10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,353 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #21

Dec 012021

Pilot

  • miles
Stopped at a traffic light and car didn-??t restart. Battery completely drained and left my wife stuck in a main busy road. Auto start feature is causing this to happen.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #20

Nov 202021

Pilot

  • miles
Driver Side Window malfunctioned. Honda has attempted to repair 5 times but it continues to malfunction after working for 2-3 days max.

- Colora, MD, USA

problem #19

Feb 272022

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, she depressed the brake pedal and noticed that her vehicle was not slowing down. The contact stated that as she was approaching another vehicle, she looked to make sure she was indeed depressing the brake pedal, however it would not allow her to press down and seemed to be accelerating faster than 40 MPH. The contact stated that her vehicle then caused her to crash into the rear of another vehicle, however, the vehicle still seemed to be accelerating, even though it had crashed. The contact stated that she attempted to power the vehicle off, however, the vehicle powered itself back on. The contact stated that she powered it off 3 times before the vehicle would remain off. The contact stated that the airbags did deploy and there were no injuries reported. The contact stated a police report was filed. The contact stated she then had her vehicle towed to a tow yard where it was deemed a total loss. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #18

Feb 022022

Pilot

  • miles
The auto engine idle "feature" automatically shuts the engine off when the car comes to a stop. This "feature" is supposed to improve gas mileage, however, I believe it is very dangerous. This "feature" has caused my vehicle to stall numerous times in stop and go traffic, requiring me to completely stop the vehicle, place it in park, and then restart the vehicle. This sequence has created several scary and dangerous situations where I was completely stopped on a busy freeway. This "feature' WILL cause accidents if it has not already caused them. This feature currently cannot be permanently disabled. It must be disabled manually every time I drive the car. I have also contacted Honda directly to notify them of this defect.

- El Segundo, CA, USA

problem #17

Feb 062022

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto-Idle feature will unexpectedly over-engage while coming to a stop and the entire vehicle will shut off. I am unable to shift, steer, etc. It will also completely shut the engine down when at a complete stop. To be clear, this is not the normal auto-idle. When the full engine disengage happens, the entire vehicle loses power and the dash flashes. The vehicle states, "put into P". Once in "P" for park, the vehicle still will not restart. It is as if the vehicle has to "reset" itself. It has taken upwards of 4 minutes for the vehicle to restart. This has happened on a highway during construction traffic, approaching a stop sign, slowing at a red light on multiple occasions. I have almost been rear-ended as a result on mutiple occasions. I am not even able to put the vehicle in Neutral to move it to a safe spot. Honda informed me that I "just need to disengage this feature each and every time I start the vehicle". That is not the solution. This feature should be permanently disabled by Honda. Immediately.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #16

Oct 012021

Pilot

  • 60,372 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the keyless control module unit would shut off. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the keyless control module unit to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,372.

- Austell, GA, USA

problem #15

Nov 142021

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
To Whom It May Concern: I writing in regards to a possible defect with my 2018 Honda Pilot. It is having internal electrical issues stated by the dealership and needs a keyless control module unit replaced. However, my car has been in the dealership since November 15, 2021 due to Honda not being able to get the part needed to repair. American Honda has failed to remedy the defect in my vehicle within a reasonable time period. Can someone please assist me on how I rectify this situation. Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Austell, GA, USA

problem #14

Sep 242021

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto Engine Idle feature does not work properly. When the car is at a light, the engine idle is activated and the car is put into a slumber mode, when the brake is depressed. On occasion, when it is time to go, the car then turns off when the gas is depressed. This is extremely dangerous as then you are stuck at an active intersection and need to turn the car back on. I've discovered a wealth of other owners with this issue here. My issue is consistent with their reports. https://In my research, the Honda dealers are not doing anything to fix it, and there has been no thoughtful feedback from the company. I will be taking this to our dealer as well, but am not hopeful given that it appears to be a fundamental design / software issue, not repairable in the fields. I literally have found no evidence that it is fixable without maybe a software upgrade.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #13

May 252021

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped at a stop light/sign the engine stalls, dies, shifts to neutral (push button shift) leaving me disabled in the middle of the road. This issue has also occurred while slowing to take a sharp corner. The engine died at approximately 25 mph while slowing for the corner. I had taken it to the dealership and they claimed they could not reproduce the problem. I took the vehicle home, then later that day I drove it approximately 17 miles to a racetrack that I work at part time. At 12:30 am, I was leaving to head home, and while idling in the parking lot, it had died yet again and took several minutes to restart. Once it did restart, I had no throttle response in park, neutral or in drive. I shut the vehicle off and restarted it with no other issues for the 17 mile trip back home. The dealership suggested that I take picture/video when it happens, which poses another safety concern to do that in the event I am driving when this event occurs. This is a severe safety concern as there is the potential for the engine to die/stall during a hard braking event in which I could lose power brakes. Only the dealership has inspected the vehicle, and the only lights that have been illuminated on the dash was the battery light and the caution light. This issue has been going on for approximately a month and a half. After completing some research, I have noticed there is a large collection of this or very similar complaints.

- Bossier City, LA, USA

problem #12

Jun 292021

Pilot

  • miles
Push start does not work, says wireless key issue. Car does not start up (crank) and it does not turn completely off (it's stuck in start/ignition on, car is not running). Alarm would randomly discharge and have to relock the car, but would go off again. The ignition would flicker on and off constantly draining the battery. Doors would eventually unlock and stay unlock.

- Bayou La Batre, AL, USA

problem #11

Sep 192020

Pilot

  • 18,750 miles
After about 20 miles of freeway driving I exited and stopped at a stop light. I believe my car went into the engine stop mode where it turns off the engine to save gas. It did not restart and would not restart. The car told me to put it into park, so I did. I touched the car start button and it would not start it kept reporting an error on the screen. I panic'd because my family was in the car and the light turned green with cars coming from behind very quickly I kept pressing the button get the car to start but it would not. It kept reporting errors. Finally, after about 5 minutes, the Honda logo showed on the screen indicating the car was effectively rebooting and the car started after that. This is completely unacceptable for any car. Related: I've previously reported that the car engages the engine stop feature far too quickly, literally within a second of coming to a stop, which is dangerous because you may just be stopping quickly at a stop sign or exit where you're required to stop. The car cuts out and it takes 3-5 seconds to get acceleration. After reporting this to Honda directly they declined to change the feature to be fully disabable and I've since gotten into a couple of situations where I need to go, but my car was in the stopped mode B/C I come to full stops at stop signs, apparently unlike Honda's testers. This feature is only enable on elite models of the Pilot and is faulty, it is dangerous and needs a full review. As someone who was also impacted by the Saturn ignition switch incident this seems very similar.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #10

Sep 152020

Pilot

  • 17,000 miles
Failure to start. My car was located in my driveway. As soon as I pushed the start button the car completely shut off no power to any part. No lights were working, nothing, couldn't even lock it with key fob. The car was completely dead. With only 17K mile on a almost 3 year old car this should not be happening. After I few minutes, checking the battery, and many attempts to start, it eventually started with a sputter and the gauges jumping.

- Duncan, SC, USA

problem #9

Jul 072020

Pilot

  • 25,000 miles
Vehicle is not starting on first attempt. Several times the push start button needs to be pressed before it does.

- Yonkers, NY, USA

problem #8

Mar 012020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 57,100 miles
I have a 2018 Honda Pilot ex 2wd, VIN number [xxx] with 57,100 miles that I purchased from earnhardt Honda avondale, AZ on Feb 13, 2018. On March 1, 2020 at 0830 my family of 6 and I were seated in our car in our garage preparing to leave to go to church. As I pushed the start button we were all shocked as we heard a loud bang and saw smoke spewing from underneath the car hood. I quickly instructed my family to get out of the car and move to safety. I then opened the hood to inspect what happened. After removing the plastic cover from the battery I found out that the battery was cracked and leaking fluid. The explosion was so powerful that it cracked the battery and the battery holder. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Surprise, AZ, USA

problem #7

Mar 172020

Pilot

  • 28,300 miles
The push button start feature will not start the vehicle. No error messages are displayed. 4 to 7 repeated attempts must be made in order to start the vehicle.

- Fairfield, CT, USA

problem #6

Mar 032020

Pilot

  • 28,000 miles
The car locks itself while the key fob is inside the car after the driver closes the door from the outside. The key is now locked inside the car.

- Fairfield, CT, USA

problem #5

Jan 302019

Pilot

  • 4,500 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that all the windows rolled down when the unlock button on the key fob was touched while in the contact's pocket. The failure recurred four times. The contact called autonation Honda at 303-578-6112 (located at 2999 West 104th avenue, westminster, co 80234) and was informed that the failure was due to a design flaw for which there was no remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that nothing could be done. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 4,500. The VIN was unknown.

- Golden, CO, USA

problem #4

Jun 302019

Pilot

  • 15,000 miles
The navigation screen of the vehicle blacks out intermittently and without warning when I turn on the vehicle. I have called the nearest dealer at least 3 times over the past 3 months and they keep telling me that Honda is supposedly working on the issue- but nothing so far. Sometimes the problem clears when I turn off the engine and restart but I never know when it is going to work or not. Contacted Honda customer service- no satisfaction.

- Gilford, NH, USA

problem #3

Nov 052018

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
2018 Honda Pilot. Consumer writes in regard to malfuncations with the vehicle that prevents it form start up.

- North Port, FL, USA

problem #2

Mar 092019

Pilot

  • 7,000 miles
On Saturday I was driving my 10 month old 2018 Honda Pilot with approx. 7,000 miles on it to airport to pick up my daughter. My husband and 3 young kids were merging onto airport property on a extremely busy afternoon, my vehicle stalled. It was like a complete electrical failure. I was left stranded at 7pm, in dark, with 3 scared children, unable to alert other hostile drivers around me by turning on flashers. After not being about to push vehicle out way of heavy traffic, I was forced to call my insurance company for assistance which proved to be a serious challenge due to the horns and derogatory language of other drivers and as a result my children having an emotional breakdown in the back seat. My husband was forced to leave the kids and I in this very dangerous situation in order to get to our 14 yr old daughter (traveling alone) off her flight. Once police arrived, they parked unit behind me in order to protect us from being hit. The police searched manual and internet and were unable to get vehicle into emergency neutral. The vehicle had to be drug onto tow truck and towed to dealership. 2 days later, Honda informed me it was a "dead battery." "battery?" I have been driving for over 20 year and have never been left on highway, in motion due to a battery. After some reading of my own, I learned about a fuel saving feature on my car called "auto idle-stop". with this feature my engine shuts off when brake compressed in order to save on fuel. With a dead battery, the battery was unable to restart vehicle. So basically this fuel saving feature turns out to be a serious safety problem because instead of being stranded in a parking lot, I was stranded in the middle of a highway. After further reading about this feature, I learned that my vehicle should have automatically enabled this auto-idle if battery charge was low, which did not happen.

- Paulina, LA, USA

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