NHTSA Complaint #10449570 — 2005 HONDA PILOT

OUR 2005 HONDA PILOT HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD FOR LAST SEVEN YEARS AND 132,000 MILES, ALTHOUGH WE WANTED TO KEEP IT TO 200,000 MILES. LAST SATURDAY, OUT OF NOWHERE, IT STARTED TO LEAK THICK, PINK LIQUID ON OUR DRIVEWAY. IT APPEARED TO ME, AND AFTER LOOKING AT THE OWNER'S MANUAL, THAT THE ISSUE WAS THE RADIATOR. IT WAS A COLD DAY SO I STARTED TO DRIVE TO THE DEALER, WATCHING THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE LIGHT ON THE WAY. THE CAR ONLY WENT TWO MILES BEFORE TRANSMISSION STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR HAS NOW BEEN AT A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP FOR A WEEK AND THREE DAYS WHILE I RENT ANOTHER VEHICLE. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE IN PILOT'S AFTER GOING OVER 100,000 MILES (CATASTROPHIC RADIATOR FAILURE THAT LEADS TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE). HONDA SHOULD MAKE CERTAIN THAT OWNERS REPLACE THE RADIATOR COMPONENTS THAT LEAD TO THIS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE BEFORE THE OWNER HAS TO REPLACE BOTH THE RADIATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION. I WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY BOUGHT A NEW CAR IF I HAD KNOWN THIS WAS COMING UP ON THE HORIZON, BUT NOW MY INVESTMENT IN THIS VEHICLE WILL BE TOO HIGH TO GET RID OF IT. IT SEEMS THAT WITH SOME PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, $5000 TO $7000 OF REPAIRS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, AND I BET THE HONDA DEALER DOES NOT OFFER ME $5K TO $7K IN TRADE IN. *TR