[CGM66047]

It appears the rumors about the Honda 9 speed transmission having major flaws are true.

It’s 12:50 am, I’m sitting at a remote highway intersection with my wife and dog waiting for tow truck because our 2019 Passport with 11,000 miles won’t move due to a major transmission failure.

Dash says “transmission problem, see manual”. The manual says nothing about transmission problems or what to do when transmission suddenly shifts into N at 70 mph and won’t shift back into gear.

I’m a loyal and very disappointed Honda owner stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for a tow.

Thank goodness this didn’t happen to my wife when she’s been traveling alone or in traffic.

Oh, and a heavy thunderstorm is moving in.

It’s 3 am, tow truck driver and I are soaked to the bone. Passport is at the dealership. Before we loaded the Passport onto the truck, the tow truck driver was able to get it to shift into D. I took it out for a short test drive and quickly learned the transmission is indeed in bad shape. Very erratic shifts, felt fortunate to make it back to tow truck where we proceeded to load it and haul it to dealer.

 

[elder prep]

CGM, that's really bad luck. Report back and let us know what the problem was.

 

[Jermboy777]

ZF9 HPs are garbage and i am surprised Honda continues to use them. I would rather have the 6 speed they use in the pilot and ridgeline.

 

[PASSPORT52]

It appears the rumors about the Honda 9 speed transmission having major flaws are true.

It’s 12:50 am, I’m sitting at a remote highway intersection with my wife and dog waiting for tow truck because our 2019 Passport with 11,000 miles won’t move due to a major transmission failure.

Dash says “transmission problem, see manual”. The manual says nothing about transmission problems or what to do when transmission suddenly shifts into N at 70 mph and won’t shift back into gear.

I’m a loyal and very disappointed Honda owner stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for a tow.

Thank goodness this didn’t happen to my wife when she’s been traveling alone or in traffic.

Oh, and a heavy thunderstorm is moving in.

It’s 3 am, tow truck driver and I are soaked to the bone. Passport is at the dealership. Before we loaded the Passport onto the truck, the tow truck driver was able to get it to shift into D. I took it out for a short test drive and quickly learned the transmission is indeed in bad shape. Very erratic shifts, felt fortunate to make it back to tow truck where we proceeded to load it and haul it to dealer.

Sorry to hear of your troubles!!! I have been worried about the transmission since I bought the PP. In 2016 when I test drove the Pilot with the 9 speed I was not impressed even in a short test drive which is one reason I bought lower end model to not get that transmission. I was hoping it had been refined by now. Hopefully, they get you back on the road soon! Let us know the diagnosis - hopefully it doesn't become a widespread issue we all have.

 

[anodyne]

That’s terrible, but appreciate the report. I started looking at Hyundai Santa Fe and looks like their new models are having transmission issues as well. I think I’ll just keep driving my Subaru w/ ~140,000 on the clock as it drinks some oil but is otherwise reliable. Good luck and please update when you hear more. Thanks.

 

[charlie251]

Sorry, please keep us updated

 

[CGM66047]

It’s 12:50 am, I’m sitting at a remote highway intersection with my wife and dog waiting for tow truck because our 2019 Passport with 11,000 miles won’t move due to a major transmission failure.

Dash says “transmission problem, see manual”. The manual says nothing about transmission problems or what to do when transmission suddenly shifts into N at 70 mph and won’t shift back into gear.

I’m a loyal and very disappointed Honda owner stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for a tow.

Thank goodness this didn’t happen to my wife when she’s been traveling alone or in traffic.

 

[CGM66047]

1. 8am, wife calls dealer, communicates what happened.
2. 10am, I call dealer, what is the diagnosis? Long story short, “we can’t duplicate the issue, it works as intended.” It was late, maybe just a bad dream? How will I explain this to my Passport forum pals? Unacceptable.
3. Noon, dealer calls wife, still can’t duplicate, they ask more questions and tell her they are going call Honda tech line.
4. 4pm, dealer calls wife, on phone with tech line for three hours, finally they were able to duplicate the “transmission problem, see manual” dash message. Apparently they performed a voltage test that ultimately revealed/duplicated the failure codes. I’m told that when that happened, tech line stopped and said, “that means replacement of transmission, we’re shipping one from the factory, you’ll have it Monday”. Acceptable.
5. Further, rental car is being provided at no cost as we have 700 mile round trip planned this weekend. I’m also told, $263 tow charge wil be paid by American Honda.

Will add, the failure occurred 60 seconds after I passed a semi on the highway. The transmission went into pass gear mode, everything was fine, then suddenly, it shifted into N and we were coasting with said semi now barreling towards us not knowing I can’t accelerate. I got to the shoulder and out of the way of traffic, you know the rest.

Not sure why the dealer had so much trouble diagnosing the failure, 6 hours earlier it was a mess, barely drivable. Remarkable we went from nothing wrong to replacement in just few hours.

The 9 speed is suspect, no other way to say it. As a loyal Honda owner, I’m going to trust they are going to get that unit right or replace it with a Honda built unit?

If everything goes as described above, l’m happy. I appreciate my dealer continued to diagnose. I appreciate American Honda stepping up on the rental and tow charges, I was prepared to be disappointed on both.

I am not disappointed, I’m a loyal Honda customer.

 

[elder prep]

1. 8am, wife calls dealer, communicates what happened.
2. 10am, I call dealer, what is the diagnosis? Long story short, “we can’t duplicate the issue, it works as intended.” It was late, maybe just a bad dream? Unacceptable.
3. Noon, dealer calls wife, still can’t duplicate, they ask more questions and tell her they are going call Honda tech line.
4. 4pm, dealer calls wife, on phone with tech line for three hours, finally they were able to duplicate the “transmission problem, see manual” dash message. Apparently they performed a voltage test that ultimately revealed/duplicated the failure codes. I’m told that when that happened, tech line stopped and said, “that means replacement of transmission, we’re shipping one from the factory, you’ll have it Monday”. Acceptable.
5. Further, rental car is being provided at no cost as we have 700 mile round trip planned this weekend. I’m also told, $263 tow charge wil be paid by American Honda.

Will add, the failure occurred 60 seconds after I passed a semi on the highway. The transmission went into pass gear mode, everything was fine, then suddenly, it shifted into N and we were coasting with said semi now barreling towards us not knowing I can’t accelerate. I got to the shoulder and out of the way of traffic, you know the rest.

Not sure why the dealer had so much trouble diagnosing the failure, 6 hours earlier it was a mess, barely drivable. Remarkable we went from nothing wrong to replacement in just few hours.

The 9 speed is suspect, no other way to say it. As a loyal Honda owner, I’m going to trust they are going to get that unit right or replace it with a Honda built unit?

If everything goes as described above, l’m happy. I appreciate my dealer continued to diagnose. I appreciate American Honda stepping up on the rental and tow charges, I was prepared to be disappointed on both.

I am not disappointed, I’m a loyal Honda customer.

Glad to hear about Honda support. Let us know how the trans works out. Ken

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

Scary! Try not to be to stressed about it. This is the newer second gen ZF9 with improvements. Being mass produced I think you just got unlucky. It’s way to early to tell on this newer ZF9 transmission refresh if it will be reliable long term. I believe you are the second one on here needing a new transmission replacement.

 

[ProdGirl]

Wow! I missed this post and just now seeing it.

Was there any indication of an issue before this transmission problem alert?
And couldn’t the dealer pull the code from the computer?
The dealerships give me such little confidence in issues with our Passports.
Knock on the iPad keyboard...I have not had anything as scary as this happen!

 

[CGM66047]

No warning of any problem whatsoever. The only failure code they pulled was related to blind spot indicator. Dealer tried to tell me that a bug on blind spot sensor may have caused the incident. It was at that point I demanded the name and phone # of the local Honda rep. I had to go into a meeting and when I was finished, I got the report above.

 

[CGM66047]

I lied, I’m definitely disappointed about the transmission failure. We’ll see how the repair goes.

 

[Jermboy777]

I’m selling mine if I have a transmission problem within the 3 yr warranty. Not
Dealing with needing new transmissions on a regular basis.. hopefully it’s an isolated issue and they get you taken care of ASAP!

 

[Dro1984]

I lied, I’m definitely disappointed about the transmission failure. We’ll see how the repair goes.

Very understandable! I would be too. Hope this will have a happy ending when you get your Passport back.

 

[mund1]

Great.. Thats Great! Strongly considering getting one, an Elite! I just went through near 4 years of General Motors Hell with an 8 speed transmission and vibration issues in a 2015 GMC Sierra!

 

[ProdGirl]

No warning of any problem whatsoever. The only failure code they pulled was related to blind spot indicator. Dealer tried to tell me that a bug on blind spot sensor may have caused the incident. It was at that point I demanded the name and phone # of the local Honda rep. I had to go into a meeting and when I was finished, I got the report above.

That is a bunch of crap!
Did you talk with Honda Corporate?

I would be like that old lady throwing my flat tire thru the tire store window with my Passport if something like that happens.

 

[CGM66047]

As long as everything works as planned, I have no need to talk to American Honda. Dealers are in place for a reason, this is one of those reasons. As long as they take care of me as promised, I’m good. If this goes south in any way, you all and the world will know. I promise.

 

[Mt.Man]

The failure you described is not common on the ZF9. Hopefully this will be the last of your transmission issues. That's what warranties are for. Its just the aggravation of jumping thru the hoops to get it fixed right.

 

[Jermboy777]

The failure you described is not common on the ZF9. Hopefully this will be the last of your transmission issues. That's what warranties are for. Its just the aggravation of jumping thru the hoops to get it fixed right.

It is common on the ZF9s along with delayed and harsh shifting.

ZF Recalls Nine-Speed Automatic for Random Drops into Neutral

After more than two years, thousands of warranty claims, and hundreds of owner complaints, transmission supplier ZF is finally issuing a recall to fix its nine-speed automatic. Read more at Car and Driver.

www.caranddriver.com