2005 Honda Pilot electronic stability control (esc) problems

“The contact owns a 2005 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 25-35 MPH, the vehicle slowed down unexpectedly, and the brake pedal was hard and slow to respond when depressed. The contact stated that the steering wheel was pulling to the left, and it was difficult to correct the steering wheel. The vehicle was difficult to control. The VSA light was illuminated. There was a triangle with an exclamation mark symbol displayed on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the VSA module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the parts were on backorder. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 173,273.”

“THE YAW RATE LATERAL ACCELERATION SENSOR IS FAULTY AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN HONDA'S 2013 RECALL OF THE VSA. THE VEHICLE HAS THE EXACT SYMPTOMS OF THE VSA RECALL, WHICH WAS FIXED ON MY VEHICLE. I PURCHASED THE CAR LAST YEAR WITH VERY LOW MILES, ONLY DROVE FOR A FEW MONTHS BEFORE IT STARTED HAVING ISSUES. STARTED OUT HAVING THE VSA TRIANGLE LIGHT ON DASH AND LOSING POWER (LIMP MODE) ONLY AFTER COMING OUT OF A TURN AFTER DRIVING VEHICLE FOR AWHILE. INCREASED TO THE POINT WHERE AFTER ROUGHLY 30 MINUTES OF THE VEHICLE RUNNING THE VSA ISSUE WOULD HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE DRIVE. SEVERITY OF THE VSA/LIMP MODE GOT WORSE, NO POWER FOR LONGER AT A TIME AND THE HORRIBLE GRINDING NOISE DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH CABIN. TOOK TO HONDA COMPLAINING OF THESE ISSUES, COULDN'T REPLICATE IT SO NOTHING WAS WRONG. ONE MONTH AGO, MY VEHICLE STARTED HAVING THE UN-COMMANDED BRAKING PROBLEM. DRIVING AT 55 MPH, THE SLIGHTEST TOUCH TO THE BRAKES CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO HARD BRAKE, CAUSING A SWERVE AT LEAST GOING THAT FAST. IT HAS DONE THIS UN-COMMANDED BRAKING MORE THAN ONCE, I HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO DRIVE IT AND AT LEAST GOT IT 30 MINUTES TO MY HONDA DEALER, WHICH I ALSO PURCHASED THE VEHICLE…”

“WHILE DRIVING, OFTEN THE VSA WILL APPLY RANDOMLY WHEN THERE IS NO NEED TO. MOST OFTEN IT IS WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, BUT THE VSA WILL ENGAGE DURING CITY DRIVING, WHEN BREAKING, AS WELL AS WHEN TURNING. IT CAUSES MY WHOLE VEHICLE TO SEIZE UP AND PULL TO THE SIDE. BECAUSE IT HAPPENS AT RANDOM, IT WAS NOT ABLE TO BE REPLICATED WHEN I HAVE HAD IT LOOKED AT BY A MECHANIC. THERE IS A VSA OFF BUTTON THAT I ENGAGE BEFORE DRIVING WHICH WAS SUGGESTED TO ME TO DO BUT EVEN WITH THE VSA TURNED OFF, THE VSA WILL (HOWEVER LESS FREQUENTLY), STILL ENGAGE AT RANDOM. IT IS SCARY FOR ME AS A DRIVER TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN AS I AM OFTEN DRIVING WITH MY FAMILY IN TOW.”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STABILITY ASSIST SYSTEM BECAME INOPERABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND PULLED TO THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE YAW RATE SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 199,000.”

“WHILE DRIVING ON A LONG ROAD TRIP, THE CAR SPONTANEOUSLY ENGAGED THE ABS IN AN INTERMITTENT MANNER. VSA LIGHT CAME ON. STOPPED AND RESTARTED THE CAR. EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED AFTER A LITTLE WHILE. STOPPED AND RESTARTED THE CAR WITH THE VSA SYSTEM MANUALLY TURNED OFF. EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED AFTER AN HOUR OR SO. ENGAGEMENT OF ABS WAS INTERMITTENT. AS DETAILED IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT, WE HAVE TAKE THIS TO NUMEROUS HONDA REPAIR CENTERS AND THE PROBLEM HAS PERSISTED. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SPONTANEOUS AND INTERMITTENT ENGAGEMENT OF ABS ONLY DURING LONG HIGHWAY DRIVING. IN-BETWEEN EACH REPAIR, WE HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR IN THE CITY NEARLY EVERY DAY WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, EACH TIME WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR FOR A LONG TRIP, WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM AFTER A FEW HOURS OF NORMAL DRIVING. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING NORMAL SPEEDS DURING PERFECTLY NORMAL (NOT RAINING OR SLIPPERY) CONDITIONS.”

“2005 HONDA PILOT WITH 145K MILES SUDDENLY STARTED TO APPLY BRAKES WITHOUT WARNING WHILE DRIVING ON STRAIGHT, FLAT, DRY ROADS AT MODERATE SPEEDS. IF HAS ALSO OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEED, BUT NEVER ASSOCIATED WITH SKIDDING, SLIDING, ETC. THE BRAKES APPEAR TO APPLY DIFFERENTIALLY, CAUSING A SWERVE THAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED QUICKLY TO AVOID COLLISION WITH TRAFFIC. THE VSA LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE TRIANGULAR VSA DISCONNECT LIGHT COMES ON. THEY BOTH GO OUT AFTER THE CAR IS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED. THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER SAYS THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THIS, BUT THAT THEY HAD REPROGRAMMED THE CAR'S VSA DURING AN EARLIER SERVICE VISIT.”