10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,039 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Honda Pilot:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #149

Oct 032022

Pilot

  • miles
After stopping and the auto start-stop system is utilized to turn off the engine, the engine does not restart on its own when releasing the brake pedal. The vehicle must be shifted to park, turned off, and restarted before you can begin driving again. This has happened many times and poses a major safety risk since it happens predominantly at stop lights.

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #148

Oct 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Numerous times the auto stop/start feature has failed to work. When the car tries to start back after the stop/start feature has been engaged, it does not start and will completely turn the car off. All the electronics will flash off and back on. When this happens the car has to be returned to park and can take several minutes to start back leaving the vehicle stranded in the intersection. I have complained to the dealership but they say there isn-??t a problem and to just turn the feature off. In order to do that a button has to be pushed every time the car is started.

- Richmond, KY, USA

problem #147

Sep 202022

Pilot

  • miles
For years the stop and auto-start feature will not restart automatically. Sometimes the entire vehicle itself will shut down, lose, power, then restart by itself. It is more frequent now. Last week while on the freeway, the car shut down and failed to restart altogether. The engine did not respond. I had to put it in neutral and restart the car. I had to attempt to restart it a couple of times before it finally turned on again.

- Reseda, CA, USA

problem #146

Sep 282022

Pilot

  • miles
When stopped, the engine idles off but when I go to accelerate, the engine shuts off. This is becoming a safety issue as the last two times were on a highway although it is really always a safety issue. Last year the dealer had me get a new battery. While that worked for a bit, the issue is back and worse than ever.

- Natick, MA, USA

problem #145

Sep 012019

Pilot

  • miles
The auto stop/start feature is defective. It turns off the engine when stopped at red lights, but many times the engine then fails to start again when the gas pedal is pressed when the light is green, and the car stalls. This has left us stalled in intersections many times, and sometime it takes 10-15 minutes before the car starts again. We even had to call for a tow once. This problem has been ongoing for a few years and I have communicated it to my Honda dealership many times, and have brought it in multiple times, and they have failed to rectify the issue.

- Orinda, CA, USA

problem #144

Sep 242022

Pilot

  • miles
While a stop light, the Idle Stop feature engaged as normal, however when the brake was released the engine failed to restart. This is not the first time this has happened, but this time following the instructions on display, place vehicle in park and press the Start/Stop button, didn't work. It was at night and I figured I would turn off the lights and radio to help. It took 4 or 5 attempts to get the vehicle to restart. This happens more frequently when idle stop is engaged short order, such as in a long line waiting for a left turn.

- Grapevine, TX, USA

problem #143

Sep 162022

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions now my Pilot has completely shut down while the auto-idle is on and I have been unable to restart it quickly. My young children and I have been stuck in traffic multiple times unable to move or get out of the way of oncoming traffic due to this and most recently on 9/16/22 I was almost hit due to be unable to restart my vehicle. I typically keep the auto-idle off for this reason but if I forget to turn it off, it happens again. I purchased my car on 7/06/22 and this has happened 3 times (which is a very high percentage of the time the auto-idle is accidently left on). I have tried to take it into be serviced but it does not happen every time so they have been unable to assist. There are no lights on, messages or any indication when this happens, the engine just shuts completely down and takes a minute to allow you to put it into park and restart the engine by pressing the break and the start button. This is terrifying for me, my children and everyone else on the road that has almost hit my idle car. I am scared every time I get into this car and unsure what to do at this point.

- Thompsons Station, TN, USA

problem #142

Sep 162022

Pilot

  • miles
The auto-idle system causes the car to stall quite often and poses a major safety hazard. We bought the car brand-new in May 2018. The problem started happening approximately 2 years after buying the car. The car fails to restart when you lift the foot off the break and instead, stalls the car. My husband and I have had the car stall at red lights, at stop signs, and recently while we were in the left lane of a major highway in traffic. Just this past weekend, it stalled on me twice in less than 24 hours. It takes quite a bit of time to restart because you have to put the car in park and make sure it is completely shut down before trying to start it again, while also trying to remember to put on hazard lights. I did bring it to Lia Honda in Albany NY on Sept. 24, 2021, 3.5 years after buying the car, specifically for this issue. They could not recreate it in the shop. They suggested I needed a new battery and proceeded to install a new batter at a cost of approximately $500 (it is my understanding batteries should be replaced every 5 years typically). This helped for about 6 months but now the car is stalling quite often again. While they have a button to disable this system, it defaults to "on" every time you power the car off/on, and it is easy to forget to turn it off. This is a major safety issue as the cars behind me don't realize I have stalled. I realize this is a known issue as other Pilot owners have filed similar complaints, and I hope Honda fixes this issue because we paid a lot of money for this car and will have teenagers driving it soon. We are happy to have the car inspected further if necessary. Thank you.

- East Schodack , NY, USA

problem #141

Aug 012021

Pilot

  • miles
The car sometimes fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or stop sign with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. Furthermore, on two recent occasions the car would not start at all after it was turned off to get gas. One of those times it sat for 40 minutes at the gas pump while waiting for a jump start (it eventually started on its own), and the other it had to be towed to the dealer. After the first incident, we were told there was nothing wrong with the battery and a month later, when the car had to be towed, we were told the battery was completely dead. The concern with the start/stop trouble has been reported to the dealer and we were told there was nothing they could see. There have been no warning lights, lamps or messages. The start/stop problem began approximately a year ago, and we have tried to turn that feature off when driving, due to the problems that occur, since we were told there wasn't a problem that could be seen. On the occasions we forget to take this step, it always struggles at a stoplight or intersection and if not caught in time, the car will stall out, sometimes taking 2-3 tries to restart. The vehicle is currently in the shop, awaiting a battery replacement as we have been told that is what is causing the start/stop issue.

- Warrenton, VA, USA

problem #140

Sep 192018

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions, the engine idle stop system has failed to restart the engine at an intersection when releasing the brake leaving the car disabled in a dangerous situation. This started after about 20k miles. When it happens the car is fine until brake release. It seems to try to restart but the entire car loses power. No lights, no anything. Won't restart at first either. After a few moments trying to get it to restart it will fire up and you can put it back in drive and continue. I did note it happened less when I replaced the battery for a while. Dealer has replaced fuel rail and ignition switch to no avail. As a car guy I can say when it happens it's almost like there is not enough power to throw the starter. At that moment it's like all the power is sapped away like a bad ground or something. But then it comes back because obviously it restarts after a bit. Battery, Alternator and starter tests are always good. We now turn engine stop off every time we start the car out of fear but there is no permanent off switch.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #139

Sep 092022

Pilot

  • miles
The idle stop feature not working properly. Many times the engine will not restart after releasing the brake and pressing the accelerator. This has left me stranded in busy traffic situations including intersections. This is very dangerous and a hazard for me and my family.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #138

May 172022

Pilot

  • miles
I have experienced several instances where the vehicle's auto stop-start system fails to restart the vehicle's engine after a stop. This has happened 2-5 times. Specifically, when the vehicle is at a full stop (with brake fully depressed), the auto stop-start system is designed to stop the engine to conserve fuel by turning the engine off. During the episodes at issue, the system works correctly to stop the system. However, when I have released the brake pedal and attempted to resume driving, the engine has failed to restart and the power system appears to fail/reset. The vehicle then requires that I attempt to restart it using the stop/start button. On at least one occasion, I had to make multiple attempts to restart the vehicle before it finally began operating again. This situation often results in the vehicle obstructing traffic for an extended period of time and creating a dangerous situation. I have begun disabling the auto stop-start system when driving the car to avoid this problem occurring.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #137

Aug 252022

Pilot

  • miles
On numerous occasions, when the auto engine start/stop engages, due to coming to a temporary stop, the vehicle completely shuts down. I then have to restart the car manually. Usually a notification pops up on the dash telling me there-??s an issue and you have to follow the instructions. It-??s very stressful because I am usually in traffic and have my children with me. This is a huge safety issue.

- Montgomery, NY, USA

problem #136

Aug 272022

Pilot

  • miles
I was stopped at a stop sign and the auto-idle engaged. When I went to start again, the entire car shut down and would not start. I told me to depress the brake to start the vehicle, but the brake would not depress. I was stuck at the stop sign in the middle of a busy intersection because the car wouldn-??t restart after the auto-idle engaged. After about 10 minutes, the car was able to start and I was able to drive it home. Prior to this, I have had some instances where the auto-idle would engage and when I went to drive again, all the lights would flash and it would delay in starting. The code reader read zero codes. Previous inspections from the deal found no errors as well. We are replacing the battery, but there are no other indications the battery was dead, dying or faulty and would cause this issue.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

problem #135

Aug 262022

Pilot

  • miles
1. The problem is linked directly to the Auto Start/Stop capability. The Car is available for inspection upon request. 2. Car shut down electrically in the intersection of the road and caused traffic and police presence, semi trucks rolling through were frightening 3. Honda West Dealership in Las Vegas inspected the problem but had no resolution to fix it. 4. No warning lights indicated a shut off was emminent.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #134

Aug 262022

Pilot

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that alarm on the vehicle would activate erroneously. The contact stated that after deactivating the alarm, the alarm sounded again hours later. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

problem #133

Aug 012022

Pilot

  • miles
The auto start/stop on my vehicle doesn't always work. I come to a complete stop, the vehicle turns off and when I pick my foot up off the brake to restart the car sometimes it will stall. There is no warning message or indication whether or not the car is about to stall, it just happens randomly. We cannot consistently replicate the issue. In order to restart the car I have to hit the start button, wait for the car to completely shut off and then turn the car back on creating a huge safety issue especially if I'm in the middle of an intersection waiting to make a left-hand turn. This is an accident waiting to happen. I brought my car to a Honda dealership approximately 6 months ago and brought the issue up to them. They told me they could find no issue with the car, couldn't replicate it and told me they had never heard of it before. It wasn't until I did an online search a few days ago that I realized that I wasn't the only one having this issue. I drive my children in this car and would be willing to allow anyone to inspect my vehicle to try to get to the root of the issue. This is a huge safety issue for what is supposed to be a safe family vehicle.

- Chagrin Falls, OH, USA

problem #132

Aug 232022

Pilot

  • miles
we bought April 2021 and 1st issue not even 60 days after purchase, dealer removed warranty without us knowing! We have had problems ever since with warming lights coming on & flashing on multiple occasions, even while traveling @ 50 mph!. Huge safety issue as the vehicle jolts and then looses power and can't pick up speed and go with flow of traffic! Someone will get in an accident because of it and that will be a HUGE liability for honda as you all are ware of these issues and are doing NOTHING to recall them and fix the problem! This is a problem for many honda pilot owners from all the honda forums i have read and research ive been doing! i want the issue resolved as this is NOT a random. I just read that there was a service bulletin in 8/2019 pertaining to this specific car/VIN and it references faulty fuel injectors. i have no way to know if this was completed. i feel i should be able to have the injectors serviced/replaced at NO COST to me as this is a HUGE problem with 2016-2017 pilots and the fact a honda dealer pretty much sold us a LEMON of a car! I want our pilot fixed as it is a problem that Honda has been having with 2016-2017 pilots and Honda should be liable for this! Happened again today and has been happening more frequent in the past few months but have been dealing with it since we bought the vehicle. recent mechanic said the ECM/PCM may be faulty as you cant get a viable code as everytime it happens it throws all kinds of warning lights & codes that are not accurate.

- Edgewater, FL, USA

problem #131

Nov 012018

Pilot

  • miles
I have a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite. My car has had issues since I purchased with the stop/start feature and it-??s progressively gotten worse. It-??s currently failing every day. In 2017, it was the automatic stop not working right. It would intermittently come on/off when at a complete stop. It never quite functioned properly. It-??s so bad, that I turn feature off when I start the car. Unfortunately, I can-??t have it default to off so if I don-??t remember to turn off auto-start every single time, then I have issues. My son was 3 years old when I bought my car. I would be at stops and the car would shut off. Then, it wouldn-??t start. It would require me to press brake+gas+start button to reset car. I have come very close to getting into accidents while at stops and have had drivers with road rage come after me since I made them miss the light while my car restarts. I have been in the turn lane with heavy traffic and my car stops in the middle of the intersection. In 2018-2020, it progressively gotten worse. I took to Southeastern Honda to get looked at and was told that-??s just how it works. After 2020, the car stops and will not restart at all. It would intermittently happen where I would need to get a jump start to get car running. I took to Space Coast Honda thinking it was my battery or starter. I was told that it tested fine, but still does it. In 2022, my car progressively got worse and requires a jump start. I since purchased a jump starter that is portable. I have to use it every single day. I have narrowed down the symptoms. If I drive 30 minutes and turn car off and immediately back on.. it will not turn over. I have to wait 4 hours and it works. I have measured my stop battery at 11.7 when it doesn-??t work. If I wait 4 hours or jump start.. then it requires a 12.6 to start. I researched and found article that is exactly what happens https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2016-2020-honda-pilot-nhtsa-investigation-engine-failures/#ftag=COS-05-10aaa0j

- Viera, FL, USA

problem #130

Aug 182022

Pilot

  • miles
Failed to restart when auto engine stop engaged in the middle of a busy intersection. Large truck with heavy duty battery jump started but it took 10 minutes of being connected to the battery for the engine ignition to start again. No lack of charge (all electronics working but turned off just in case) but a defect in the restart after cutoff.

- Monroe, WA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »