10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
43,478 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.

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problem #16

Mar 012024

Pilot

  • miles
The car was making a lot of noise, so we took it to the shop. Upon investigation, they told us we were lucky we hadn't had a catastrophic failure as the frame was rusted through. We were told not to drive it further. The car has been well taken care of.

- Winfield, IA, USA

problem #15

Dec 112023

Pilot

  • miles
About 9 days ago our Honda Pilot (parked, off, keys out of ingnition) had a malfunction in the drivers side heated seat and caught fire burning half the seat and the door, this could have happened while driving which makes this a massive safety issue, I had previously had my car checked out only days prior to incident and nothing was found. There was no indication, warning lights anything to tell us this would happen No one has checked the car since because we have no money and the car is no longer legal to drive

- Ellsworth, ME, USA

problem #14

Jul 132023

Pilot

  • miles
When I had taken my vehicle in to the dealership for power steering issues and other routine maintenance, I was told that my rear bumper was extremely rusted out as well as the frame on the driver side. I was advised this is a major safety concern and that the frame cannot be fixed by the dealership.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #13

May 092023

Pilot

  • miles
Rear steel bumper totally corroded rendering bumper protection deficient. Significant rusting on rear bumper beam.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #12

Nov 252020

Pilot

  • 145,000 miles
Latch on the rear pull down door will not hold tight. I close it so that the rear door seems closed well and tight. After driving a little while, very often, my light comes on showing rear pull down lock is not closed! when I check it out, I find that it is not closed tight. I can see it protruding slightly, compared to how it looked as I closed it initially! I can't tell exactly when it began it wasn't that often and I thought I or my husband just didn't close it tight enough.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #11

Apr 142019

Pilot

  • 144,309 miles
2006 Honda Pilot ex mileage: 144,309 I was accelerating from a stop when I felt a jolt coming from the rear of the car. Several warning lights lit up in the dashboard, there was a loud exhaust leak, and the car was no longer accelerating. There was an auto care center 50 yards away so I slowly drove it there for an inspection. The mechanic lifted the vehicle and showed me that the back two rear subframe mounts were detached from the body which made the car inoperable. There was no visible rust on the undercarriage; the subframe mounts rusted from the inside out. My insurance company would not cover the damage as it was a rust issue. The car was irreparable so I had to total the car and received 10% of what the car was worth running from the junk yard. I purchased the Pilot new in Feb. 2006 and performed all the recommended Honda maintenance. I personal performed all oil and break jobs so I was familiar with the undercarriage of the car. I did not see any rust under the car that would have alerted me there was a potentially dangerous issue with the rear subframe. A google search turned up several other Honda Pilot of this generation having the same subframe rust as mine with the same catastrophic failure of the rear mounts. I believe that this is a manufacturing defect in that water was allowed to pool between the layers of steel in the unibody. The car had 144,309 miles on it and was mechanically in great condition until I had this issue.

- St. Charles, IL, USA

problem #10

Mar 152019

Pilot

  • 25 miles
Vsa light and code 84-1

- Mohrsville, PA, USA

problem #9

May 012018

Pilot

  • 1 miles
The vsa device will engage after a mile of driving and will not.allow you to accelerate quickly you must slowly press the pedal. Models before 2006 were part of a recall (13V-092) however same issue on 2006 is not part of the recall

- Okc, OK, USA

problem #8

Aug 032015

Pilot

  • 200,000 miles
When driving my Honda Pilot (2006) the check engine light will com one with indicating a problem with the vsa. What happens next is the car slows down significantly and comes to a complete stop. Which means you can be on the highway and the car slows down. I check to see if there was a recall on this issue, and there is one for the 2005 model, not the 2006. However, it is the same problem, which means the problem was not fixed in the next model year. I reached out to Honda corporate and they indicated that they had no recall for this issue for the 2006 model and could not help me. I told them it was the same issue as the 2005 and apparently the problem was not fixed in the next still no help. Please note the following concerning the 2005 model. Tsa action number: EA13002 model year 2005. Same problem. On March 14, 2013, american Honda motor co., Inc. (Honda) submitted a defect information report to NHTSA identifying a defect in the vehicle stability assist (vsa) system in approximately 183,576 model year (my) 2005 Honda Pilot, Acura rl and my 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles (NHTSA recall no 13V-092). The population and failure counts provided pertain only to the my 2005 Honda Pilot that were the subject of this investigation. Honda's recall addresses two conditions in the vsa system that could result in inappropriate brake activation.

- Windsor, CT, USA

problem #7

May 112015

Pilot

  • miles
My ignition don't work.

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #6

Oct 282014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 76,000 miles
On the 28th of October, while my car was parked at my residence a enterprise box truck struck the driver side my car causing a severe damage to the side mirror, bumper and the wheel of my car. I contacted enterprise of the said damage and they apologized and made a reservation for me to go to one of their location (upper darby) to pick up a rental car while they make an arrangement to fix my car.the agent on the phone told me that I won't be responsible and that because they have not set up a claim number yet I should give them my credit card and they will set up a direct billing and my credit card info will be deleted from their system. My car was then taken to the Honda shop and a claim number ([xxx]) was established by enterprise through their insurance (rental insurance services). A representative from the company [xxx] ([xxx]) got in touch with me and told me she won't authorize the direct billing until she finish her investigation. After waiting for a month 11/27/14 she called to inform me that my car despite not having a driver side mirror and a possible off alignment and the side damage that I should have drove my car like that until the investigation is over. I asks her if she implied that I should risk my life driving a car that wont pass safety inspection text. She insist that they wont be paying for the rental car that was given to me earlier on., and that she is still looking into fixing my car. At this point I just called my insurance company to take care of my car since I can't continue to wait on enterprise and their insurance. On the 12/06/2014 I returned the rental car since my car will be ready on Monday and I don't need the rental for the weekend, only to find out that my credit card was charged in the amount of $1600 even though I was not present at the premises nor did I give the authorization for that. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #5

Oct 092014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 79,886 miles
While driving the ABS and vsa lights went on and I had to make a rapid stop when a car pulled in front and the my car swerved suddenly and I almost lost control, with the sensation that it was going to turn over. This has continued every time I put the brakes on quickly to make a sudden stop.

- Caguas, PR, USA

problem #4

Oct 012007

Pilot

  • miles
Loud popping noise coming from rear speaker when starting the vehicle. On and off for years now.

- Dunwoody, GA, USA

problem #3

Jan 302010

Pilot

  • 50,000 miles
My husband had 3 episodes of surging while exiting highways over the past year or so in my 2006 Honda Pilot. Each time he had to put the car in neutral to stop it. After driving at sustained speed on a highway, I slowed to pull off at the exit ramp, which was an incline, and the car suddenly surged forward, the engine made a sound as if it were racing and the car would not stop even with putting my right foot on the pedal and applying all the strength of both feet. I put the car in neutral and it did stop, but the engine continued to roar. The floor mat was not impeding the accelerator and the accelerator was not pushed down, it was in the proper position. The local Honda dealer examined the car and found nothing wrong - no codes had been triggered. We had yet another event with my husband driving this time about a month later, and myself and two other witnesses in the car. Honda had a regional parts and service manager examine the car after the second event and he found nothing wrong. I told him that I was frightened and very disappointed that they were not doing something more to find and remedy the problem. A Honda customer service supervisor then contacted me to review the events and told me he would take the issue "to the engineers" because it was very unusual that 2 drivers would experience the same problem if it was driver error. He called back and told me that the engineers (who did not look at the car) said it was a problem called bridging, where you accidently put your foot on the gas pedal while braking. He did not address why neither one of us had ever experience "bridging" the first few years that we owned the car, when we both had driven it extensively at highway speeds. The car has 52K miles on it currently. This is a very dangerous problem and someone needs to deal with it before people are killed. I know that I did not have my foot on the brake and the gas pedal at the same time and neither did my husband.

- Geneva , IL, USA

problem #2

May 222006

Pilot 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 35 miles
When I brake on a decline, so far as I have only owned the '06 Honda Pilot for a week, something appears to move from under the car, moves forward making a large colliding sound. Honda does not know how to address the issue.

- Pleasanton, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 072006

Pilot 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 400 miles
1)fuel gauge inoperable 3 weeks after purchasing the vehicle (always reads empty). Attempt # 3 to correct problem scheduled tomorrow. 2) popping /crackling noise from rubber gaskets at doors. Service people say it is normal, however many complaints from others on the net.

- Gilroy , CA, USA