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P1000 Stuck in first gear

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AZ123

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Was out in the middle of nowhere 1000-5 2018 pioneer and lost down hill engine braking then noticed it was stuck in first gear and the sun was going down
I shut down the machine and restarted but did not fix it
I let cool down but didn’t fix anything
Found battery cable not tight on the post
Tighten the battery cables and the problems went away
Thought this info may help someone if having same issues.
 
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AZ123

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Well I ran into the same problem again stuck in first gear no downhill engine braking the speedometer says 0 miles and hr while still moving then power steering light came on
check engine light came on
I live hundred miles from dealership gave them a call for service
They mentioned try new battery check oil
Had battery tested at auto parts store they said it tested good but I bought a new one anyway
Checked oil levels sub transmission was at bottom of dip stick filled up to normal
Took it for a couple hr drive no problems showed up
Still a little worried it might happen again
Anyone have any thoughts on troubleshooting this issue
I don’t really want to take it to dealership unless I have to Since the problem is intermittent and only happened twice
1 year old 1500 miles on it
 
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Ohio4x4

Ohio4x4

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Well I ran into the same problem again stuck in first gear no downhill engine braking the speedometer says 0 miles and hr while still moving then power steering light came on
check engine light came on
I live hundred miles from dealership gave them a call for service
They mentioned try new battery check oil
Had battery tested at auto parts store they said it tested good but I bought a new one anyway
Checked oil levels sub transmission was at bottom of dip stick filled up to normal
Took it for a couple hr drive no problems showed up
Still a little worried it might happen again
Anyone have any thoughts on troubleshooting this issue
I don’t really want to take it to dealership unless I have to Since the problem is intermittent and only happened twice
1 year old 1500 miles on it
They are known to have loose grounds. I haven't experienced any issues myself but it's a reoccurring discussion on here. I'm sure a quick search will bring up some post with details.
 
nitzo

nitzo

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I've had this happen to mine twice now. Because I was out in the woods and need to get home when it happened, it also overheated. What has came loose on mine has been the negative terminal on my house battery, I had been tightening it with just a Phillips head screwdriver, someone here recommended using a wrench instead, I tried that and has worked so far.
 
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dook

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I have a similar problem with my 2020 P1K-3 EPS. Have you figured yours out yet?

Mine runs perfectly until it gets warmed up thoroughly, like after going 18 miles up into the mountains. Then it won't upshift, stuck in first.
I bypassed the seat belt switch in case that was causing limp mode. that didn't help.
I found the battery ground kinda loose and tightened it, that didn't help.
I went all over the machine checking for loose wire connections, even made a new engine to frame ground wire since I couldn't find the factory one.
I never had it in water or mud. Oil levels are on the mark. Voltage is 14.4
When this happens, usually the engine light comes on (but not always) and sometimes the EPS light comes on too. Often the gear indicator will blink a dash mark.
When it happened yesterday, I was way up in the mountains and I put it in neutral and coasted down. I have an under hood engine fan which I left on and after about 6 miles of coasting it finally cooled off enough and started working perfectly again.
When I take short trips in the mountains it runs fine. I know it takes a long time for the engine oil to heat up all the gears and shafts in the transmission since they run in the same oil. Is there a temperature sensor on the transmission?
On all these trips, the coolant temp indicator never gets above 2 bars.
It's done this on 3 separate occasions.

I've been reading the service manual. It says the blinking dash mark on the dash indicator blinks a code, now I'll have to spend a half day going up in the mountains to make it happen again so I can discern the blinks.
I can rebuild engines and do most any kind of mechanic work but I'm pretty ignorant about electronic gadgets. Is there a way to read the code without taking a long trip? I have been trying to figure this out by reading the manual but it's mostly just "step 1 step 2 step 3" procedures with no explanations, objectives or logic and plenty of acronyms to help confuse and challenge my reading comprehension. The guys who write these must be afraid the engineering dept will fire then if they disclose which engineering mistakes cause most problems.

If I take it to the dealer I would have to pay them $100 an hour to trailer it up in the mountains, take a long ride and get it hot to verify the problem, which isn't very enticing.

Any suggestions?
 
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TripleB

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I have a similar problem with my 2020 P1K-3 EPS. Have you figured yours out yet?

Mine runs perfectly until it gets warmed up thoroughly, like after going 18 miles up into the mountains. Then it won't upshift, stuck in first.
I bypassed the seat belt switch in case that was causing limp mode. that didn't help.
I found the battery ground kinda loose and tightened it, that didn't help.
I went all over the machine checking for loose wire connections, even made a new engine to frame ground wire since I couldn't find the factory one.
I never had it in water or mud. Oil levels are on the mark. Voltage is 14.4
When this happens, usually the engine light comes on (but not always) and sometimes the EPS light comes on too. Often the gear indicator will blink a dash mark.
When it happened yesterday, I was way up in the mountains and I put it in neutral and coasted down. I have an under hood engine fan which I left on and after about 6 miles of coasting it finally cooled off enough and started working perfectly again.
When I take short trips in the mountains it runs fine. I know it takes a long time for the engine oil to heat up all the gears and shafts in the transmission since they run in the same oil. Is there a temperature sensor on the transmission?
On all these trips, the coolant temp indicator never gets above 2 bars.
It's done this on 3 separate occasions.

I've been reading the service manual. It says the blinking dash mark on the dash indicator blinks a code, now I'll have to spend a half day going up in the mountains to make it happen again so I can discern the blinks.
I can rebuild engines and do most any kind of mechanic work but I'm pretty ignorant about electronic gadgets. Is there a way to read the code without taking a long trip? I have been trying to figure this out by reading the manual but it's mostly just "step 1 step 2 step 3" procedures with no explanations, objectives or logic and plenty of acronyms to help confuse and challenge my reading comprehension. The guys who write these must be afraid the engineering dept will fire then if they disclose which engineering mistakes cause most problems.

If I take it to the dealer I would have to pay them $100 an hour to trailer it up in the mountains, take a long ride and get it hot to verify the problem, which isn't very enticing.

Any suggestions?

If nobody has any suggestions, be sure you record the dash indicator blinking next time it does it. Someone may be able to help u then
 
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AZ123

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Took it to the dealer yesterday I will get updates for you
It seems to be heat related issues maybe going in limp mode. as I shut it off for awhile to cool down then it starts shifting again but the unit never over heats according to dash indicators
Sometimes no lights come on the dash to indicate an issue sometimes power steering light comes on . I know when it’s going to happen because the speedometer goes to zero as I’m driving it Then it’s stuck in first gear after that
 
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AZ123

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Got my ride back from dealer they could not reproduce the symptoms of it being stuck in first gear they did some troubleshooting but did not find a definite answer
codes they did get suspect it was a battery issue
They said the battery tested good but suggested buying original factory battery also they checked the speed sensors and they did find some odd wear or metal on the sensor here’s a photo of it
We also discussed information about the ECM under the driver seat overheating as I discovered in another post on this website about Customer having the same issues
if it happens again I may order a new ECM and see if we can control the heat under the seat
If anyone has any input feedback is appreciated

3DEDE1FD 9733 4CBB 8F4B C3959CAC4FD8 A850FCD0 DA4E 4646 89E1 701C3BAB3DCF C6E37FCE 17D6 418A A455 A78FB715799E
 
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Ericthered

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You need to replace the sensor and BEFORE driving it find out what is wobbling in the gear box that is eating it. The sensor should not have even a nick in it. Something is about to let loose and seize up just when you don't want it to. Might kill you! Pulled my front speed sensor and it is oily, but no scratches or metal. Need to talk to dealer. At the very least drain the oil into a clean bottle so you can see what color metal comes out. Will help in troubleshooting failure. Good luck. Eric in Reno, NV
 
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AZ123

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Well now a new symptom appeared driving down the road unit just died some check engine lights came on pulled off the side of the road shut it off turned it back on and everything‘s running fine now again?
 
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Ericthered

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Boy, sounds like mine when I first bought it 3 years ago. The grounds felt tight by hand, but when I put a wrench on them I got 2 full turns. There are 3 critical grounds on the engine. You should do the wrench test. Since I tightened mine 3 years ago I have had trouble free driving all over the desert and mountains.
 
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AZ123

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Just to follow up if someone else is having same issues
This time the Honda would run for about 3 miles until it got to running temperature then the unit would start running rough
And then shut down
Would have to wait until it Completely cooled down and then it would start and run again for approximately the same amount of time and then shut down again
Found that the check engine light was blinking a code of 13 so scheduled appointment with the dealer and they said it was a broken wire on the fuel injector just got the unit back appears to be running good but still need to take it for a long test ride I don’t know If this has resolved the issues when the unit heats up and get stuck in first gear as the weather has cooled down I will follow up
 
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AZ123

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Just following up as promised
The weather has gotten above 80° and the Honda pioneer is stuck in first gear again so the past repairs written on my post we’re not a fix.
The dealer did fix the broken fill injector wire but that did not resolve the problem with stuck in first gear but did fix the die alongside the road problem that was just evidently additional issue
I still believe it’s a heat related issue with the ECM under the driver seat I think I’m gonna pull the toolbox out today and see how I can get that area to cool down some rather with insulation or I might have to buy a fan kit do trial by error.
I have bought a new ECM I have not installed it yet because the dealer wanted to make sure they could read all the codes and I’m not sure if I have to go through a full relearn process if I install it as I am a rookie at this.
when it does get stuck in first gear speedometer goes to zero.
My fix right now is to stop along side the road let it cool down and then it starts working again during the cooldown process I thought I heard a noise that sounded like a ping and after that I believe that it starts working again like a thermal coupler may have reset itself I don’t know.
Very frustrating
 
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dook

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I still have the same problem on mine in spite of installing a fan in the engine compartment and a heat shield between the engine compartment and the transmission module.
I noticed the other day that the heater, which is under the drivers seat, doesn't have a heater control valve to stop coolant flow through the core so I ordered a heater control valve to see if that helps.
My problem is definitely heat because after I leave the engine off a couple hours and drive it, everything works perfectly.
 
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Ericthered

Eric The Red
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My 2017 heater/defroster is located behind battery box, under dash. It was a tight fit, but no heat issues. Electronics and heat don't mix. I would try stopping all hot water under the seat (plug both lines) and see if issue goes away. In Nevada desert at 103 degrees I had no issues. Heater under your butt is a bad idea to begin with. Let us know if your "stuck in 1st" goes away.
 
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AZ123

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I installed new ECM I guess that’s what you call it
Everything Is running OK and shifting OK but when I’m in park I have this on my dash the gear symbol is halfway on and then I have a manual and auto symbol on never had before
I called the dealer they said it was just plug and play is there some transmission relearn I don’t know about?

02672B1E 3BC3 4A8D A8C3 D6E951F0310E F133A51C AC0E 4F5A 8610 F92EB8508443
 
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HondaTech

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I still have the same problem on mine in spite of installing a fan in the engine compartment and a heat shield between the engine compartment and the transmission module.
I noticed the other day that the heater, which is under the drivers seat, doesn't have a heater control valve to stop coolant flow through the core so I ordered a heater control valve to see if that helps.
My problem is definitely heat because after I leave the engine off a couple hours and drive it, everything works perfectly.

I would be careful installing a block off in the heater line. The input comes off the oil cooler and drains the rear cylinder area. We debated blocking that line off on our Talon race car to get rid of the factory oil cooler for a better one. We decided against it due to causing a possible hot spot in the rear cylinder.

Just a thought. I cant say ive had this problem on any Pioneer with a heater, but then again we are in northern KY/southern OH. So the temp difference might be a factor.
 
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