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.

problem #209

Apr 252024

Pilot

  • miles
Twice in the past week my 2017 Honda pilot equipped with the auto start/stop feature completely shuts off at traffic lights. Usually it turns back on but it completely shut down and would not restart at very busy intersections. I was very afraid of being rear ended while i was stuck there at the light, and this is a known issue that Honda has yet to address.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #208

Apr 262024

Pilot

  • miles
After owning 2017 pilot (brand new) for 3 to 4 years, started experiencing intermittent stalling at stops when auto idle engaged. Similar to many other complaints, car would stall out, entering into an accessory mode. At times takes several attempts to restart the car. Have replaced battery and had the software update related to the issue done at the dealer. However, the issue persists and we now much remember to turn off the auto idle feature every time we start the car, or else we will end up stalled after a stop - usually creating a very dangerous situation and infuriating the drivers around us.

- West Islip, NY, USA

problem #207

Mar 092024

Pilot

  • miles
The engine start/stop intermittently fails to restart after idle stop. Yes, available for inspection upon request. I am unable to restart my car after an idle stop which causes danger by causing traffic jams and my vehicle to be idle on the road. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance company. There were no messages of failure.

- Cadet, MO, USA

problem #206

Feb 012024

Pilot

  • miles
I was driving in 80 mph traffic in and my car instantly lost all power while alarms starting blaring while I was changing lanes. I was unable to brake or to accelerate and had to coast -?" over 6 lanes of 5:00 traffic to a stop and was lucky we weren-??t killed. According to the dealer, it-??s a known issue with the fuel injectors and Honda is planning to repair it at their cost, but have no idea when they can do it because the parts are not available. We absolutely are lucky we weren-??t killed.

- Henderson, NC, USA

problem #205

Feb 102024

Pilot

  • miles
For no reason the Alarm is going off randomly the dash lights, interior lights, driving lights and headlights are flashing and loud clicking noises come from the dash. This happens frequently and has been going on for some time. I have had to remove the fuse from the Horn to keep it from waking us up at night which creates a potentially dangerous situation if I forget to plug it back in. Also this keeps running down the battery and when it is doing this, it sometimes won't start. I worry about it damaging other electronic parts and causing a dangerous situation. Honda must be aware of this issue with the Pilots. You can search online and find hundreds of others that have experienced the same issue. The Honda Ridgeline has the same issue and they have issued a TSB for it. I find it totally irresponsible that they would try to correct the Ridgeline but not also the Pilot. They know the TPMS Control Units are the problem and they need to fix them.

- Kenna, WV, USA

problem #204

Feb 032024

Pilot

  • miles
Auto engine idle continues to be problematic. Leaving me stranded in intersections and unable to restart my vehicle for minutes. Today when it happened it turned off my collision detection feature. I have taken to dealership several times, once they replaced fuel injectors due to related recall but since they show no issues.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #203

Jan 062024

Pilot

  • miles
With the IDLE function ON, the vehicle fails to start once the engine shuts down. The car suddenly stop and shut off at traffic lights, stop sides. Someone almost hit me 4 times during last month with my kids inside when the car fails to start. There is no recall about this problem yet.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #202

Dec 052023

Pilot

  • miles
The Control Unit, Smart Power - Honda (38320-TG7-A52) part failed on the vehicle after 50k miles. The issue caused all the lights in the cabin to flicker/click and the alarm to go off intermittently. The alarm could not be shut off.

- Poway, CA, USA

problem #201

Dec 052023

Pilot

  • miles
Driving vehicle when multiple warning lights illuminated, including check engine and emissions control issue. Vehicle sputtered to a stop and would not accelerate after that. Vehicle was towed to Honda dealership and they said it was a faulty rocker arm oil pressure switch.

- Sharpsburg, GA, USA

problem #200

Nov 042023

Pilot

  • miles
If I do remember to turn off the auto engine idle, the engine will stall at stoplights and will not immediately restart. I have almost been rear-ended several times. It just happened again about two weeks ago. The dealership replaced my battery and another part associated with this problem but it still occurs. The dealership refuses to disconnect the auto engine idle. My 2017 Honda Pilot should be included in the latest Honda Pilot recall.

- South Boston, VA, USA

problem #199

Oct 172023

Pilot

  • miles
Shortly after entering the freeway, the dask lights began to flicker and car started stuttering. Drive for another mile or slow looking to pull over. By that time smoke coming from rhe engine. Once we pulled over, engine area smoking a lot to where smoke coming into car. All of us git out and saw flames coming from engine area. Our pilot was on fire. Firefighters able to put out, but car was a total loss

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #198

Oct 022023

Pilot

  • miles
Keyless control unit has an electrical issue. Dash flickers on and off on its own while the vehicle is off and keys out of it. Alarm randomly triggers. Lights turn on and off. Keyless start issue as well.

- Ludowici, GA, USA

problem #197

Aug 082023

Pilot

  • miles
Car auto shuts offs and completely shut off and need to put the car in park and pray it restarts. Dangerous... One day someone will slam into me when i am trying to start it and I hope i am not killed. I picked one date, but it happens weekly.

- Keller, TX, USA

problem #196

Oct 012023

Pilot

  • miles
Auto shut off happens all the time and the car shut off and need to restart. It is so scary when you are at a light and it turns green and a car appears behind you and almost slams into you. One day it will happen and i will be dead.

- Keller, TX, USA

problem #195

Sep 272023

Pilot

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? In the past few months (My 23 to current Sept 23) the idle stop system would occasionally not restart when gas was applied. This mostly occurred when stopped for a traffic light and I would have to go through a complete restart procedure taking a good amount of time. and causing the folks behind me a great deal of unhappiness. I believe this a significant safety issue because it causes people to drive unsafely in dense traffic environments. The system is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" This caused the folks behind me a great deal of unhappiness. I believe this is a significant safety issue because it causes people to react hurriedly and drive unsafely in dense traffic environments. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? It has not been checked yet. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Not yet - I will take it to the dealer next month for the annual VA safety inspection. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Not that I saw.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #194

Jan 152022

Pilot

  • miles
The auto start/stop will intermittently fail to restart the engine from a stop after releasing foot the brake pedal. 2017 model year. In 2022 (4 year old vehicle) the auto start/stop failed to restart on three separate occasions from a stop at traffic lights over the course of one winter month. All electronics in the vehicle shut off while dash needles oscillate rapidly. It takes several attempts to restart the vehicle from park. Replaced only the battery with new AC Delco Group 48 AGM CCA 760 on my own. Problem did not reoccur until 18 months later in the summer of 2023 with the same exact symptoms but occurring more frequently now. The battery is 18 months old, the vehicle is now 6 years old. It has failed to restart seven times in the last 2 summer months. Have not taken it to the dealer or mechanic for repair yet. No warning lamp.

- Malvern, PA, USA

problem #193

Jul 242023

Pilot

  • miles
I own a 2017 Honda Pilot ex-L. I keep up with all my maintenance and vehicle mainly has highway miles. Emissions systems problem light has been going on and off for about a month now. Honda did extend the warranty to cover this issue to 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. My light came on when my mileage was around 171,000 miles so it is not covered under the warranty. Last night (9/7/2023), keyless start system problem light comes on. I have changed the battery in both key fobs. The vehicle does not hesitate to start. I called Honda customer service only to be told that my vehicle's VIN is not covered under service bulletin 20-117. If Honda is aware that these problems exist, the owners of these vehicles should not have to pay for these issues to be repaired. I have driven a civic and Accord before and the Pilot has been my worst experience ever.

- Fresno, TX, USA

problem #192

Aug 202023

Pilot

  • miles
En algunos modelos Pilot 2016-2017, Ridgeline 2017 y Odyssey 2018, la luz indicadora de fallas (MIL) puede encenderse si uno de los siguientes códigos de diagnóstico de problemas (DTC) se almacena: P0420 (Eficiencia del sistema catalizador del banco trasero por debajo del umbral [banco 1]) P0430 (Eficiencia del sistema catalizador del banco delantero por debajo del umbral [banco 21) P0300-P0306 (falla de sincronización)

- Salida , CA, USA

problem #191

Aug 042023

Pilot

  • miles
Car has died twice when coming to a stop at red lights. seems to be related to the auto stop/start engine setup. Car turns itself off but cannot start right back up again. Every red light flashes but will not easily restart. hundreds of complaints regarding this on the NHTSA website. The NHTSA needs to investigate this, cars being stuck in traffic is a safety issue. since its affecting cars years off the line, it must be some component that is failing prematurely. All of these are extreme safety issues as the car is stuck in traffic, or at light and has to be completely shut off, wait and then restart. Last time took a good 3-4 minutes to get it started again.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #190

Jul 312023

Pilot

  • miles
For the past two years, I have been taking my Honda pilot to a Honda dealership, complaining of the auto shut off feature. I will come to a stop at a stop sign or stop light. The car would do the auto shut off and when I lift my foot from the break for the car to start again, it won-??t. The car will have its lights lit up, but I won-??t be unable to turn the vehicle on. I will then have to turn the car off and then start it all over again. All while cars are honking and I-??m in the middle of the road. Holler Honda never fixed this problem. I took in videos and photos and I explained it to them and they said they could not replicate the problem and therefore could not fix anything. I continued to drive the vehicle like that. In January 2023 a service bulletin was released where Honda described this exact issue that were happening amongst other 2017 Honda pilot. I took my car in and I said this is exactly what-??s happening. My service advisor told me that he needed to do the software update first per the service bulletin. He said if it doesn-??t work then to bring the car back and they will do the remainder of the repairs, such as replacing the starter and the assembly. I asked him if we could skip the software update since we-??ve been having this issue for over two years and he said no. Six months later I am driving down the interstate and come to a complete stop and the entire car shuts off and never restarts again. I was stranded on the interstate for over four hours, waiting for a tow truck. I had to have the police come because it was at 6 PM and soon after got dark. It-??s a huge safety issue especially considering that I have two kids. Something could-??ve happened to me. I have the police report number and receipt for the tow truck ($281)

- Apopka, FL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »