My Pilot has 71,000 miles, and two years ago, we began hearing a high-pitch squeal when driving. It starts when we exceed 28 MPH, and it remains the same volume and pitch at all speeds above 28 MPH. The squeal stops when decelerating below 18 MPH. The Pilot drives just fine–it’s just an irritating sound. I’ve had it in the dealership many times–in fact, it’s there this week for the squeal–technicians are unable to determine source.
There’s a procedure described in your manuals: how to contact Honda for a complaint not resolved at the dealership level. Worth a try.
Squeals often originate in the serpentine belt route, so that’s the most obvious place to look if nothing is visually obvious. There’s a couple of things you could try first. Take note of the engine rpm in that speed range then do an experiment to see if the squeals can be made to happen by revi’ng the engine when parked in neutral. Also check to see if the squeals are related to the gear the transmission is in, related to accelerating or braking, or if they change when you shift to N and coast. If nothing turns up from those experiments, ask your shop if it is possible to remove the S-belt temporarily for a short test drive, to see if the squeals go away then. Note if you remove the S-belt the water pump and the power steering pump might be disabled, so be cautious about the effects of losing those functions.
Note: If this is an automatic, the 18 to 28 mph range might be where the torque converter is deciding to lock up or not, so that might be a possibility too. Ask your shop if it is possible to disable the lock up function as a test.
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I am also experiencing this same problem, but I’ve just left it alone for a long period of time. Now the squealing doesn’t go away unless I come to almost a complete stop. It sounds like a serpentine belt, but the issue is that the pitch or sound does not change with the engine RPM. I will be changing the serpentine belt to rule that out, if that doesn’t take care of the problem then I’ll have to investigate more.
Could it be the ABS system? When at work, they can make a squealing sound that does not change with engine RPM or road speed. Yours may be “working” when it shouldn’t be. Maybe disable the ABS and take a test drive.
Thanks. It’s been in the shop ten days, and they think it’s a drive shaft bearing. We will see. If that doesn’t fix it, I’ll suggest ABS.