10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 2,225 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
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
Side door glass spontaneously exploding. We were in motion 65 mph on the highway. No other cars around us or around any houses. Window went boom and just exploded.
- Preston, ID, USA
Sudden acceleration while pulling into a parking space in covered parking garage. Car engine revved while pulling into space. Brakes applied leaving skid marks on concrete. Car was damaged be hitting concrete retaining wall.
- Houston, TX, USA
In May 2018 I purchased a new 2018 Honda Pilot. Unfortunately during this first winter I have found out that this vehicle does not have a functioning heater. As soon as the weather turned cold I noticed that this new Honda Pilot did not have sufficient heat. While driving at highway speeds the heater functions ok but during city driving, or especially at idle, the temperature falls well below any acceptable minimum requirements. Below is a chart showing a comparison between a functioning heater in a 2014 CRV versus this new 2018 Honda Pilot. Please note the differences in outside air temperatures: The CRV measurements were taken at an outside air temp of -8 while the Pilot data was recorded with an outside air temp of + 8. the vent temperature varies considerably based on the engine RPM. While accelerating the temperature is warm / hot but while driving in traffic or stopped the temperature can drop 80 degrees or more in 1-2 minutes. Based on this data, I made two separate appointments to have the Pilot serviced under warranty at my local Honda dealer. The weather on the 2nd visit was cold (-17 degrees F). They 'verified the complaint' and found that the vent temperature from a fully warmed up engine was 28 degrees (yes, below freezing!). they said they have another Pilot in their shop that does the same thing therefore there is nothing wrong with mine and considered mine as functioning 'normal'. they did not do any diagnostic work and refused to do any work, even simple work such as trying to flush the heater core or remove any air from the system. They stated that Honda put in an undersized heater core in the Pilot and therefore they were not going to waste their time trying to fix. Since I live in Chicago there are 5 months of cold weather so I do not consider a lack of heat a minor inconvenience nor an acceptable to live with.
- Hoffman Estates, IL, USA
Vehicle auto locked with keys in car and could not unlock. Fortunately, car was in my garage and did not create a safety issue. However, had this occurred in the summer with a small child or pet inside, it could have been an extreme safety hazard, possibly leading to fatal consequences. This vehicle is never supposed to lock with keys in the car.
- Valparaiso, IN, USA
While driving on a state highway, travelling at approximately 60 mph, I heard a loud 'pop' and saw debris fly in my rear view mirror. At first I thought it was a tire, but found my sunroof had exploded. There were no rocks, projectiles, etc, and no overhead structures where something could have fallen. The glass blew out as it may have been under stress and not in as if something may have hit it.
- Marrero, LA, USA
- Eagle Mountain, UT, USA