10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,167 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 #54

Jun 052025

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions, when sitting at a stop light and then attempting to drive as the light changes, the engine just shuts off as I take my foot off the brake. It then takes several attempts to get the car started.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #53

May 192025

Pilot

  • miles
Auto start/stop feature turned off the engine at a stoplight. When the light turned green and the brake pedal was released, the engine did not restart. There also appeared to be some sort of electrical malfunction since the start stop button would not turn off the ignition system in an attempt to reset the vehicle. This happened on a light regulated highway with a posted speed limit of 55 mph.

- Benton City, WA, USA

problem #52

Apr 302025

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle when trying to start locks up, have had the battery alternator starter checked, changed the brake switch and still having issues with hard start to my 2021 Honda Pilot. When this happens all the lights come on. I push the Idle/Start switch when I do get it started so that it does shut off when I-??m at a red light or stop sign. Because I-??m afraid it will not start. Dealership could not find any issues with the vehicle, I-??ve taken it to another mechanic and they could not. It has been put on diagnostics several times. I keep putting money into trying to find out what the issue is!!!

- Circleville, OH, USA

problem #51

Apr 182025

Pilot

  • miles
This is another incident of the auto start/stop system failing to restart the engine after a stop in traffic.

- Long Beach, MS, USA

problem #50

Mar 292025

Pilot

  • miles
My wife was driving the family down the highway I was a passenger. While we were traveling approximately 70mph down a 4 lane highway there was a loud clunk with a consistent knock and an immediate loss of power. I was able to help navigate her to safety on an off ramp so that my family would be safely off the road. The vehicle was towed to the Honda dealer where it is currently under warranty. The mechanics at the dealership have confirmed a spun bearing on piston number 3 and the motor will need to be replaced. There were zero warning lights and and no notification from any sensors with an OBD tool. Honda America is only willing to replace the motor with a salvaged motor. Unfortunately the VIN from the car with the salvaged motor will not match my current VIN, so if there is an active recall on the engine like on the previous year pilots that are VIN specific, I will not be covered and Honda will have replaced my engine with a known faulty one. I nor should and other family have to take the risk of receiving faulty salvaged Honda parts while still under factory warranty. The attached file is the last service records that are available for the salvaged engine and as you can see there is a noted vibration at the front in as well. Honda refuses to send the information from the salvage yard detailing the engine information including current mileage and the date the motor was pulled from the salvaged vehicle.

- Middlesex, NC, USA

problem #49

Jul 232024

Pilot

  • miles
Fuel system, gasoline, fuel pump failure causes the engine to stall while driving.

- Towson, MD, USA

problem #48

Apr 032023

Pilot

  • 33,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after idling at a red light, the Auto Start failed to operate as designed. The contact had to shift to park(P), and several attempts were needed to restart the vehicle before the contact was able to continue driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the battery had failed and needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

- Riverdale, GA, USA

problem #47

Feb 152025

Pilot

  • miles
The engine fails to restart at times after the auto engine idle cuts the engine off when stopped. The previous recall has been completed. When I returned my vehicle to the dealership to have it checked again because the same issue continued to occur, I was told the battery needed to be replaced. I have since replaced the battery with a Honda battery from the dealership yet the issue still occurs. It seems to be worse in cold weather.

- Henrico, VA, USA

problem #46

Feb 142025

Pilot

  • miles
Engines sometimes fails to start again after being turned off briefly. Will have so turn off all electrical and push button to start multiple times before it engine starts again

- Kenosha, WI, USA

problem #45

Feb 012023

Pilot

  • miles
My Honda's engine start-stop system isn't restarting at stop lights. Very frightening when the light turns green and I can-??t go anywhere. I have to turn off the car and restart.

- Holly Springs, NC, USA

problem #44

Mar 282025

Pilot

  • miles
The car randomly fails to start up again after stopping it during an auto start auto stop cycle.

- Long Beach, MS, USA

problem #43

Mar 262025

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped on a red light the auto idle engine restart was engaged, when I released my brakes the vehicle did not restart and went into neutral stalling the vehicle..

- Allentown, PA, USA

problem #42

Sep 292023

Pilot

  • miles
My push start is not starting the car. Then while driving the car will shut off on parkway, at a light and won't start. This has been going on since I purchased the vehicle 9/23 I have warranty and th auto dealership keep acting like they fixed it yet the haven't. This is the most dangerous issue. We can die getting hit from behind or the car can catch fire keep pushing start button and not turning

- Asbury Park, NJ, USA

problem #41

Jan 242025

Pilot

  • miles
I have had numerous issues with the car stalling while in idle- it will shut off but still display all the warning lights on the dash. It would require the car engine to be restarted. Has happened at stop signs, stop lights, carpool lights. This has happened at least 10 times over 3.5 years. Last week I had a similar issue but this time it was much scarier- it did that same shut off but completely shut off the engine. All systems were black and the start button did not trigger a response for at least a minute. Once it finally restarted it displayed a -??lost power-?? message on the screen. More similar issues to report.

- Bella Vista , AR, USA

problem #40

Nov 032024

Pilot

  • miles
So on Oct 25, 2024 I took my car to get an oil change at the moss bros Honda dealership. I always get all maintenance done there. Then a week later on Nov 3, 2024 my suv pilot broke down on the freeway it just started jerking and the screen kept glitching then right after the engine light went on. I was not aware of any signs for it to happen but Luckily there was a cop and a tow truck close by because who knows what would have happened. After that I took to the dealership on Tuesday and they inspected it then they come and tell me that my engine is done. So they were trying to charge me $8792 for a used engine. I just think is so weird that how everything happened knowing that is a semi new car and I been taking care of the maintenance so for this to happen I find it sketchy.

- Perris, CA, USA

problem #39

Dec 082024

Pilot

  • miles
Our vehicle continues to randomly turn off and not go while driving. Whenever the idle start/stop is engaged, the vehicle will randomly not restart when traffic is moving. When this occurs you must completely turn off the vehicle, wait a few seconds, restart the vehicle, wait a few seconds, then attempt to place back into drive before being able to move. We have been having this same issue many times now. We have taken our vehicle in to the dealer service department multiple times with this issue. We have replaced the battery ($400) and it still happens. They act like they have never heard of this happening to anyone before and we must be "making it up". They then proceed to tell us that we need to let it keep happening until it is much more common. Then bring it back in again so they can see it happen. I complained to Honda USA with the same story, being that it keeps happening over and over, and they gave us the same answer..."wait until it happens so the mechanic can see it" as if it has never happened to anyone else before. This is going to end up causing people serious harm or worse. Honda is obviously trying to play down the issue to avoid cost at the expense of consumers.

- Woodruff, SC, USA

problem #38

Sep 272024

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped at a light the engine completely shut off and put itself into neutral. Nothing worked. Had to press and hold the ignition button for at least 5 seconds to shut down and restart the vehicle.

- Royal Oak, MI, USA

problem #37

Sep 062024

Pilot

  • miles
Twice in the last 6 months this has happened while car was stopped at red light. The auto engine restart system failed, causing the car to shut down. Car had to be placed in park and restarted. Local dealer was unable to detect cause : no codes captured and there were no problems with battery or starter detected.

- Schenectady , NY, USA

problem #36

Sep 042024

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle spontaneously caught fire. There were no known/indicated issues with the vehicle. Vehicle was eventually extinguished by the fire dept. It took them 45 mins to render it extinguished. Vehicle was parked in my driveway at the time of the incident.

- Lyons, GA, USA

problem #35

Aug 052024

Pilot

  • miles
Like others have reported, similar to the odyssey we own that did have a recall to fix the issue, the vehicle fails to restart after it idles at a light. Causing very stressful situation in traffic because it take 10-20 seconds to get vehicle going. Happened 5 times in 6 months.

- Winter Haven, FL, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »