10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,250 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #218

Oct 012021

Pilot

  • miles
The engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. It's very serious safety issue when this problem happened on the road. I visited HONDA service twice for fixing this problem but they couldn't fix it. Pilot does not have the ability to completely stop the automatic Engine Stop-Start function, so I have to manually turn off the Auto Stop-Start function every time I start the engine. But sometimes we forget to turn this feature off. And this problem is recurring again and again. I'm going to log it here because one day I'm in danger of a following car crashing into my car because of this problem.

- Paramus, NJ, USA

problem #217

Jun 152021

Pilot

  • miles
The vehicle is equipped with auto idle/engine disable. When stopped at a stop light and depressing the brake pedal, the engine shut downs. The engine is supposed to restart on releasing the brake pedal. On a number of occaisions the engine has not restarted, but rather has stalled, leaving me stalled in traffic. It takes several seconds (which feels like a lot when cars are driving around you, honking, etc.) for the engine to completely shut down and then restart. And sometimes the restart is not smooth. Takes time. The dealer service has not reproduced the problem - they did suggest that I replace the battery to see if that would help. It seemed to help a bit - but the problem returned after a short while. This has occurred approximately 5-6 times. I now try to remember to disable the auto idle feature on entering the car. The default is for the feature to remain on, so I have to remember to disable it each time. I have one maintenance record from January 2022 which shows my report of the issue to the service department, and the replacement of the battery. I did ask about the issue prior to, and after, the January 2022 record, but I have only the one documented complaint. I know that this now a known problem and that the NHTSA is investigating. I wanted to share my experience. Thank you.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #216

May 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Idle stop engages and cuts the car off, but it won't start back up automatically. We have to put the car in park and try to restart it completely. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts; long enough to miss a cycle at the stop light.

- Dothan, AL, USA

problem #215

Oct 022022

Pilot

  • miles
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" Yes it is available for inspection upon request The start/stop idle feature doesnt work sometimes. The car is supposed to turn off when you come to a stop light or any stop at all. You put on your break and the car stops and then when you start to go the car turns back on and off you go. For about a year now this has been malfunctioning and my car just stalls. Twice now in the last 6 months this has happened where I have been stuck in traffic with cars yelling and honking there horns at me. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Countless times in the last year my life, my childrens life, and those drivers around me have been at risk. There isn't any warning before it happens and can happen at anytime. Twice I thought I would have to call the police to direct traffic and get my car towed but thank goodness after 5-10 minutes it ended up starting on its own. The problem also is when it stalls like this, you can get the car in neutral to move or anything. Your just stuck. Its so scary and unless I disable this feature every time I drive the car, I risk getting in an accident!! Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No it hasnt been reproduced. It is at the dealership right now because the second incident where it completely stopped for 10 minutes in traffic happened yesterday. Took it to the dealership 6 month after the 1st very dangerous incident and they said it was the fuel injector which I got replace and it didnt have any incidents for 6 month but as I stated it started back up Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, the dealership Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear"

- South Jordan, UT, USA

problem #214

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 #213

Sep 292022

Pilot

  • miles
While at a stoplight, my auto start/stop feature shut the engine down. When I released the brake after the light turned green, the car didn-??t restart. Instead it shutdown in put the car in neutral. This resulted in traffic being halted and me frantically attempting to get it restarted. After getting it back in park, I was able to get it restarted.

- Cary, NC, USA

problem #212

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 #211

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 #210

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 #209

Sep 262022

Pilot

  • miles
I stopped at a red light and the idle stop function shut down like it should. When the light turned green, I let my foot off the brake and it stalled out. Some of the dummy lights came on and it stated that I needed "To start engine: brake + push" and shows the break pedal and the Start engine button on the dashboard. So I did. It did nothing. I had to turn the car off and try to restart it. I had to do this 3 times for it to finally start back up so I could drive off. This has happened to me a total of 6 times now. All but one time was at a red light, once being at a roundabout as I was slowing down for a car coming toward me. Today I had to restart it 4 times, open my car door, take my seatbelt off and close my door back before it finally started back up. I have taken it to the dealer once before and they told me it was because my battery was weak and would not make the connection when it went to start back up. They said they 'fixed' it to the best of their ability and just basically hoped it would not happen again. Well, it did. I just had my battery checked last week and it is fine. I have a physical video of it as it is happening. As soon as my car shut itself down "stalled out" I grabbed my phone and videoed it. I am keeping the video on my phone. This is NOT safe. If I can't move at all, it will not go into neutral or anything, so I would not be able to physically move the car into the emergency lane out of traffic or anything.

- Shelbyville, KY, USA

problem #208

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 #207

Sep 232022

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle idle or auto start /stop is not functioning.. It has happened multiple times incluiding today 09/23/2022, were the vehicle shuts of and it doesnt start.. All this codes and instructions come up to try to turn the vehicle back on... It always happens is a street light and most of the time is a busy intersection with cars honking and the vehicle is off... IT IS VERY UNSAFE... It takes a couple of minutes to start the car on.. My wife has been stranded for 10 minutes in the middle of traffic going by trying to start the car.. I had this issue at 40k miles and took it to the dealership and paid $746.96 to get the Valve adjusted to correct auto start... Now at 73k miles is happening again... It started at 60k.. Today 09/23/2022 im at the dealership and they say the cant find any code THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE...

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #206

Aug 222019

Pilot

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped at a stop sign or light with the brake pedal depressed, the engine turned off; however, when the brake pedal was released the engine failed to restart as designed. The contact stated that the START/STOP button had to be depressed to start the vehicle. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic test however, the dealer was not able to determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that the dealer replaced an unknown gasket, checked the battery, and performed a warranty valve adjustment but the failure continued. The vehicle had been to the dealer at least twice for the failure. The contact stated that upon picking up the vehicle from the dealer, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

- Champaign, IL, USA

problem #205

Sep 202022

Pilot

  • miles
5 times now we have been stopped in traffic and the auto stop/start function correctly stopped the engine but the car would not start back despite multiple attempts. Thankfully after about 30-40 seconds the dash lights come back on then the start button will respond and the car will crank and run normally

- Calhoun, LA, USA

problem #204

Sep 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Multiple times in the past year the car has stalled when at a complete stop. It's when the car idles down and then we try to go by stepping on the gas. The engine dies completely and we need to put the car in park and then restart the car. This is very dangerous when in traffic on the highway or starting on a green light or stop sign with cars behind us. We've talked to the dealer numerous times and they haven't had any solutions. We need this fixed but think Honda should be paying for it, not us.

- Norfolk, MA, USA

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

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