10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,331 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #53

Apr 282021

Pilot

  • 5 miles
Since I purchased the car, the wheels make a cracking noice when turning and braking. Took it to the dealer 2-3 times and they told me they could not find anything that it may just be the brake pads sticking some times. Now at 55,000 miles the power steering eps and all other lights came on like a christmas tree. This had not happened in the past. I have read up on it and others have had the same problem. My main concern since I purchased it was that cracking noise when turning when backing up or turning when going forward. This only happens on starting to drive not at fast speeds. Now all the lights are on and don't know what the issue is. From research it seems like it may be something with the fuel injectors. My car is already past it's warranty.

- Santa Maria, CA, USA

problem #52

Apr 202021

Pilot

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, the vehicle shut-off while depressing the brake pedal. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The police were called to scene as multiple attempts to shift the vehicle into neutral or to restart the vehicle failed. The contact was finally able to restart the vehicle and received a police escort to West broad Honda (7014 w broad St, richmond, va 23294) however, a diagnostic test was still pending. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #51

Apr 132021

Pilot

  • 50,000 miles
My 2017 Honda Pilot elite is equipped with the auto start/stop "feature". this feature can be disabled, but not permanently - you have to remember to turn it off every time you start the car. Several times over the last few months my car has totally died when I'm at stop lights or intersections. The auto start/stop feature engages and shuts the engine off, but when I take my foot off the brake the engine sputters and dies, and the car moves to neutral. I've figured out at this point that I need to shift to park, and then push the start button, but sometimes it takes several tries to start. The last time this happened I was in the middle of the busiest intersection in town with cars whizzing around me. It was absolutely terrifying. Today I took the car to the Honda dealer and they said that they couldn't recreate it (it doesn't happen every time) and there's no error code so "at this point" there's nothing they can do. They said they'd not heard of this issue before, but a quick google search turned up many forums on which people are raising this very dangerous, potentially deadly issue. Here's a sample: Https://www.piloteers.org/threads/elite-shuts-off-at-stop-light.157005/ https://https://community.cartalk.com/T/2017-Honda-Pilot-stalling-at-intersections/161704 https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Pilot/2016/engine/engine.shtml https://www.vehie.com/complaints/Honda?vehie_model=Pilot I'm now looking at trading this car in for a vehicle that doesn't have this "feature" but am worried about the family that purchases the car - it's not fair to them. Please make Honda recall the vehicles with this "feature" and let us disable the feature permanently, rather than every time we start the car.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

problem #50

Apr 112021

Pilot

  • 81,000 miles
Vehicle will not restart after engine auto idle engages. When lifting foot off the brake to begin driving car will not restart and says you must go into park and press brake. Radio and lights are still on. Even after shifting into park and pressing brake it will not start. After removing foot from brake and pressing stop car will completely turn off. We can then press start and car will usually start within three or four tries. This has happened about 10 times, with the last being in the center lane of a major freeway. Traffic came to a stop and when we started going again I was completely stuck in the middle lane with cars going all around me. Has also happened multiple times at stoplights and in drive throughs. I try and always disable this feature but forget sometimes.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #49

Apr 102021

Pilot

  • 59,121 miles
While at a red light, the auto idle engine feature completely stalls the vehicle. This has happened more times that I can count at this point. Basically, if I leave the feature on, at some point in route, it will stall. Of course, I have brought it in several times to the dealership to be told that nothing is wrong with the vehicle and the computer doesn't register/read any kind of code or error. When the brake pedal is completely depressed, the vehicle shuts down, radio, lights everything. When the brake is released, it seems to try to fire up, but stalls instead. Lights are projected onto the dash saying "to start engine: Brake + pedal". this does not immediately start the car. It takes several tries and lately I have found that I have to keep my foot off of the pedal and hit the start button to turn "off" the vehicle (even though it is already stalled). Then, I can start it. I am always in a busy intersection at a red light when this occurs which is frightening. It has taken up to two minutes to get it restarted and lights have turned green, horns have been blasted and I have been swerved around by oncoming (behind) vehicles.

- Prairieville, LA, USA

problem #48

Apr 032021

Pilot

  • 31,200 miles
This problem involves the auto-idle stop feature of my vehicle. While stopped in a long line of cars, and the brake pedal depressed, I had been moving forward slowly in this line. Each time I take my foot off the brake pedal, the engine restarts automatically, and I pull forward. Then, when I hit the brake again and stop, the engine shuts off, but usually goes into accessory mode. First, this started to malfunction and the radio, electrical system would shut down, incorrectly, then restart once I took my foot off the brake. But then, on this particular Saturday, when I took my foot off the brake one particular time...the car did not restart. The whole car, electrical system and everything shut down. I then tried to manually restart the car by putting the car in park, depressing the brake pedal, and pressing the start button. The car just clicked, and all the lights on the dash were flashing on and off. The car would not restart!! I tried over and over, and nothing! I had 40 + cars behind me in this line! everyone was beeping their horn and impatient. I then tried to put the car in neutral so I could try to push the car out of the way and the line....but the dash warning message said the car could not be put in neutral without the car being started!! the car was dead! I couldn't move it, I couldn't turn on emergency flashers, nothing! it was a bad situation. I had to call a friend to bring jumper cables to jump start the car. But it clearly was not a battery issue. The battery was checked after I got the car started again...and it is fully charged! so this was clearly a problem with the auto- idle stop feature!! I did some online research and found thousands of online complaints about this exact issue! it's put many people in very dangerous situations. I reported this to Honda usa customer service. This issue needs to be addressed and a recall put in effect!

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #47

Mar 272021

Pilot

  • 36,000 miles
Auto idle stopped engine waiting in traffic and then it would not restart. I took my foot off the brake, pressed the gas and nothing would work. Eventually, I was able to get the vehicle in park, turn it "off" and then turn it back on.

- Charleston, SC, USA

problem #46

Mar 092021

Pilot

  • 25,000 miles
Few minutes after my wife got home the car alarm began beeping and there was a fire coming from the engine of the car. We called 911 and the fire kept getting bigger. Once the fire department arrived and put out the fire we saw a huge damage on the car. We don't know how the fire could have started while the engine was off. We are concerned about the safety of this company's car.

- Brownsville, TX, USA

problem #45

Mar 052021

Pilot

  • 49,000 miles
The vehicle when stopped or at low speeds when idling, flips from drive to neutral. The the battery lights red and the oil lights red on the dash. The vehicle seemingly shuts off. You have to put it in park, press the start/stop button and the vehicle restarts. It generally happens several times in a row episodically, but not over long stretches of time. It seems impossible to replicate until it happens the next time.

- Sparrows Point, MD, USA

problem #44

Feb 262021

Pilot

  • 30,000 miles
Auto engine idle will not start the car back up sometimes. If I forget to disable the auto engine auto before each trip, sometimes we will stop at a light or stop sign and the engine shuts off like it is supposed to. The problem is that periodically, the engine will not start back up when we are ready to go. The whole car shuts off and there is a specific order of pressing the brake and pushing buttons that we have to go through to start the car back up. Very dangerous while sitting in traffic. Has happened numerous times. Have taken to dealership numerous times with no solution. I have a video of it after it is shut down, but cannot attach it because it is more than 5mb.

- Calhoun, LA, USA

problem #43

Feb 072021

Pilot

  • 35,000 miles
Electrical issues include keyless entry system failure, auto-lock no longer locking the vehicle as you walk away from it, crash mitigation system failure, radio stations no longer coming in clear. Has happened several times and the dealership says that they have adjusted something but then it happens again.

- Nephi, UT, USA

problem #42

Feb 012019

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
The keyless start system problem light will not shift off.

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

problem #41

Jan 012021

Pilot

  • miles
Stopping the full electrical system turns on then off. This happened at traffic lights in the city, on a hill with stop sign in san francisco or city, it also happens in drive through basically whenever you stop from a moving motion. The dash information system flashes and flickers, the Pilot then has to be put into park and push start button to turn the motor back on. This has.been dangerous as this issue has burned out a battery and had to tow the Pilot to the dealership and they didn't reimburse and said it was a maintenance battery issue. I have followed my wife in another car and the tail lights and the license plate light flicker. This is intermittent as the dealership will not investigate as they can't duplicate this issue,

- Rocklin, CA, USA

problem #40

Dec 242020

Pilot

  • 5 miles
The car would not go into reverse and when it finally did and we pulled out we received a transmission problem warning

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #39

Dec 222020

Pilot

  • 47,000 miles
Keyless start system problem error appearing on dashboard. Vehicle has 47,000 miles on it. Electrical is going haywire in that lights intermittently turn on, all error lights flash on dash and dash tries to boot through various ignition states (accessory mode, idle, etc). Car alarm will randomly go off, and it takes several minutes to disengage alarm because key fob not working correctly when alarm is engaged. Had to disconnect car battery to make it stop. Key fob batteries were replaced 6 months ago so not that. Dealership said that they needed to order a part and that Honda was aware of this issue and would pay for about 90% of the cost of parts and labor, so the manufacturer is aware that this is an issue. Dealership spent roughly 2 hours running diagnostics on it. Happens randomly (3 times over the course of 4 weeks) when vehicle is parked in garage, and key fobs are sitting out, face up, not being pressed in any manner that might accidentally engage a button.

- Covington, KY, USA

problem #38

Nov 112020

Pilot

  • 43,867 miles
My wife has reported on several occasions that when the idle-stop feature is turned on and the vehicle has come to a stop, the engine cuts as intended but will not restart when pressure is released from the brake. Numerous lights within the instrument panel, with the exception of the check engine light, illuminate, the transmission shifts itself into neutral. The vehicle says to shift into "park", press and hold the brake and restart the vehicle using the start/stop button. I have tried to duplicate this while driving the vehicle. Yesterday, this same occurrence happened to me only I was not able to readily restart the vehicle. This latest occurrence happened in heavy traffic at a busy intersection. My wife reports having had this occur at least six to seven times, once while in traffic on the freeway. I have brought the vehicle to Honda in the past because of the vehicle jjuttering at low speeds and because of this issue. Each time I was told that because no error code was found and the issue could not be duplicated, there was nothing they could do. This issue is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

- Eastvale, CA, USA

problem #37

Nov 102020

Pilot

  • 30,000 miles
While stopped the auto stop engages turns off the engine and if the ac is running at that time, instead of the the engine restarting when the gas pedal is engaged, the car stalls and shuts down. Dealer states cannot correct the issue (permanently turn off auto stop). I see multiple complaints so far related to this design error but no action in terms of recalls.

- San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA

problem #36

Oct 242020

Pilot

  • 32,000 miles
I have 30,000+ miles on my 2017 Pilot elite. About a year ago, I started experiencing issues with the auto idel stop feature. I first noticed that the auto idle-stop was hesitating when the engine would start up upon lifting my foot off of the gas. Later, in conjunction with the engine hesitation, I noticed that the radio would also "cut out" and the whole car would turn off and back before being able to drive. After that, the issue progressed to the vehicle completely stalling out and I would have to push park, put my foot on the brake and then push start in order to get the vehicle to move. These stall outs are happening just as I pull out into traffic, often leaving me and my family in harm's way. This is not safe. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealer I get the standard line of "we can't reproduce the issue" and I am sent on my way only to later continually experience the issue. Not happy with Honda. The NHTSA needs to make them address this issue.

- Oregon City, OR, USA

problem #35

Jan 012020

Pilot

  • 20,000 miles
The 2017 Pilot stalls while in operation due to a defect in the auto-off while idle feature. When you depress the brake pedal, the engine will shut off completely and will often not restart as intended when you release the brake. The engine will also shut off if you press the auto-engine-off while idle button to deactivate the idle-off feature if pressed while completely stopped. For all of these situations it is difficult to restart the vehicle and it remains stalled on the road for more than a minute. It's terrifying. This began before 25K miles on the car - which cost around $42,000. This is happening multiple times a week. It's unacceptable for a vehicle this young to be putting families in danger.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #34

Mar 012020

Pilot

  • 50,000 miles
At apprx 50K miles (March 2020), display panel intermittently indicated "keyless start system problem" and now (Sept 2020) that error code is constant. For a few days recently the error code disappeared, but it came back... the code shows when you start the car. The car does start every time but I am worrying that one day it may not. I googled the problem and did some of the remedies (change the fob battery, press the brake for 30 secs while the car is on) but the error code remains. Seems a lot of others are having this issue. I called the local Honda dealership and spoke with a service rep who said he comes across the problem a few times every week and does replace the keyless starter button.

- Fullerton, CA, USA

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