10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
147 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2021 Honda Pilot:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #17

Feb 142023

Pilot

  • miles
2021 Honda Pilot Black Edition with 37,007 miles. Navigation screen will display "Network Communication Lost" and "MOST Net Off" before completely shutting down for 5-10 minutes at a time, only to do the same thing after resetting. This is a known issue for Honda, hence Technical Service Bulletin 20-058 to cover a range of vehicles, including my 21 Pilot; most older covered vehicles are at 5 years 60k miles, but because my vehicle is newer, it isn't covered and is limited to 3 years 36k miles. I am having to pay out of pocket for these repairs. Contacted Honda and they couldn't help, stating my vehicle is out of warranty. It makes no sense to cover older vehicle but not a newer one when these issues are known and reported under TSB 20-058. Honda complaint Case # 13646867.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #16

Jan 032023

Pilot

  • miles
There is speaker cracking noise and monitor goes black when using navigation. This is distracting and dangerous do to myself as a driver and others. It is distracting and concerning that a new vehicle goes crazy and Honda has no idea how to fix this. I have taken the vehicle to get serviced 4 times and still there is no resolution.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #15

Nov 022022

Pilot

  • miles
My 2021 Honda Pilot's Idle-Stop System has been failing at random and dangerous times. The engine shuts off when Idle-Stop is engaged and as expected. However and until recently; when I release my foot from the break, nothing happens. The engine does not start. Restarting the engine has taken me to shift to park, turn the car off, wait a few minutes, and then it starts without any hesitation. Today this happened during a busy stop where I did not feel safe for myself or my passengers. The problem does not reproduce at my will or by performing any specific set of steps. After today, I'm nervous to drive with this system enabled. The problem never happens if I remember to manually disable the Idle-Stop System every time I start my car. Nevertheless, it's not a normal practice for me to have to disengage a feature that should work. This problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or any others. There were no warning lamps, sounds, messages, or other symptoms prior that would indicate an imminent failure.

- Miramar, FL, USA

problem #14

Sep 192022

Pilot

  • miles
My car, a 2021 Honda Pilot, has a feature called "Idle-Stop" where the engine stops when the break is depressed, when the break is released, the engine is supposed to start back up. Twice in the past week, while at an intersection, the Idle-Stop has engaged, stopping the engine, but failed to start the engine back up. After this occurs, I could NOT start the car back up, the engine would not turn over. The first occurrence was at the turn lane of a very busy intersection and there were numerous cars blocked by mine. Thankfully after about 30 minutes, the car managed to start up. I took it immediately to the Honda dealership where they said the car needed a software update. The dealership said the battery was fine and that there were no other issues. One week later, the same thing happened, I was a stop light and the Idle-Stop feature stopped the engine and it failed to start back. My 2 children were in the car this time, I felt very much that our safety was in danger. This time, I needed a jump start to get the engine started.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #13

Sep 182022

Pilot

  • miles
Auto restart stalls the car when reengaging the engine after coming to a full stop

- Annapolis , MD, USA

problem #12

Aug 312022

Pilot

  • miles
With the auto idle feature engaged (disengaging requires manually turning off the system with each vehicle start) while at a stop light the auto idle feature shut the engine off. Typically, when you release the brake the car start back up and you can begin to accelerate. Over the past few months the issue has stalled the engine, but restarted and give the warning "Collision Mitigation Braking System Malfunction." On the past 2 occurrences the engine has shut off completely and I have had to restart the car. This occurs when at an intersection or similar after going into a complete stop, so vehicles around you are ready to move. Once it took me opening the car door and closing it to get the electronics to allow the car to restart.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #11

Aug 152022

Pilot

  • miles
When the automatic engine shut-off is engaged during traffic stops, sometimes the power to the vehicle shuts off. It can happen at stop signs with out warning. The vehicle usually powers back up in Park.

- Stockertown , PA, USA

problem #10

Jul 082022

Pilot

  • miles
Auto braking applies randomly cause brakes to lock up happens when driving in any conditions. This problem has already caused a minor accident with my vehicle due to brakes locking up and no throttle

- Kenova, WV, USA

problem #9

Jun 232022

Pilot

  • miles
New car battery and car died while waiting at a light. The vehicle idle/stop system kicked in but car was not able to restart. While lights were still available on dashboard, the emergency hazards would not show nor could I put the car in neutral. The dealer looked at this problem twice, first time stating this can just happen and this time they said the new battery was perhaps faulty and replaced the battery. Very dangerous situation as the car just died at the light and cars had no way of knowing the car was disabled as the hazards would not work. Had an emergency jumper pack and was able to move the car to get out of road before it died again- no option to push car as I could not put car in neutral. This is the 3rd time this issue with the battery dying has happened and dealer cannot supply an answer except to swap out the battery. Less than 1.5 years old and <26K miles.

- Center Moriches, NY, USA

problem #8

Apr 162022

Pilot

  • miles
The car's automatic engine shut-off feature when stopped at a red light failed to reengaged after removing foot from break the car shut down and the transmission button shifted into neutral and displayed a message that you must put your foot on the brake and shift the car to Park. The battery indicator light was flashing and everything turned off in the car. After doing this the car told me I must put my foot on the break and restart the car. It then allowed me to shift back into drive. The dealer was not able to recreate the issue, and no other things showed the issue other than the battery indicator lamp flashing on and off until the car was back in drive. The light I lost all power at was on a road with a 55 MPH speed limit. When the light turned green and the car lost all power there was another vehicle approaching, but I was not able to get the car moving fast enough to get out of the way.

- Powell, OH, USA

problem #7

Dec 142021

Pilot

  • miles
Our Pilot is brand new - we started noticing popping and cracking sounds from the dashboard. It is pretty loud. We thought it was possibly the radio but it continues with the radio off. We thought it was the dashboard contracting/expanding but it happens in all weather. It has become increasing loud and consistent and now any sounds from the stereo, regardless of input, skip and glitch and we turn it off and the popping and cracking sound continues seemingly from the speakers. We took it to the dealership for repair but they said they can't repair it. This is not acceptable for a new car.

- Temecula, CA, USA

problem #6

Oct 022020

Pilot

  • 1,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, he noticed that several warning lights illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact continued driving to his residence. The following day the warning lights disappeared. Several months later the failure recurred. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic related the failure to an unknown electrical failure and performed a software update to fix the vehicle. the contact stated that the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

- Shrub Oak, NY, USA

problem #5

Jul 302021

Pilot

  • miles
Loud popping and crackling noise emitting from speakers. Cannot turn them off, and causes major interruptions in navigation, radio, entertainment. Dealer said Falkra wiring is faulty, but is back-ordered, and could not even give us an estimate of when it would arrive. Essentially told us to suck it up, but it is more than distracting (my daughter actually said it gives her a headache) and I'm worried about larger (safety) issues if the wiring is indeed faulty. What if my other electrical systems malfunction as well?

- South Riding, VA, USA

problem #4

Jun 012021

Pilot

  • miles
There is an issue with the electrical system in this car. The radio has intermittent static on any station and hands free calls drop after a short period. I have Googled this and it is a very common complaint on this type/year vehicle. I am concerned there are other electrical issues that may be more safety related. The dealer did a hard reboot of the computer, but nothing changed.

- Mentor, OH, USA

problem #3

Mar 072021

Pilot

  • miles
I was about to cross the border I was not driving faster than 3 mph when a few functions stop working

- Imperial , CA, USA

problem #2

Apr 012021

Pilot

  • miles
The dash crackles sometimes a little and other times it crackles constantly all across the dash. If the radio is playing, it interferes with the radio or using the Bluetooth. At first it seemed like something hit the windshield and now it's worse and crackles all the time. There was a recall on this recently but not for the 2021 Pilot. This needs to be fixed. It is quite distracting and annoying.

- North Charleston, SC, USA

problem #1

Nov 142020

Pilot

  • 1,500 miles
While driving for about an hour on the freeway the sound to my bluetooth audio quit. Then the apple carplay would not connect. When I got to the grocery store tryin to maneaver into a parking spot the backup camera did not work when I put in reverse. At first I thought I had pressed park instead of reverse but that was not the case. Not until I parked, shut the vehicle off and restarted it did everything start working properly ( at least for now). The vehicle has approximately 1500 miles on it. I have been reading about a recall on newer Pilot (Y7Y) and was wondering why my vehicle is not included since I am experiencing the same issue. I mention also that twice at about 500 miles I experienced the crackling noise in the audio that has been a problem with the 2018 and newer Pilot.

- Pinson, AL, USA