10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 7,851 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
failed torque converter/software results in car surging during moderate acceleration. This is unsafe when vehicle will not accelerate properly under load. The problem was repaired by the dealer who indicated this issue to be a widespread problem with this car. There were no warning messages.
- Hendersonville, TN, USA
Transmission fluid is burning up within 15,000 miles or less. When the flood is going bad the vehicle studders as you accelerate and it's not safe. Ive seen a lot of people online with the same issue. Contacted Honda of America and they also know about the issue and are not doing anything to help.
- Kenosha, WI, USA
2019 Honda Pilot EX-L AWD; approximately 76k miles; all routine maintenance performed as scheduled Power Train (Jun-2023)-- had to replace both seals on on transmission / transfer case within the same month as case was leaking transmission fluid. Problem has been confirmed and repaired by two service centers (one seal each) with one at dealer and one at independent service center. No warning lights or indicators, just fluid leaking. Results could have been catastrophic transmission failure. Also replaced "burned" transmission fluid. Fuel / Propulsion System (Jun-2023) -- per service technician at dealer, loose / failing spring in high pressure fuel pump / fuel joint pipe. Per independent service center, if / when pump fails, fuel will spill into the engine. No warning lights or indicators, just noise when starting and accelerating. Trying to schedule service to address this but service centers and dealers are booked and part seems to be hard to come by taking 1-2 weeks to obtain. Neither of these issues should be happening at 75k miles and certainly not on a Honda.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
Jumping when shifting and shifting delays
- Bennington, NE, USA
Car is at 56K mileage. I was at a stop light engine was running, when I took my foot off the brake and tried to accelerate the engine died, the dashboard flashed a collision warning, (there were no cars or animals near my car), then all the screens dashboard behind steering wheel and on middle console all went blank. I restarted the car and made it home fine. Drove the car the next day for several stops (street and highway driving), then the same thing happened at a stop light and it restarted and I made it home fine. The third day there were no problems while driving 30+ miles streets and highway. The fourth day, drove about 15 miles to work and all was fine. Drove about 13 miles street and highway just fine. Ran an errand and car would not restart. Pressing the engine start button resulting in clicking but not engine start, headlight flashing, and the dashboard behind steering flashing various warning messages (cycled through several as I held the start button down, collision, braking system failure, power steering, etc.) but never started. Let it rest for ~3 hours and still would not start, same result with clicking and flashing headlights and warning messages.
- Saint Charles, MO, USA
The transmission has slipped now twice while driving. The car keep on giving jerks hard after the car starts moving The car is in automatic drive mode. During acceleration, the car will jolt forward, also when using the brakes. The dealer did recognize the problem but said it is not covered by warranty and that transmission needed to be flushed-?? which was going to cost $740 and parts extra. After initial diagnostics recommended to flush transmission fluid 3 times. For even Diagnose they charged me $179. I Have done maintenance on time Transmission fluid was change before 30000 miles for the first time and now they are asking to flush it 3 times, As per Honda Manual recommendation every 30000 miles we need to change Transmission fluid. They should replace either Transmission or do the service free of cost under powertrain warranty(60000 miles) as I only have 46800 miles within 4 years of purchase.
- Plano, TX, USA
Transmission jerking/hard shifting. Loses acceleration, especially when approaching a yield or left turn (I.e. slowing down then accelerating to make the turn, car stalls when accelerating) When taken to 2 different dealerships I was told they couldn-??t diagnose problem and at the second one I was mansplained that it was probably -??user error-?? bc it-??s a -??computerized transmission-??. Informed them this was the third vehicle I-??ve had with this type of transmission, one of which whose transmission broke and I-??m fully aware of what a jerking, stalling and improperly functioning transmission felt like. Needless to say, no one would -??diagnose-?? the problem and it has progressively gotten worse. More jerky, harder shifting. Can feel it sitting at an idle stop and sometimes when I press the gas pedal to accelerate it-??s a good 2-3 seconds before the vehicle jerks into motion. I also have a video of the RPMs dropping for no reason at 30 MPH when the speed did not drop.
- Hinesville, GA, USA
I am writing you today to discuss ongoing transmission problems that I am having with my 2019 Honda Pilot Elite AWD. On two occasions in the past several months, the transmission has reacted unexpected shifting into neutral on it's own and giving the error message "STOP DRIVING WHEN SAFE" "REFER TO OWNERS MANUAL". This has happened both on a busy interstate in heavy traffic and at low speeds while backing out onto a busy residential street. In both cases, my wife was driving with my children in the car. The incident yesterday had her stuck in the middle of a residential street with a Honda Pilot that would neither go forward nor back, finally went into park, and would not engage forward gears until the care was restarted 4 times. My family was terrified and embarrassed. This could have resulted in a broadside or T bone impact if traffic had been busier or distracted. We took a picture of the dashboard fault and took the vehicle immediately to Northside Honda in San Antonio, TX. The service manager Jose stated that they were unable to read any faults recorded by the computer and that I knew as much as they did about the problem at that time. He stated that they would be happy to hang onto my car for several days and try and make it act up and give a code. I told him there was no way that I knew as much as they did as I don't make a living servicing and repairing Honda vehicles. This is the job I expect them to be able to do. I was also told that they would not just start replacing things randomly. In the end, I have a Honda Pilot back that my wife is afraid to drive in what is a very busy city. I purchased this vehicle for the safety and reliability I expect from Honda. I am well aware that Honda knows there are substantial issues with the ZF9 speed they are putting or have placed in these vehicles. This is a safety concern for me and my family and I want someone to reach out to discuss this issue further.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
While stopped at a traffic light on a busy street, the transmission shifted by itself from drive into neutral. The vehicle would not move forward and it would not let us shift it back into drive. I finally suggested to my wife that we turn the car off and see if that would help. After doing do, we were able to regain control of the car and shift it back to drive. We had another incident when the vehicle was almost new where we were turning left and the transmission just stopped as if we had shifted into neutral. We were able to continue without restarting the vehicle, but this is potentially a very dangerous situation. We reported this incident to the dealer with no resolution.
- Louisville, KY, USA
This is a 2019 Honda Pilot with start stop function. There is a noticeable delay in activation and getting longer with time; this is a 3 year old vehicle. During 2 other instances, the system failed and vehicle would not start on a public street. During these failures and delays, other than the obvious collision safety issue, the safety systems are unavailable via a message on the dash. When it eventually starts back up it functions normally. This is clearly the system prematurely failing or the system prematurely killing the battery (which has a normal functional life of 5 - 7 years).
- Rexford, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while stopped, the vehicle independently shifted to neutral. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate or shift to drive. The vehicle had to be turned off and restarted and the vehicle to operated correctly. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times. The contact also stated that there was a clicking noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.
- Budd Lake, NJ, USA
When stopped at a red light the engine shifted from drive to neutral on its own. The brake became stiff and it took shutting off and restarting the car multiple times before it would shift. This is the third instance of this vehicle shifting to neutral on its own. After the previous times (they occurred within the same day- one shifting from park to neutral and the other similar to this experience, also at a red light), I took the car into the dealership where it came back showing no codes and could not be replicated while there. It is a push button electric shifter and the vehicle has had multiple recalls and service bulletins for electronics (all repaired) and has experienced issues beginning one month after I purchased the car brand new.
- Somerville, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, and the dealer replaced the starter, the injector, the transmission fluid, and the transmission plug. However, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
- Englewood, FL, USA
Vehicle failed to restart after stopping at a red light. Had to completely turn off the vehicle and restart it for it for engine to fire back up. Auto stop feature was on. Power seemed to suddenly go down and then the car was in park. Took couple of tries to start up as the car went into neutral in between.
- Oakland Gardens , NY, USA
In the past I have reported an issue with the auto stop to Price Honda. They sent me away saying nothing was wrong. Last night my car died while coming to a stop. No warning. No engine check lights. The emergency flashers wouldn't work nor doors or windows and I was stuck in the middle of the road with my children without Hazzard lights. No way to put car into neutral unless you have a special tool which even the Honda dealership couldn't help me with. This was not disclosed when we bought the car and was stuck in high traffic for over 2 hours until a mechanic came and finally got my car to start and move to side by switching the battery along with other stuff. He stated the battery should not have died in Drive and something is wrong. I see this is a known issue when looking at your website. I do not feel safe driving this Honda pilot. It can shut down at any time without warning and leave us stranded. Not being able to move into neutral in its self is safety Hazzard especially with no hazard lights. Price Honda [XXX] was very rude and brushed me off telling me no one is going to call me back over this. However their manager [XXX] called me shortly after and even acknowledged the known issue and said could take years to recall. This is not ok and why wasn't any of this disclosed. We should know that we need a tool (and know how to do it since in the engine) to save us if our car breaks down so we can at least get to side of road! I see This issue is being investigated by you, not sure why it was not disclosed especially when I already reported to Honda. My kids and I could have died yesterday. Single lane road no shoulders no flashers and cars flying past us. Not ok especially for this type of car that I bought brand new! I need assistance with this please before someone does get hurt. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Magnolia, DE, USA
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after stopping at a traffic light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled and the transmission shifted into neutral. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 31,400.
- Discovery Bay, CA, USA
Two incidences occurred within one hour. When in park the vehicle suddenly shifted to neutral and began to roll backwards. The second incident occurred 30 minutes later. When stopped at a traffic light the vehicle again shifted into neutral on its own and would not allow you to switch to drive with out turning off the vehicle and then back on again. Both could have resulted in catastrophic injury. This vehicle has been recalled (and repaired) multiple times for electrical issues and has all push button gear shifts. It is up to date on all recall and service notices and maintenance.
- Somerville , TN, USA
-Automatic Start/Stop Feature -Vehicle's Engine did not Restart after the Auto Start/Stop engaged while in rush hour traffic. Also the Vehicle will immeadiatly or on start will shift the transmission in Neutral. Leaving the family in the middle of a unprotected left turn in the middle of a now red light intersection, this is dangerous and unsafe. I will also as you come to a complete stop after traffic on the highway hits a back up. - I have taken the vehicle in the same Honda Dealership they have not been able to "Reproduce" the problem. At the 1st attempt they recommended a new battery, but the problem is still occuring. I have given them video evidence in the hope they will have a solution to this Safety Defect. -The Dealership currently has my vehicle at its service department and i was told by the Service Manager that he is coordinating with his Service Representive for a possible solution. No other agencies have looked at the vehicle thus far. -Sometimes the Start/Stop indicator on the dash illumates sometimes there's a delay. The Message given my the Dash Reads "Gear Position is N. Release Accelerator Pedal" The Message that reads if you have the Transmission in D than Press the N button reads completely different and cannot be duplicated other than when the vehicle shifts into N on its own after a Auto Start/Stop. -This issue started occurring Randomly at 57,000 miles now at 59,000 its occuring more frequently and is causing unsafe situtations while in operation of the vehicle.
- Inglewood, CA, USA
Vehicle is shutting down at red lights / stop signs; when this happens engine goes into idle mode. But pressing the gas pedal to resume travel, vehicle immediately shuts down. The vehicle needs to be turned off, and restarted. Restart is not always successful on first attempt, leaving vehicle stranded in congested traffic areas until it the issue clears. This type of event has had more than one occurrence.
- Nashua, NH, USA
- Brea, CA, USA