NHTSA Complaint #10668711 — 2007 HONDA PILOT

WHILE DRIVING WITH HEADLIGHTS ON DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS, WE NOTICED A BURNING SMELL AS WE ARRIVED AT OUR DESTINATION. IT WAS DARK WHEN WE RETURNED HOME AND THE HEADLIGHTS SEEMED VERY DIM WHEN USING LOW BEAMS. WE WERE IN A VERY RURAL AREA AND ABLE TO USE HIGH BEAMS FOR MOST OF THE TRIP. WHEN SWITCHING TO LOW BEAMS DUE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC, I HAD DIFFICULTY SEEING THE ROAD. WHEN WE REACHED THE HIGHWAY AND HAD TO USE LOW BEAMS MORE, IT WAS OBVIOUS SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I USED HIGH BEAMS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. AT ONE POINT, I SWITCHED TO LOW BEAMS AS A CAR PASSED ME. THE LIGHTS WERE DIM AGAIN BUT SUDDENLY BRIGHTENED UP A SECOND AFTER SWITCHING TO LOW BEAMS (POSSIBLY DUE TO A BUMP IN THE ROAD?) AND I REALIZED WE HAD BEEN DRIVING WITH ONLY FOG LIGHTS FOR THE PAST 30 MINUTES. WITHOUT THE FOG LIGHTS, WE DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE CRASHED WHEN WE DIMMED OUR HIGH BEAMS ON THE RURAL ROADS EARLIER IN THE TRIP. THE FOLLOWING DAY, I TURNED ON THE HEADLIGHTS AND THE LOW BEAMS WERE NOT WORKING. TAPPING ON THE LENS SOMETIMES TEMPORARILY FIXES THE PROBLEM, SO THE BURNING SMELL MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CONNECTED TO THE LOSS OF LIGHTS. THE SUDDEN ONSET OF THIS PROBLEM IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD AND SEEMS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCED WITH HEADLIGHTS IN SEVERAL OTHER MODELS, INCLUDING 2003-2005 PILOTS. THE PREVIOUS RECALL (NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : EA11012 NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER : 12V136000) WAS SPECIFIC TO 2 BULB SYSTEMS. THE 2007 PILOT USES A 4 BULB SYSTEM, BUT THE PROBLEM SEEMS SIMILAR AND I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO ANY TECHNICAL INFORMATION THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY THE 4 BULB SYSTEM IS IMMUNE TO THE PROBLEM. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR