honda pilot 04 blinking drive indicator light speedometer quit.shifting poorly

Speed sensor will do that

just put new brake pads on is the speed sensor around there or master cylinder. had a spill over after new pads put on.

where is it located and is it called variable speed sensor?

Should be located on transmission next delt with hondas much. If you have access to alldata do that if not quick google search will locate it. Cheap part usually some vehicles pain to change some are very easy.

Unsure what your car looks like under hood but does look like its near left front wheel under air box. Take a quick peak on google images and your vehicle. Make sure you dont break inside tranny gentally twist and pull straight out. YouTube helps a lot too!

thank you found it directly under master cylinder