2003 HONDA PILOT EX-L RES; AUTOMATIC, 112,700 MILES. TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING WHILE SHIFTING FROM 2ND-3RD WITH THE SELECTOR IN DRIVE. SHORTLY THERE AFTER AT ROUGHLY 60 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY WE EXPERIENCED A JARRING DOWNSHIFT FROM 5TH TO 2ND GEAR WITH A LOUD MECHANICAL "THUNK", THEN IMMEDIATELY BACK TO A HIGHER GEAR, MAYBE 4TH. THE TRUCK DECELERATED SO FAST AND HARSHLY THAT MY WIFE AND 2 CHILDREN WERE THROWN FORWARD INTO THEIR SEAT BELTS AND ALL ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR AND BACK SEAT WERE THROWN INTO THE FRONT OF THE CABIN. THIS MISHAP WAS UNSAFE ON THE HIGHWAY AND I COULD HONESTLY SEE THIS CAUSING AN ACCIDENT UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR INSTANCE, MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY. THE MAINTENANCE INDICATOR LAMP ("MIL") ILLUMINATED AND THE TRANSMISSION MODE SELECTOR BEGAN FLASHING THE DRIVE ("D") INDICATOR. WE IMMEDIATELY PULLED OFF THE HIGHWAY AND PARKED THE VEHICLE AT OUR HOME A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY. THE CLUTCH SLIPPED BETWEEN THE FIRST 3 GEARS BELOW 40 MPH ON THE SHORT DRIVE HOME. THE DEALERSHIP PULLED CODE P0780. NO ASSOCIATED FLUID LEAKS AND THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS STILL PINK AND DIDN'T SMELL BURNT. 3 SERVICE TECHNICIANS TEST DROVE IT. AS SOON AS THE TRANSMISSION WARMED UP, IT DISPLAYED THE SAME BEHAVIOR REPORTED ABOVE AND THE LAST TEST DRIVE BARELY MADE IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. DEALERSHIP RECOMMENDS REPLACEMENT OF TRANSMISSION FOR $4,293.00. THE TRUCK WAS SERVICED PER HONDA'S RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE/SERVICE SCHEDULE WITH HONDA GENUINE FLUIDS AND PARTS. THE LAST TRANSMISSION/ REAR DIFFERENTIAL SERVICE WAS APPROXIMATELY 9,000 MILES AGO IN JANUARY, 2009. THIS VEHICLE ALSO HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID JET KIT PERFORMED IN 2004. I WILL ALSO BE FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU DUE TO THE UNUSUALLY HIGH AMOUNT OF 2003/2004 HONDA PILOT FAILED TRANSMISSION REPORTS I HAVE READ ON A NUMBER OF ONLINE FORUMS. MOST VEHICLES THAT EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURES HAD BETWEEN 90K-130K MILES. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND SHOULD REACH CLASS ACTION LEVEL. *TR
