10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 10,490 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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
I had been driving for over an hour at 70 when I crossed into Pennsylvania and encountered crawl speed traffic. I exited the highway at exit 1. At the top of the ramp there is a traffic signal. I stopped at the red and the vehicle shut down. The light turned to green and the vehicle immediately in front of me proceeded into the intersection. I removed my foot from the brake and attempted to go. The engine auto stop-start kicked the engine but then the engine immediately cut off and the chimes went off. The car behind be stopped abruptly to avoid contact. Attempting to understand what occurred i looked at screen. The screen indicated to shift the vehicle into park. I did. The vehicle did nothing. Since there is no way to to start the engine without it, I was forced to turn the vehicle off using the On/Start/Off button. Hitting the button turned the car off, a second press would normally start the vehicle but it did not. I cycled the button 2 more times and the engine started. This system is flawed.
- Harrisburg, PA, USA
While Stopped at a stoplight the Auto Start/Stop feature stalled the engine. This has happened to us multiple times.
- Findlay, OH, USA
A few months ago, car started alarming randomly. Upon entering vehicle all lights on dashboard were going on and off, screen was going through each system followed by "problem" and repeated clicking heard in steering column and captured on video for 1 minute. This continued for several days but car drove okay. Alarming bouts came and went for a few days. I researched and found that it was probably the Keyless Access Control Unit based on other owners of similar years/models. Took to dealer and showed my video. After inspecting they came back saying that they called Honda and it was a different part (unknown) but described as more of the control computer for the car. They placed the part on order, but said that another customer had the part on order for over 4 months at that time with no ETA. Six weeks later, without an incident, the car started alarming again on a hot day. Dashboard lights lighting up, clicking in steering wheel, etc. I drove the car for a few errands just fine, until I went to pull out onto a US Hwy and the clicking began, lights flashed, and the car felt as if it stalled as I was entering the road. Suddenly, it couldn't go more than 2 or 3 MPH, although speedometer wasn't working. I was able to stop it and reverse back (2-3 MPH) into the driveway quickly just before oncoming traffic hit me. When the clicking and flashing stopped, the info screen went through every car system alphabetically and listed "Problem" afterwards. I couldn't get the car to drive normally after turning it on/off several times. I disconnected the battery and that stopped the problem. Two weeks later, dealer said part was in so I scheduled replacement. Dealer replaced "Keyless Access Control Unit" despite telling me 2 months beforehand that it was something different. Car has been problem free since replacement, but it has not been long. Additionally, my neighbor has Pilot of similar year, and has the same exact problem of alarming/clicking, etc.
- Carmel, IN, USA
When the vehicle has been shut off, there is an electrical system problem that attempts to re-start the vehicle. the alarm goes off, headlights turn on, the dashboard lights up. This cycles over and over unless you open the hood or a door to "fool" the system. If you don't do this, then often the headlights and dash light will remain on overnight and the battery is dead the next morning. This prblem has been occurring for two years, but the dealr has not diagnosed it becasue it is intermittand and doesn't throw a code.
- Tucker, GA, USA
Beginning in February 2023, around 2AM, my car alarm would sound. Upon inspection, the vehicle dashboard was lit up and clicking relay sounds could be heard from the dashboard. In essence, the car was trying to "start" itself. When the attempted start reached a certain level, the car would recognize the absence of a key fob, and thus, the alarm would sound. To remedy this, I had to leave my key fob in the car - which did not prevent the attempted starts, but at least prevented the alarm from sounding. In the morning the battery was dead from the headlights and interior lights flashing all night. Additionally this was a safety issue as I had to leave keys in an unlocked car. The dealership cannot reproduce the problem, as it happens in the middle of the night (particularly when it is raining or very humid outside). I have found SEVERAL Honda forums with dozens of other Pilot owners who are experiencing the same problem. Dealerships have tried several remedies, all at the customer's expense, including battery replacements, START/STOP switch replacements, etc. The only thing that fixes the problem is replacement of the Control Unit-Smart Power ( 38320-TG7-A32 for my year/make). This part is $400 and labor at my dealership was estimated at $700-800. The part is on backorder. I can only assume it is because there are so many of us Pilot owners trying to get our hands on a working unit. The part is not part of a recall or warranty extension, and frankly, it should be. It is preposterous that so many customers have the same faulty part in 2016-2018 models and that Honda is not covering the cost of these repairs. In the mean time, I have had to disengage my hood sensor to prevent the alarm from sounding, which is a safety issue if the car is stolen. And periodically the battery drains out because the problem persists, lighting up the dashboard while the Smart Power unit tries to start the car all by itself.
- Lutz, FL, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while at a complete stop, the vehicle stalled due to a defect with the Auto STOP/START feature. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions where a software update was performed, the starter motor, starter switch, fuel injector and valve adjuster were all replaced; however, the failure persisted and worsened over time. The manufacturer was contacted and filed a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
- Griffin, GA, USA
Vehicle sitting in driveway on hot day started alarm beeping, headlights and tail lights remained on and dashboard warning lights going on and off as if a poltergeist possesed. Car could not be locked. Depleted car battery resulting in new battery being required. New battery did not resolve problem Car drives without problems except some dashboard functions no longer visible Dealer states Smart Access Control Unit, part #38320-TG7-A32, is needed. Part is on backorder from Honda with changing dates of availability. Car is not safe to drive with children and subject to theft since it cannot be locked.
- Clifton Park, NY, USA
This vehicle keeps having a "Emissions System Problem" Then other times says "Transmission Temperature Too Hot" I bought and get this serviced at my local dealer. They don't know what the problem is and it goes away after I see them for a couple weeks but the problems come back. They say no problem. It's unnerving to drive a car with theses messages and I drive long distances.
- Spartanburg, SC, USA
Alarm spontaneously went off while in garage & several indicator lights lit up and repetitive clicking sounds heard. Honda dealership Johnson City, TN diagnosed problem as a faulty body control unit module. I was told I could drive the vehicle and afterward unhook the battery cable to keep the alarm from going off & draining the battery. I followed instructions but then it would not start and was then told the body control unit module is at fault. My understanding is that some features of safety are compromised with body control unit module malfunction so perhaps I should not have been given this advice?? When we first got vehicle, 2017 awd honda pilot w RES - the NAV system did not work. Supposedly they replaced it - still does not work. The RES quit approx 2019 - still not work. My wife was told it would cost 2-3,000$ to fix it - did not offer to file a claim on our warranty; we were told to hang an ipad back seat. On 6-19-2019 clock froze; 6-17-19 dash computer not work - Honda replaced display audio replace Navigation unit - warranty covered...9/29/21 starter & battery replaced at 37,394 miles we paid $1020.86 despite having a platinum warranty covering electrical. 10/4/22 at 46,779 miles fuel injectors replaced - warranty covered. 3/26/23 alarm spontaneously went off - Honda diagnosed as body control unit module as problem - "lucky if part arrives by 5/8/23 would cost us $725 to fix (even though we have platinum warranty). Once we reminded them to file warranty will cover but I have to pay for my own rental car (over $900 at this point). Interestingly 737,000 recalls for BCM in 2020. Honda says quote: Our goal is customer satisfaction, that is why we keep a large stock of body parts, mechanical & electrical parts on hand. We have one of the largest inventories in East Tennessee, Western N.C., SW Virginia. 6 times we've had this vehicle at Honda dealership for electrical issues. The SUV has been garaged, driven gingerly, has 51,000 miles on it.
- Johnson City, AK, USA
- South Boston, VA, USA