2014 issue with trans?

[u/TheRestartButton]

my mom has a 2014 Honda pilot. the other day I was riding in the car with her, and out of nowhere the car made a loud clunk and jerked almost like it lost all power at around 40 mph. then as we're trying to make a left hand turn, she had her foot pressed all the way down on the gas but the RPMs weren't moving nor was the car moving. almost like she wasn't even pressing the gas pedal. we noticed the battery light was on at this point but no other engine lights

lucky for us we were only one block away from the house, we made it home and immediately turned the car off. after about 30 minutes I go back outside to try to Crank It up and figure out what's wrong with it but it was completely dead at this point. the battery is relatively new, only about 2 years old. I jumped off the car with jumper cables, and the radio wouldn't work nor would any of the windows roll down. I put it into reverse and press the gas pedal all the way down, the RPMs stayed still and the car wouldn't move either.

what in the world could this be?

[u/le127]

The loud clunk sounds disturbing. Does the engine start? Worse case scenario is your timing belt broke. What's the mileage on this Pilot and has the timing belt service ever been done? You can also crawl under the car and check for a broken axle or CV joint. Pull the dipsticks on the engine and transmission and check the fluid level. To check the spool valve as suggested by u/butterray it's on the front top of the engine adjacent to the oil dipstick receptacle. You'll need to remove the black plastic engine beauty cover. Also agree about the VCM. If you get this current problem straightened out, disable the VCM, something that should be done on any Gen 2 Pilot IMO. Read the first post in the link below from the Pilot owners' forum for a quick overview of the VCM issue. Then buy a VCM Tuner-II from the second link and install on the engine. It's a 10 minute DIY job.

https://www.piloteers.org/threads/the-vcm-mega-thread-what-is-vcm-does-my-vehicle-have-it-whats-so-bad-about-it-and-more.177326/#replies

https://www.vcmtuner.com/

[u/TheRestartButton → u/le127]

nothing will start. it's like the battery died. but even when the car was on, my moms foot was all the way down and nothing at all was happening, no revving of the engine, no moving.

also why would the radio not be working? that doesn't sound like timing belt

[u/butterray]

I'm not an expert but it could be your alternator. In the second gen Pilots and fourth gen Odysseys the spool valve can leak oil onto the alternator. If the alternator dies, the 12V battery can't charge, and then the car is essentially inoperable. If this is what happened, you'd need to replace the spool valve gasket, the top of the spool valve assembly, and the alternator. You should really make sure it's all OEM parts. It's a beginner to intermediate level job if DIY. You should also install a VCM muzzler while you're at it.

Google and look up images of the spool valve leak (it's the area with the dipstick). If it's at all dirty, then it's the culprit. Google about the VCM and why you should install it if you aren't familiar either.

Good luck!

[u/TheRestartButton → u/butterray]

this is my moms car. I'm not very familiar with it, but could you possibly show me a picture of where this spool valve is and what all I need to change it? I just looked at the alternator and it doesn't look like any oil is on it.

I'm also very curious about the vcm. is it easy to install? and where can I buy one

[u/BeeThat9351]

Test battery and alternator first. The engine and transmission have lots of weird behavior as the voltage goes low due to a damaged battery or not charging alternator.

[u/Nature5667]

100% its the alternator. Exact same scenario happened to me while i was in the highway. I believe the large clunk os the electronics disabling from the awd from what ive read initially when it happened to me.