The Honda 5-speed automatic in V6 applications between roughly 2003 and 2008 is the single biggest reliability black mark on Honda's North American history. The transmission has a documented design flaw in its third gear clutch pack — under sustained loads, the clutch material burns through and the transmission fails catastrophically. Sometimes drivers get a couple of warning shudders. Sometimes the transmission just stops moving the car, in traffic, with no notice. Honda issued recalls and extended warranty coverage on affected VINs after enough complaints stacked up that NHTSA opened an investigation and class actions started landing. The settlements extended warranty coverage to 7 years/100,000 miles on most affected vehicles, with some variations. A lot of the extended-warranty replacement transmissions were rebuilt or remanufactured units. Honda's quality on those replacement units was inconsistent — many of them failed within the next 50,000-80,000 miles, and some owners on Pilots and Odysseys went through three transmissions in the lifetime of the vehicle. The engineering fix that finally stuck was a redesigned clutch pack and revised cooling. By the 2008-2009 model year on most affected vehicles, the issue was substantially improved. The cars themselves — Pilots, Odysseys, MDXs, Accord V6s — were genuinely well-built apart from this single defect. Bodies, suspensions, V6 engines, interiors all hold up well. Owners who got past the transmission lottery often kept these vehicles for 200,000+ miles on the second or third transmission. The complaint volume on this one is concentrated heavily on Pilot and Odyssey because those vehicles are tow vehicles and family haulers respectively, and both put high loads on the drivetrain.
Honda 5-speed Automatic (B7XA/BAXA family) problems
7,166 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 23 vehicle applications. 31 active recall campaigns.
Every vehicle in the Honda 5-speed family
Production span by model. The Honda 5-speed shipped roughly 2003-2010 across 7platforms we track.
Year ranges are curated editorial mappings of which vehicle generations carried this honda 5-speed. Color is per manufacturer.
Known issues
- Catastrophic 3rd gear failure (clutch pack burns through)
- Torque converter lockup solenoid failures
- Premature transmission fluid degradation
- Recall and extended warranty issued by Honda for affected VINs
- Replacement transmissions from Honda commonly failed within similar mileage windows
Where the safety risk concentrates
Top problem categories across the Honda 5-speed fleet. Bar length is total complaint volume; the colored bands at the start of each bar are the share of complaints in that category that carried a crash, fire, injury, or fatality on the NHTSA record.
Affected vehicles Top 23 by complaint volume
Recent owner reports 8 most recent across the family
Lamont sold me a lemon vehicle. Lamont managed to get a false inspection form and provided it to me and stated the vehicle has passed inspection. Once vehicle was taken to multiple mechanic shops to find out if its even able to be fixed and as 3 mechanics stated I was sold a lemon car and they are…
i had my vehicle put through the recall test on 9/13/2022 i have not heard a peep from Honda, almost 4 months later
Have a 2006 Honda odyssey. The third row seat on the right side will not latch reliably to the floor. Sitting on the seat and/or accelerating causes the seat and passenger to flip backwards. The seat latch is on a swinging panel and is too far forward to meet the floor mounted hoop. There…
Put car on parked car kept moving on parking stall . Also when turning car on push breaks and put on drive jumps hard and when pushing on breaks does not break on time have to push breaks to the floor
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Acura tl. While attempting to accelerate from a stop light, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the rpms increased, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was towed to…
2008 Acura tl. Consumer writes in regards to power steering feed hose leak recall repairs. *smd the consumer is seeking reimbursement for the repair he paid for. *jb
Common questions
What vehicles use the Honda 5-speed Automatic (B7XA/BAXA family)?
The Honda 5-speed Automatic (B7XA/BAXA family) was used across 23 model-year combinations from 2003-2010. Affected applications are ranked on this page by complaint volume.
What are the most common problems with the Honda 5-speed?
The dominant complaint patterns are: catastrophic 3rd gear failure (clutch pack burns through); torque converter lockup solenoid failures; premature transmission fluid degradation. Across all affected vehicles in our database, 7,166 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA, plus 31 active recall campaigns.
How much does it cost to repair the Honda 5-speed?
Costs vary widely by failure mode. A fluid service or solenoid replacement can be a few hundred dollars. A valve body or mechatronic unit replacement runs $1,200-$2,500. Full transmission replacement on a unit of this scope is typically $3,500-$6,500 at an independent shop, more at the dealer. The specific cost on your vehicle depends on which failure occurred and how far it progressed before service.
Should I avoid vehicles with the Honda 5-speed?
The complaint data points to specific failure patterns. Some affected vehicles have had successful long-term service after a software update, fluid change, or valve body replacement. Others have needed multiple full transmission replacements. The right call depends on the specific vehicle's history. Read the editorial above and check the rank list for the model-year combination you're considering.
Does an extended warranty help on a Honda 5-speed-equipped vehicle?
On transmissions with documented widespread failure patterns, the math frequently favors coverage. A $4,000-$6,000 transmission repair against a $2,000-$3,000 warranty is straightforward. The key is reading the contract carefully — many service contracts exclude transmissions specifically on vehicles with known patterns, or require the failure to occur during specific mileage windows. Use the calculator on the specific vehicle's page for the actual math.
If you're shopping one of these, the transmission story is the entire question. Get the transmission service records. Confirm if a warranty replacement was done. If yes, find out the date and mileage of that replacement and treat it as the start of a new clock. If no, factor in $3,500-$5,500 for the eventual rebuild that's likely coming. There are good vehicles in this generation if you go in eyes open — and bad financial decisions if you don't.