Honda Pilot Complaints
9,418 consumer complaints on file.
- #11470746June 23, 2022ENGINE
The engine with shuts off normally when I come to a stop when I have the system engaged. The problems begin when I take my foot off the break expecting the engine to start up again. What happens consistently (though not all the time) is that when I take my foot off the brake, the engine shuts off, shifts itself into Park, and I have trouble getting the engine to start up again. When I disengage the system, which I do practically every time I drive the car now, everything works fine. The dealer din't find anything when they ran a diagnostic, so I'm at a loss.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470563June 22, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The Idle/Stop function stopped operating at a stop light. The car completely shut off. My wife pressed the brake and ignition but the car did not immediately restart. After a few long minutes, the function worked. This is the second incident with the Honda Pilot. In May 2022, the vehicle stopped at an intersection and cut off. I took it to the Honda Service and had diagnostics ran. I was charged for the test but the Service Department did not find anything wrong. They recommended a new battery which I purchased. This was in May 2022. There is definitely an issue. No use taking it back to the dealer, they don't know the source of the problem.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470365June 22, 2022ENGINE
System effected: Auto idle engine stop and start. My 2016 Honda Pilot-Elite has problems with auto start/stop. When I stop at traffic light the engine automatically stops but when traffic light turns green and I am ready to go the car engine doesn’t automatically start. Instead it asks me to put car in parking and push the start button. It doesn’t start with one push and I have to try numerous times. It’s causing problem to me as well as other cars in the traffic. It poses great danger to me getting stuck in car in the middle of the road
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470370June 22, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The start/ stop feature is malfunctioning. I was at a red light stopped this morning and the start/ stop feature kicked in and turn off the engine. However the switch or gear jumped to Neutral with no action from me and the car stuck. when I was about to go as the lights turned green, the vehicledidn'tmove ratherthe Neutrallight on the buttonwas on and none of the other buttons work. I tried pushing the drive button but the vehicle stuck on Neutral. So I have turn the ignition off and restart the vehicle while cars were lining behind me on the same lane. Please help
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470371June 22, 2022ENGINE
After Honda Idle-Stop feature engages at a stop light the car won't restart without putting car into park, turning off, and then turning back on. It often takes several attempts to restart the car before it works. This leaves the passengers at extreme risk of injury from collision.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470439June 22, 2022ENGINE
The vehicle has what is called "auto idle," which means that when the brake is fully depressed under certain conditions (ie a stop sign or a red traffic light), the engine turns itself off. The engine is supposed to start again when pressure is lifted from the brake. However, during the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022 (which makes me believe the use of the air conditioning is involved in this problem), the car stalls out after the auto-idle is engaged rather than the engine restarting as it should. It has taken me several minutes to then get the vehicle to turn off so that I can try to start the car once again to move out of the way of traffic. Last week this happened on a busy highway. The cars that were stopped immediately behind me all went around me while I was trying to get my car restarted, leaving me totally exposed to being backended by someone going fast and not realizing that my car is inoperable in the middle of a busy highway. This has happened approximately 10 times over the last three summers. I have had it investigated by Honda in Bel Air, MD, who informed me that while my battery was new and therefore working properly, it simply isn't giving enough charge to the car to restart after the auto-idle is engaged. This is completely unaccepable and someone is going to get hurt unless Honda addresses this problem. Yes, the system is availble for inspection. Yes the dealer confirmed the problem. No the vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. No, there were no warnings, messages or other sypmtoms prior to the failure (i.e. the car completely stalling out).
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470447June 22, 2022ENGINE
The following has occurred 3 separate times. The first time occurred in July 2021. When stopped at traffic lights, the engine shuts off to conserve energy but then has difficulty restarting. When the light turns green, we take our foot off the brake and the engine does not restart. Instead, the ignition button light flashes and the car is unable to shift into gear and appears to be in neutral. The only way to solve it is to shut the car off and restart it. This process takes anywhere from 20-60 seconds. This has caused us to stall at lights and cars behind us have to go around, which creates a safety concern. After the first instance, we brought it to our Honda dealership and informed them. They inspected the vehicle and were unable to find anything wrong. They also were not able to reproduce it. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to or after the incidents.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470472June 22, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, however, the brake pedal was not fully depressed; the contact then depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle soon after the failure and resumed normal driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 52,500.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470498June 22, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
I own a 2017 Honda Pilot Touring addition and recently learned there is an investigation on the auto start/stop feature. We have experienced the vehicle stalling too many times to count. However, it does seem to be getting more frequent as the vehicle gets older. When the vehicle comes to a stop the feature will engage and two things may happen: 1. The vehicle will immediately die causing us to put the car in park and restart or 2. The vehicle will stall/die when in the movement of taking my foot off the brake and pressing the gas pedal. On some occasions we have had to try multiple times to restart the vehicle. The most memorable stalls happened during busy traffic and of course caused a panic as the time to restart feels like minutes when it’s really only seconds. When this happens it has caused us fear of being rear-ended as there has been many times we braced for this as we saw an oncoming car from behind. Our local Honda dealer (Basney Honda) has attempted everything to fix but you can feel they are growing impatient with us as we demand the vehicle to be repaired.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470535June 22, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
check engine light manufacturer control
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470449June 22, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
Doors open while running, car still driving if suddenly open the door.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470285June 21, 2022POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Driving on the highway, came to a stop due to high volume of traffic, car stopped completely and auto/start turned off the engine itself like it should when brake is stepped on all the way, traffic started to move, let go of the brake to have engine turn back on like it normally would, however this time the engine did not start back on itself, tried to step on the brake and would not allow to press on it. Hit the engine start button light would come on however brake still would not allow to be stepped on, its like it is stuck. Tried this for about 5min and suddenly I was able to press on the brake and start the engine by hitting the start engine button. The component that failed is the engine, auto/start feature, power train, and electrical system. This was a big safety issue and yes it would not only put myself at risk but others safety at risk too. No the problem have not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer No the vehicle or component has not been inspected by anyone No there was no warning when it first appear, it just happen.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470289June 21, 2022ENGINE
I was the first car stopped at a red traffic light and my auto engine system engaged. When the light turned green, I released the brake and the car automatically shut completely off. Since my brake lights went out the car behind me began to accelerate, but had to quickly slam on the brakes as my car was stalled. I hurried to put on my hazards, and then looked at my dashboard. It stated I needed to shift the car into PARK, and then restart the engine. It took 3 tries to restart the engine and then I was able to turn off the auto idle system and continue on my way. I brought the car back to the dealer (I have at least 5 documented visits to the Garden State Honda Dealer for the same system issues.) They told me they were unable to replicate the issue and did nothing to help this issue after having my car for a week and a half.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470319June 21, 2022FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I purchased a brand new 2016 Honda Pilot EX. After the salesman pitch about adding top-notch safety, I paid extra for the Honda sensing package (include Collision mitigation braking system) as it was not a standard in 2016. Currently my SUV has less than 14000 miles. The Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) has been warning and applying brakes when it should not for many years. Recently I drove on a highway that had construction for about 3 miles on a clear day. The car was the previous day and had nothing obstructing the camera on windshield or the radar behind the Honda badge. One lane was closed and there were flat surfaced traffic barrier (similar to cones) has been setup for the entire construction strip. About half into the construction zone, my SUV instrument panel had a warning that read "Collision Mitigation System Problem". When I noticed the warning sign is not disappearing after restarting several times, I disconnected the battery and connected it after a day. The warning sign did not go away. Then I took the SUV to the dealer from whom I purchased the vehicle. They washed the car but the warning sign is still active. The warning sign cannot be turned off using the physical button for the CMBS on the dash. Searching through the internet, I see that this is common problem among Honda owners. Many owners who experience this issue report that when they took the SUV to the dealer, they reported that the CMBS was overwhelmed by the construction barriers and the only way to fix this is to recalibrate the CMBS at dealer that costs about $500. However, this is only a temporary fix until the SUV drive through a construction site. I purchased Honda sensing for the safety of my family. Instead Honda has provided defective system that fails when driving through a construction site. Construction sites are common occurrence in everyday driving. Honda sensing CMBS is a good money maker for dealers as they get to recalibrate the system for high fee.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470329June 21, 2022ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the brake pedal was released however, the Auto STOP/START feature failed to operate as designed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the ignition switch was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470009June 20, 2022ENGINE
Engine doesn't starts automatically when using auto stop feature. It has happen multiple times and decided to turn off the feature completely. What happens is when using auto stop feature and if the pilot is at signal light it stops the engine. but when you lift up the break instead of vehicle to starts back up it doesn't and in fact we have to press start engine to turn on the pilot. taked to dealer about it but they say nothing is wrong with the car and never heard about it. in fact the battery seems fine to as per the dealer.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470033June 20, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving with the intention to turn left at a major intersection. I was the first car to pull into the left hand turning lane. I put my blinker on and pushed down on the brake waiting for the light to turn green so I could make the left hand turn but the car just shut down. At first I thought it was the auto engine on/off feature but I tried to lift my foot off the brake and the car did not restart. I tried to put the car in park and turn the car completely off (then on again) to see if that fixed the issue but the brake pedal was completely locked and I could not push it down. I ended up having to call the police and a tow company to tow my car out of the intersection. Both the police and the tow company tried to start the car with no luck. They could not even start it to put it in neutral and had to flat bed the car. There were not warning lights or messages on when this occurred. Although no one was hurt, it was an extremely busy intersection where this occurred and I was with my 4 year old daughter. While waiting for the police I had to cross multiple lanes of traffic carrying my daughter because it didn't want someone to rear end my car with her in it. It was also during the start of rush hour and caused a huge traffic back up. My car was subsequently towed to the Honda dealership where I purchased the car and they were able to start it the next morning multiple times with no issue. When they checked for error codes, nothing popped up. The battery was tested with good results. They requested other services be performed: brake system service, fuel system service, etc. but I was told these were unrelated to the break down. I ended spending close to $400 in towing fees and over $800 these additional services. I saw there was an official investigation into the Honda Pilot's start/stop feature and I believe this sounds very similar to what I went through.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470124June 20, 2022POWER TRAIN
Transmission has hard shifts and jerking when accelerating at a normal rate and approaching your designated speed. This occurs almost daily as the problem persist and started occurring approximately 36,000 miles. I also had an issue when I was trying to accelerate up a mountain where the transmission did not want to switch to a lower gear and accelerate. Instead the gear was stuck and I had to remove my foot from the gas pedal and try again. I have taken the vehicle too two different dealerships and they could not replicate the problem. One dealership checked the transmission cooler and stated it was in good condition. I believe they cannot replicate it because every time a technician takes the vehicle on a test drive they accelerate at a high rpm level which the vehicle will not replicate the issue. Now it is doing it through more than one gear change. Feels like the transmission is going to break at any point
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470139June 20, 2022UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Rear camera of the car suddenly stopped working I’ve been following up for One year with the dealership and Honda. There is no response from them, the parts are not available since one year. As my car was still under warranty when i reported the issue. Honda has delayed this a lot.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0
- #11470125June 20, 2022POWER TRAIN, EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:INFOTAINMENT
Unresponsive dash control screen. Hands free Bluetooth disconnects. Popping sound through speakers. CarPlay option disappears. Am/Fm radio muffles while error message states no audio available. Restarting car fixes these issues for short while. Turning off radio while engine is on does not work. Gear hunting in transmission 2,3,4 fourth gear.
- Crash:
- No
- Fire:
- No
- Injuries:
- 0
- Deaths:
- 0