Model year 2019—2022 Honda Passport SUVs are equipped with 9-speed automatic transmissions that a class action lawsuit alleges to be defective in certain Honda vehicles. While not all Honda vehicles with these transmissions are included in the lawsuit, we suspect that the reported defects may occur in Honda and Acura models with these 9-speed transmissions.
This particular type of 9-speed transmission has been the subject of multiple class action lawsuits. A lawsuit filed against Honda alleged that 2018–2019 Honda Odyssey minivans experienced recurring transmission defects. Previously, this 9-speed transmission was alleged to cause defects in certain Fiat Chrysler vehicles.
Many owners of 2019—2022 Honda Passport SUVs have submitted complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These complaints report shifting problems, delayed acceleration, sudden or harsh acceleration and other problems related to Honda 9-speed transmissions.
Please note that complaints have been edited for grammar and clarity.
2019 Honda Passport
Was traveling at speed of 20 mph on a residential street when engine suddenly paused and car shifted into neutral. There was no indication of an impending engine failure. Emission warning lights came on and I was unable shift the car out of neutral to move it off to the side of the road. After multiple attempts to restart the engine, I was able to engage it in drive and move the vehicle to safe location. Took it to Honda dealer who diagnosed the problem as Code P0810 (clutch position control error). The transmission control module was replaced. The dealer contacted Honda who suggested that it could ultimately result in a 2-step repair if the problem recurs. They were unable to reproduce the problem immediately after the repair. The 2nd step would involve replacing the engine harness for $6,000. While this definitely posed a risk to safety, it will be a larger safety risk if it fails again while traveling at highway speeds. The technician reported 80% confidence that the situation will not happen again. I am concerned that Honda has shown a reluctance to spend the money to completely mitigate the problem unless they are forced to do so, putting their profits ahead of the safety of drivers. Even a 20% risk of failure is unacceptable.
2019 Honda Passport
My ZF-9 speed transmission slipped out of gear while driving, resulting in loud grinding, lurching, and complete loss of power while driving. Incident occurred immediately after a full stop at the end of my lane before entering main roadway and downhill curves. I had to coast to the bottom with the grinding and gnashing gears and bucking, lurching vehicle dealership claims they could not replicate the problem, nor had they ever heard of this problem. They also stated that diagnostics did not identify any issues, which is odd because I could give them a timeframe of exactly when incident and subsequent loss of power occurred. I also called Honda corporate who tried to tell me that this was “a normal breaking in” scenario and that I should contact them when it happens again because they would do nothing for first reported incident. Clearly, American Honda does not care about consumer safety. I am now afraid to drive my vehicle.
2019 Honda Passport
48 hours after I purchased my 2019 Honda Pilot the transmission blew. I was driving on the highway on my way to a vacation with my car packed for the week and I heard a bang as if I hit something and then it sounded as if something was dragging on the bottom but nothing was there. I was extremely scared because I was stuck alone on the side of the highway because the transmission blew on my brand new car with less than 100 miles. My vehicle had to be towed away and they had to place a brand new engine. I was offered no compensation and they refused to give me a new vehicle.
2021 Honda Passport
My 2021 Honda Passport with under 12K miles has gone into Neutral on its own twice in the past year (May and October of 2021). It has also slipped into low gear on its own (D1 of an automatic transmission from D3 or D4 in Oct 2021 and March 18 2021). The last incident forced me onto the shoulder to avoid serious injury as I was gaining speed to merge from an entry ramp to a 50 mph, 3 lane Rd. I brought it back to the Honda dealer after the March 18 incident and they told me they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I don’t trust this transmission and will be forced to sell it back to Honda but am leery of it happening to someone else who may not be able to avoid an accident like I did.
2021 Honda Passport
Car shifted into neutral on its own while accelerating up a freeway on ramp with a transmission error warning light on dash and could not get the vehicle to go back into gear until ignition was cycled a couple times. Obvious safety risk as any vehicle movement was impossible, and was not able to completely coast out of the traffic lane. There was no known symptom prior to this event and the vehicle is currently at the dealership for repair/warranty evaluation though they state “it is not showing any error codes on the diagnostics plug in,” they did state that on test drive it “behaved perfectly until coming back to the dealership and acted up again….again showing a dash warning but no diagnostic code.”
If Honda cannot fix recurring problems in your Honda transmission, your vehicle may be a lemon. If you would like more information, complete the form below to request a free consultation.
Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2020–Present vehicle models only.
However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer those to a lemon law firm in their states.
To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guide on the California Lemon Law for more information.
