halfway expecting a downshift as usual, but to my surprise the car did nothing and instead started slowing down as if I had let go of the gas. At this point my foot was on the floor. Nothing happened at all, it didn't even rev up as if it had slipped into neutral. Just kept slowing down, no rpm jump, nothing. At this point I suspected the worst so I started pulling over, but just as I did so, everything went back to normal. I tried doing what I just did again and it downshifted without a hitch. I went out on some country roads trying to replicate the exact situation multiple times (same speed, throttle input, everything) and it never happened again.

Fast forward to today, I get a call from a family member who also drives this car that had the exact same issue. Trying to pass and the transmission just disengaged, slowing down instead of speeding up.

We've contacted the dealership and are doing what we can to fix this. In the meantime I'm just wondering if anyone else has heard of this happening with the ZF 9HP. I feel like it may be an issue with the dog clutches not engaging properly and the ECU freaking out and not opening the throttle despite user input. I imagine this is likely fixable with a TCU reflash but I'm hoping we don't need to go through the pain of trying to get a new transmission.

We have owned Hondas in the past and had great experiences, but we've been feeling pretty sour about this car and Honda in general now. Had the fuel injector replacement done at 38k which was a hassle since the relevant warranty period had ended 2k miles before then. We've also had odd transmission behavior throughout the entire life of the car. After some particularly unsettling incidents, we took it to the dealer and were told (surprise) it's normal behavior and nothing unusual could be replicated. I'm hoping that this scary problem is something easily fixable.

Tyler

 

[Honda7]

Never experienced this but don’t like the push-button trans control, fearing this same thing may happen by accidentally pressing the wrong button. I did pressed the gas and the car didn’t move only to find out it was in park (didn’t remember I moved it to park before). It’s been five years and still not getting used to it yet.

 

[dimensions4700]

Never experienced this but don’t like the push-button trans control, fearing this same thing may happen by accidentally pressing the wrong button. I did pressed the gas and the car didn’t move only to find out it was in park (didn’t remember I moved it to park before). It’s been five years and still not getting used to it yet.

Yes, this is another reason why we regret going with the elite trim. It's happened a couple times where I wouldn't press down the Drive button hard enough and I would still unknowingly be in reverse. I've also had a passenger accidentally press the neutral button while I was on the highway. All of this could be avoided if Honda just used a dial like everyone else.

 

[ys1219]

Yes, this is another reason why we regret going with the elite trim. It's happened a couple times where I wouldn't press down the Drive button hard enough and I would still unknowingly be in reverse. I've also had a passenger accidentally press the neutral button while I was on the highway. All of this could be avoided if Honda just used a dial like everyone else.

A dial also wouldn't be a great option either because someone can confuse it as a volume knob and slam it into reverse while the car is going forward. Trust me it happened to me once😏. Seems like there isn't a great replacement to a shift lever for some people. I've been fine with the push button shifter because I know what button I pressed without having to look down.

 

[The Todd]

Since I have to drive an auto tranny anyways when I drive our Pilots, I like the shifter of the Gen 1, and the Gen 2. IIRC, you have to depress the thumb button on the Gen2 (on the lower dashboard type) to get it to shift anyways.

OP- I hope you get it settled soon.

 

[2020 Touring]

I hope you're able to get this fixed soon -- that would be unsettling to me as well.

As for the push-button transmission, Hondas and Acuras are all going to it, so it's probably not going away any time soon. Hyundai and others are following suit. I'm not clear at all how you would accidentally press any of them, though -- they're inset enough from the surrounding trim that you have to deliberately press them. I've had the same buttons on my last two cars, and between the illumination around the buttons and the big indicator on the instrument cluster in front of you, it would take some effort to mess it up.

Conversely, it's pretty easy to bump a traditional shifter into neutral inadvertently. I think people just resist change, and find reasons to do so.

 

[Nail Grease]

Are these Elite models equipped with Honda sensing? I know I was a passenger in a new Civic and the driver pulled out to pass and something about this feature shut him down, stopping his pass, forcing him to get back over behind the vehicle that he was trying to get around.

 

[Daltongang]

Are these Elite models equipped with Honda sensing? I know I was a passenger in a new Civic and the driver pulled out to pass and something about this feature shut him down, stopping his pass, forcing him to get back over behind the vehicle that he was trying to get around.

Did you friend use his turn signal??? Honda sensing pauses when a turn signal is activated, just for this sort of reason.

It will look something like this and is on the left hand side of the steering column behind the steering wheel. 😆

 

[Nail Grease]

Did you friend use his turn signal??? Honda sensing pauses when a turn signal is activated, just for this sort of reason.

It will look something like this and is on the left hand side of the steering column behind the steering wheel. 😆
View attachment 142720

Another get you killed dangerous feature.

 

[Daltongang]

Another get you killed dangerous feature.

Yeah those darn turn signals and the laws that go with them.

 

[Nail Grease]

Yeah those darn turn signals and the laws that go with them.

So what your saying is, you have never forgot to use your turn signal and that one time you didn't, you should pay with your life?

 

[Daltongang]

So what your saying is, you have never forgot to use your turn signal and that one time you didn't, you should pay with your life?

Or someone else paying with their life because of your negligence. Honda sensing doesn’t keep the vehicle from operating as it should. When passing a vehicle Honda sensing will give you the Alerts which can be disconcerting to the driver causing driver hesitation. Sometimes Hondas will go into limp mode with readable/correctable errors. Sometimes drivers go in limp mode as well. They are harder to correct and often have a hard time giving up their information.

 

[Nail Grease]

Or someone else paying with their life because of your negligence. Honda sensing doesn’t keep the vehicle from operating as it should. When passing a vehicle Honda sensing will give you the Alerts which can be disconcerting to the driver causing driver hesitation. Sometimes Hondas will go into limp mode with readable/correctable errors. Sometimes drivers go in limp mode as well. They are harder to correct and often have a hard time giving up their information.

I've never driven one of these vehicles with sensing. All I can say is when the driver went to pass, something with this feature detected the car he was passing and it stopped his acceleration (by braking or cutting the power, don't know). He had no choice but to get back over. If it were one of my vehicles that our drivers use, I'd have to get rid of it, for fear that someone might get hurt. Sometimes a driver may choose acceleration to get out if a situation. If they were committed and this feature shut them down, it could surely cause an accident.

 

[The Todd]

Did you friend use his turn signal??? Honda sensing pauses when a turn signal is activated, just for this sort of reason.

It will look something like this and is on the left hand side of the steering column behind the steering wheel. 😆
View attachment 142720

Dalton- Wow, I never knew about this feature! Holy Guacamole! I'm gong to look that up!!











J/K- I use them all the time. Funny though FS!

So what your saying is, you have never forgot to use your turn signal and that one time you didn't, you should pay with your life?

I hope I never have to buy/get/drive a vehicle with this feature, I call 'crap'. If you can't pay attention enough to drive, you shouldn't be rewarded by a feature that essentially lets you increase your inattentive driving behavior. Until every vehicle has it, communicates w/ each other, etc.- Nope, not for me.
What's even funnier, is when people complain about the feature and how it operates, cause it's not driving itself properly.
I saw one post on here I think- asking if the frontal camera reads the road signs, like speed limit, etc. and reacts accordingly, and why it wouldn't read the speed limit signs correctly and adjust vehicle speed correctly!

I'll stop here on my further rant to risk alienating some people who actually my deserve it. This does not include any of the common regulars that frequently post on this board.

 

[Daltongang]

Dalton- Wow, I never knew about this feature! Holy Guacamole! I'm gong to look that up!!

Found out the first time I went to pass a vehicle on a 4 lane road. Like all drivers I too forget to do simple things at times like flip on a turn signal. It came as a shock as the steering wheel vibrated in my hand letting me know that I had departed my lane. Made me slow down a bit and look to see what was wrong. There was noting wrong with the vehicle, it ran fine. The driver, in this case me, was the wrong in the equation. The Honda sensing did its job, I didn't do my job to the fullest.

Honda has always had a propensity for safety. They are usually a year or so behind on features to make them as safe as possible. The thing is a lot of drivers are not of the same mind. Texting while driving, eating while driving, fiddling with the radio/stereo while driving, even talking while driving. Some of those should never be done and some need to be curtailed.

I have a friend, I won't mention where he comes from (Northern East Coast), who can not for the life of him talk without extensive use of his hands. Needless to say, when we go somewhere together I feel compelled to drive. The sight of his waiving hands as he talks is to say the least disconcerting.

I am constantly amazed that people will get so upset if they drop a pencil that weighs mere ounces yet they get behind the wheel of a 2-3 ton vehicle and think nothing of texting, talking on the phone, especially with the phone in one hand, fiddling with the radio etc, and not having their full attention on operating the vehicle.

 

[ls973800]

I understand that the 3rd generation Pilot will shake the steering wheel if you depart from your marked lane. I believe however that you have to be driving above a certain speed for this function to work, maybe 45 MPH? That alone will not prevent the car from accelerating. Using a turn signal will prevent that feature (shaking steering wheel) from activating.

I am not aware of ANY sensing on the 3rd generation however that will prevent the car from accelerating when crossing over a marked lane. It may be a result of the collision management (mitigation is the word used by Honda) system thinking there is a car coming towards you which would result in a head on collision? Or perhaps the car was still picking up the car that was being passed and the collision management system thought it was going to result in a rear end collision?

There should be NO sensing affecting the acceleration when passing another vehicle if you pull out without getting too close to the car in front, and if there are no other cars coming towards you that the Pilot would consider a head on collision about to happen.

That's my understanding of what happens. Here is the description of the Collision Mitigation Braking System

How Does It Work?
Powered by a radar transmitter mounted in the grille trim, this system can determine distance and closing speed of obstacles ahead of you. Whether the obstacle is another vehicle or pedestrian, the radar and high-resolution camera will take in the information it needs to help you avoid a potential accident. Once an object is detected, audio and visual warnings are given to notify the driver to apply the brakes or swerve slightly to avoid the collision.
What Are the Stages When Danger is Detected?
When a possible collision is sensed, there are three stages that the CMBS™ can deploy. These stages include:

• Stage 1: Driver is alerted through visual and audio warnings of an oncoming obstacle ahead.
• Stage 2: Alongside these warnings, the brakes are lightly applied to slow down the vehicle, helping to avoid a collision.
• Stage 3: In the next phase, the brakes are applied strongly in order to dramatically reduce your speed.

Hopefully, your attention isn’t so divided as to need the third stage, but it’s there for added peace of mind and extra safety when something else takes up your attention.

 

[ls973800]

The road departure feature and the lane keeping assist system will NOT prevent the car from accelerating either.

• Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)—a small camera detects road markings and will alert you if you begin to leave the road.
• 
  
• Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)—automatically adjusts steering to bring you back to the center of the lane if you begin to drift.

 

[Nail Grease]

The road departure feature and the lane keeping assist system will NOT prevent the car from accelerating either.

• Road Departure Mitigation System (RDM)—a small camera detects road markings and will alert you if you begin to leave the road.
• 
  
• Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)—automatically adjusts steering to bring you back to the center of the lane if you begin to drift.

Yes. Likely collision avoidance. It detected the vehicle he was passing.

 

[sequoiasoon]

I was exiting from one road to another on a right hand ramp but it has a dotted line across it to continue the solid white right side line. I didn't put my signal on and I think the road departure mitigation (or one of the avoidance systems) slammed on the brakes. I almost got rear ended. My fault for no signal but I try to be lot more conscious of that now. I also shared with wife and kids for same reasons.

 

[Nail Grease]

I was exiting from one road to another on a right hand ramp but it has a dotted line across it to continue the solid white right side line. I didn't put my signal on and I think the road departure mitigation (or one of the avoidance systems) slammed on the brakes. I almost got rear ended. My fault for no signal but I try to be lot more conscious of that now. I also shared with wife and kids for same reasons.

Thanks for sharing and warning us.