10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,697 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #203

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 #202

Sep 192022

Pilot

  • miles
On many occasions, when the vehicle is stopped (at a light or in gridlock), when I remove my foot from the brake to apply the gas, the engine stops and the vehicle shuts down all systems (audio, nav, etc). When this happens, for a very brief time (too short to get a photo) warning lights related to the collision and/or emergency braking systems flash. After those lights go away, the dashboard lights indicate that the vehicle is in neutral (not by my doing) and that I must press the brake, put the vehicle in park, and restart the vehicle. This process does not always work the first time and the delay of turning off and restarting the car, even when it does work, causes a dangerous situation in traffic. When this happens on a downward hill, my vehicle rolls forward as it -??dies-?? and I am sometimes stuck in the middle of an intersection as I try to restart the vehicle as quickly as I can. When it happens in heavy stop and go freeway traffic, I-??m often surrounded by vehicles traveling at high speeds. I-??m terrified that my baby and toddler will be hurt in this vehicle. I find it egregious that Honda has not issued a fix, a recall, or any other option for owners of vehicles with such a dangerous flaw.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #201

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 #200

Sep 172022

Pilot

  • miles
When stopped the engine shuts off. It does not always turn back on when attempting to accelerate.

- Pennsburg, PA, USA

problem #199

Sep 072022

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle failed to restart when stopped at signal light the idle function shut the vehicle down but I had to completely restart the engine rather than it automatically restart as usual. A real traffic hazard

- Stillwater , OK, USA

problem #198

Aug 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or intersection with the Auto-Idle Stop engaged.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #197

Sep 092022

Pilot

  • miles
Since purchasing my car in 2018 the idle stop sometimes seemed like it "glitched". It would take an extra second or two to restart, the radio would turn on and off and lights on the dash would flash, but the car still worked. Within the last few months I've had 3 occasions where the car just wouldn't start again when I hit the gas. I need to shut the entire car off, wait a few seconds, and restart the entire car. This is extremely scary when you are stopping for a quick turn and an huge safety concern when your car won't go when you hit the gas during an unexpected stop (during a turn, at a red light, stop sign, etc.)

- Clinton, PA, USA

problem #196

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 #195

Aug 142019

Pilot

  • miles
My 2017 Honda Pilot has intermittent issues with the automatic idle feature at stops. It will sometimes stall out completely, requiring me to shift to park and restart the car completely. This feature has never worked properly; therefore, I have to shut the feature off everytime I drive for safety. I have told my dealer about this problem numerous times and they have -??not been able to replicate-?? the problem. They have replaced battery for this reason at least once but it did not fix the problem.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #194

Jan 152020

Pilot

  • miles
When my car had the engine disable feature on the car will stall out usually at traffic lights or even in the middle of intersections. When it stalls it will not start sometime for a few minutes. I have been stranded in the middle of intersections multiple times and cars have come close to hitting

- Fairfield Township, OH, USA

problem #193

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 #192

Sep 062022

Pilot

  • miles
Multiple times the cars engine shuts down at a light due to the auto start/stop and then stalls immediately when trying to restart the car to proceed. It takes a few attempts to restart the car.

- Tower Lakes, IL, USA

problem #191

Jul 062022

Pilot

  • miles
The problem is related to the start/stop system. When the car is stopped in a red light or crossing the system turns the engine off. When the breaks are released and the system tries to restart the engine, the engine does not start and the car goes off. The panel turns off. After 2-3 seconds the panel lights goes. Pushing the start button, the car's engine turns on on the majority of times. Around 10% the car engine does not start when the button is pushed for the first time. Sometimes is needed to push the button 3-4 times.

- Reunion, FL, USA

problem #190

Jul 042022

Pilot

  • miles
Engine start stop will sometimes cut the car off completely. You have to manually restart the car. All the electrical goes dead when this happens

- Staunton, VA, USA

problem #189

Aug 282022

Pilot

  • miles
While driving in the highway, took an exit and slowed down and stop in a traffic and the car -??s engine stop suddenly and Iam unable to restart it, the brake pad feels stuck and the neutral and drive button does not work, when you turn it on the other electronic still works like the audio and air conditioning but the engine will not turn on. It took us about an hour before the car start working again, causing a long traffic jam in the highway due to we can-??t even put the car on neutral for other cars to help us move it on the side, 2 police officers came to the rescue to help us but it didn-??t work until we tried again and for some divine intervention the engine start working again. I will have my car check at the honda service in the next few days.

- Folsom, CA, USA

problem #188

Aug 242022

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle failed to restart after stopping at a stop light while auto stop feature was on (defaults on). Had to completely turn off (the) vehicle and restart it for it (for) engine to fire back up. It created a unsafe situation. It took several efforts to get car restarted while traffic had to drive around on shoulder.

- Woodland, CA, USA

problem #187

Aug 172022

Pilot

  • miles
Our 2017 Honda Pilot has been having issues restarting after the automatic start-stop system idles the engine after a complete stop. The automatic start-stop feature shuts down the engine when coming to a complete stop, and then the engine doesn-??t turn back on after shutting off. This happened the first time about a year ago, of all places on the I-95 interstate highway during a backup. It then happened only sporadically but has since been happing more often. Last week, it happened multiple times on the same day (8/17/22) and became dangerous and stressful to the entire family. It is always annoying, but it is very much a safety hazard in most situations.

- Vienna, VA, USA

problem #186

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 #185

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

problem #184

Aug 102022

Pilot

  • miles
We own a Honda Pilot 2017 Touring trim. I saw your news report that there is a document out there published by the NHTSA that is investigating this issue. I-??d like to add my experience to this. On or about April 2022, we started experiencing the start/stop issue while living in Kansas. When the issue occurred, an error message would flash very briefly across the dash, quick enough where we could not take a picture of the message. Our Honda would stutter then start back up. At this point, we took it to the Legends Honda dealership [10050 Parallel Pkwy, Kansas City, KS 66109] and after a free diagnostic they told us they could not A) replicate the issue, B) find evidence of the error message in the system. The next week, we had a complete engine failure while at a stop light for a full 5 minutes. During those 5 minutes, the engine remained off, the transmission shifted to Park on its own, and the vehicle could not be restarted manually. Traffic built up behind and around us as we were trying to figure out how to get off the road and we could not turn the hazard lights on. It seems this issue is related to an electrical component. After 5 minutes, we were able to push the ignition button to turn off the car completely and restart the engine. The vehicle operated normally afterwards. On August 12, 2022, the same issue occurred where the vehicle engine would not restart and we were prevented from manually restarting the vehicle for about 5 minutes. Once again, the transmission shifted itself to Park, an error message flashed across the screen briefly this time, and after 5 mins we could manually restart the car and continue as normal. Between these catastrophic failure dates, we would experience multiple start/stop stutters with error msg The only experience we have where this would not occur is to manually turn off the auto start/stop feature when driving the car. We see this as an issue that could cause injury, aggressive drivers, and other safety concerns.

- Ewa Beach, HI, USA

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