New Car, Aliso Viejo, Honda Pilot

An Aliso Viejo client leased a 2017 Honda Pilot from Norm Reeves Honda in Newport Beach. The car began to have issues the next year when the transmission started kicking, shaking, and juddering. The manufacturer of the vehicle, American Honda Corporation had recently extended the transmission warranty to 80,000 miles because of a recent class action settlement pertaining to the 2017 Honda Pilots.  The West Covina client usually leases cars and then buys them but didn’t want to buy this 2017 Honda Pilot because of the issues with the transmission, the shaking, and the juddering. 

The Aliso Viejo client had paid 36 installments of $445.13, resulting in $16,796.63 total in payments towards the 2017 Honda Pilot. 

Once retained, our experienced attorneys at LemonLawAutoFruad.Com discovered that the transmission issues complained of by the Aliso Viejo client were a known defect by American Honda Corporation. Specifically, on February 27, 2018, Honda issued Service Bulletin 17-014 to its dealers entitled "2016-17 Pilot: Judder from the Torque Converter Lock-Up Clutch". This service bulletin had superseded a previous Service Bulletin from February 18, 2017.  Specifically, the Service Bulletin had been issued to address "a judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch that may be felt while driving between 20 and 60 mph. The problem is typically diagnosed as a bad torque converter. American Honda investigated the judder and found that the torque converter was not causing the judder and the transmission was not damaged by this judder. The judder was caused by deteriorated transmission fluid. The transmission fluid deteriorates quicker than expected when it is exposed to Intermittent high heat loads under specific driving conditions. A software update is available to maintain the transmission fluid temperature within the desirable range under all driving conditions and eliminate the potential for this judder."

Through our experience in California warranty law and the endurance of our attorneys, the customer was able to reach a favorable settlement agreement with American Honda Corporation, where the manufacturer repurchased the Honda Pilot, paid monetary compensation, and civil penalties, and covered all attorney’s fees and costs.