May have towed too much weight

[coconne3]

Towed our camper for first time. Tv max 5000lb and camper single axle 4000lb.
On return trip, noted an odd smell when we would stop at lights. ( no warning lights and did not overheat). We took it to mechanic who found the transmission fluid had become co taiminated and burned (was drained and replaced in January prior to towing and it had the atf added when purchased. Mechanic drained and filled twice to get rid of odor and suggested we take it to dealer (appt is Monday). If we did tow too much weight, is this what we would have seen? If we decrease weight, is it safe to tow at some point? Hoping there’s an issue with the car but if there’s not I think the only answer is too much weight. We r attempting to get firm measurements of weight but kind of hard when can’t pull and need to wait for someone to help! Any suggestions would be appteciated

[Grit_dog]

OP, whether your car will tow that trailer again capably or not is not where you should be headed.
After what happened, best money is selling it, now.
Then you can buy something that won’t smoke the trans towing your camper.
Win win.

[Beverley_Ken]

Am I reading the original post correctly? You bought? the Pilot in January and they had to change the transmission fluid twice to get rid of the burned smell , that was long before towing. If that's correct, the transmission was badly damaged, long before you started towing. Hopefully covered by some type of warranty.

Ken

[valhalla360]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Nv Guy wrote:
It's not just weight, don't overlook wind resistance. If you have a 10 MPH headwind, the load on the TV is increased substantially.

when I was comparing a pilot vs my highlander, the pilot was rated to tow 5,000 lbs. towing a boat, 3500 towing a trailer.
bumpy

This brings up an important difference.

Boats slip thru the air easier than a brick (which is the aerodynamics of your average RV). They don't highlight it but manufacturers have a maximum frontal area for towing.

Assuming you were towing on mostly flat ground, being overweight may not have been the big issue. Fighting the wind could have overloaded it.

Also, what does "tow weight goes to 5000 with atf coolant" mean? Do you mean if you add a transmission cooler and are you sure that's the only change required to increase the tow rating?

Reality is these unibody station wagons are marginal tow vehicles. If you want to tow a 2000lb utility trailer 20 miles from the local home depot, it can work but maxed out it not a great idea.

[ScottG]

It sucks but you're going to have to do something different or you're going to be in for repeated and extremely expensive repairs.

[Cwilson333]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Nv Guy wrote:
It's not just weight, don't overlook wind resistance. If you have a 10 MPH headwind, the load on the TV is increased substantially.

when I was comparing a pilot vs my highlander, the pilot was rated to tow 5,000 lbs. towing a boat, 3500 towing a trailer.
bumpy

Ratings are one thing, reality another. If you go to the Honda Ridgeline forums you'll see thousands of posts in a thread named Ridgelines can tow. I'm pretty sure the Ridgeline has the same basic power train / chassis as the Pilot. Those guys tow all sorts of ridiculous combinations and weights successfully, although most of them appear to be first class Duesenberg Knuckleheads lol. Doesn't change the fact that once fluid is burnt brown the number of miles/days until your sitting along the road is limited.

[Bumpyroad]

Nv Guy wrote:
It's not just weight, don't overlook wind resistance. If you have a 10 MPH headwind, the load on the TV is increased substantially.

when I was comparing a pilot vs my highlander, the pilot was rated to tow 5,000 lbs. towing a boat, 3500 towing a trailer.
bumpy

[Cwilson333]

Changing out burnt fluid is usually a band aid. Once it's hot enough to burn fluid something else is also burnt, or in the least was exposed to excessive wear. You're now on borrowed time. Take it to a good transmission shop, not a dealer. Doesn't a Honda Pilot have a CVT? That's a whole different conversation.

[JRscooby]

Before you go to dealer, check your vehicle, by VIN to find out what the ratings are. Not sure I would want to start the discussion with "I did this which is a excuse to void my warranty" when troubleshooting the problem.

[Nv_Guy]

It's not just weight, don't overlook wind resistance. If you have a 10 MPH headwind, the load on the TV is increased substantially.

[time2roll]

Was the transmission hunting gears or shifting frequently? May need to manually hold a lower gear at times and keep the engine rpm up and minimize shifting. Drive slower helps. Especially up hills. Ask about adding an auxiliary transmission cooler.

[coconne3]

Thank you

[bgum]

I don't understand how the atf can be burned but nothing ever overheated. When you take it to the dealer they should insure your sensors are working correctly.
In any case good luck and welcome to the forum.

[coconne3]

The tow weight goes to 5000 with atf coolant

[bgum]

Some places and models list your tow limit of 3500 to 5000 pounds. Where did you get the 5000 number. Did you take it out of OD?

[coconne3]

Sorry! New to this….
Tv is Honda pilot and Tt is a 19mdble surveyor
Max 55-60