Honda Pilot Complaints (2026)

27 consumer complaints on file.

#11745662June 22, 2026
STEERING, SUSPENSION, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Intermittent severe shaking in steering wheel while driving at various speeds. No warning. Vehicle has less than 500 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11745482June 21, 2026
STEERING
Vehicle: 2026 Honda Pilot Elite AWD Current Mileage: ~3,850 VIN: [XXX] ——— Defect Summary: Persistent component defect and failure within the steering column assembly, specifically involving the steering clock spring (cable reel assembly). The vehicle experiences an audible clicking, rattling, and binding sensation during normal steering wheel rotation. Authorized Honda dealership warranty repairs have failed to remedy the issue due to replacement parts failing immediately upon installation. Chronology of Failures: 1. [XXX] (2,078 miles): Vehicle brought to Hennessy Honda for stiff steering and a loud clicking noise. Technicians noted the steering cable gear was making noise and binding. The column was adjusted. 2. 05/20/2026 (2,509 miles): Clicking worsened significantly across full left-to-center rotations. The dealership diagnosed a defective clock spring and replaced the Cable Reel Assembly (Part: 77900-T20-E61). 3. [XXX] (3,847 miles): The brand-new replacement part failed immediately. Vehicle returned with identical clicking and a new "whoosh" plastic scraping noise. Dealership replaced misadjusted steering column trim pieces to stop the scraping but confirmed the steering wheel click remains active. Safety Risk: The dealership service department explicitly stated that the current production batch of factory replacement clock springs contains an inherent manufacturer defect, meaning new replacements fail out of the box. The clock spring maintains the continuous electrical connection to the driver’s steering wheel airbag, horn, and driver-assist controls. A mechanically binding ribbon cable reel presents an imminent risk of snapping or shorting out. If the cable fails on the road, it will instantly deactivate the driver's front airbag, rendering a critical safety restraint system useless in a crash. Requested Action: Compel Honda to investigate 2026 Pilot manufacturing lines, fast-track an updated/redesigned cable INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11744903June 17, 2026
STEERING
Vehicle: 2026 Honda Pilot Elite AWD Current Mileage: ~3,850 miles Persistent component defect and failure within the steering column assembly, specifically involving the steering clock spring (cable reel assembly). The vehicle experiences an audible clicking, rattling, and binding sensation during normal steering wheel rotation. Authorized Honda dealership warranty repairs have failed to remedy the issue due to replacement parts failing immediately upon installation. Chronology of Failures: 1- 05/04/2026 (2,078 miles): Vehicle brought to Hennessy Honda for stiff steering and a loud clicking noise. Technicians noted the steering cable gear was making noise and binding. The column was adjusted. 2- 05/20/2026 (2,509 miles): Clicking worsened significantly across full left-to-center rotations. The dealership diagnosed a defective clock spring and replaced the Cable Reel Assembly (Part: 77900-T20-E61). 3- 06/08/2026 (3,847 miles): The brand-new replacement part failed immediately. Vehicle returned with identical clicking and a new "whoosh" plastic scraping noise. Dealership replaced misadjusted steering column trim pieces to stop the scraping but confirmed the steering wheel click remains active. Safety Risk: The dealership service department explicitly stated that the current production batch of factory replacement clock springs contains an inherent manufacturer defect, meaning new replacements fail out of the box. The clock spring maintains the continuous electrical connection to the driver’s steering wheel airbag, horn, and driver-assist controls. A mechanically binding ribbon cable reel presents an imminent risk of snapping or shorting out. If the cable fails on the road, it will instantly deactivate the driver's front airbag, rendering a critical safety restraint system useless in a crash. Requested Action: Compel Honda to investigate 2026 Pilot manufacturing lines, fast-track an updated/redesigned cable reel part number, and issue a safety recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11744643June 16, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
Slowed down to turn right into a parking lot, power steering suddenly disabled and multiple warning lights appeared on dash. Warning messages stating auto brake system disabled, lane departure assist disabled, hill assist and start disabled, and more warning lights. Steering suddenly became difficult and dangerous with moving traffic behind me. Pulled into a parking lot and restarted car multiple times. After more than 10 minutes and restarting vehicle, power steering came back.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11743383June 11, 2026
SEAT BELTS, SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The second and third row seats do not recognize when passengers are exiting the vehicle. All second and third row seats cause the seat belt warning to go off multiple times even when there are not passengers in the vehicle. Car in park does not mitigate this problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740960May 29, 2026
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
The occupant detection system for all five rear seats is erratic, frequently reporting seats as occupied and unbuckled when they are empty or folded flat. Once the vehicle reaches 10 mph, audible alerts trigger and recur up to three times for 30 to 60 seconds each, even if no passengers are present. Because these sensors are integral to the restraint system, there is a critical concern that the airbags may not deploy correctly based on this inaccurate occupancy data. Extremely distracting. First time we noticed: Leaving the chanhassen Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses. We had 4 kids in the vehicle when they were all seated and buckled up and the third row seat (middle) that nobody was sitting in started alarming several times thinking that a passenger was in the and needed to be buckled. This is everyday recurring problem in all 5 rear seats.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11739103May 20, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driving east bound hwy 410 about 35mph and slowing due to red light. I heard a very loud popping sound. I thought it was my water bottle I left in the console, but the noise did not come from there. Came to a stop and heard what sounded like ice cracking, I glanced in the back and could see the window on passenger side in very back was shattered . When light turned green I pulled into Target parking lot to look at it. The whole thing was shattered. There was no one impact site, all around the entire window was cracked in different spots. I called the dealership as I just purchased the vehicle less then one month ago. It had 585 miles. I was told to bring it down to them and told on the phone that this has been happening to HRV models and that if it happens it is usually around the 500 mile mark, but they have not seen it happen on the Pilots. A Goodwill request was put into Honda and they are repairing it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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