Honda Pilot Complaints

9,418 consumer complaints on file.

#11469427June 15, 2022
ENGINE
Several times I have been driving with the auto stop on. When I get to a stop light or traffic light to make the stop, the engine shuts off as it should. When I let off of the brake and go to accelerate, the engine appears to start, then shuts all of the way off. This creates a problem where the lights on the dash flash and errors start flashing at me because I did not shut off the vehicle while in "Park". I have to push the P button and pump the brakes to get the engine to turn back on. It is a process which feels like it takes forever when other motorists are honking and yelling at me in my disabled vehicle. It probably takes 45-90 seconds, but feels like an eternity. This has unfortunately happened at one of the busiest lights in our city. I almost got rear ended with my 3 kids in the car as I sat trying to get the vehicle to turn back on. This has happened about 4 or 5 times. Now I shut off the Auto Stop every time I get in the vehicle. My kids don't want to ride in the vehicle anymore since they think it is unsafe. I took it to the Honda dealership and they replaced the battery despite telling me it was okay. I have not gone back to turning the Auto Stop on because I feel this is a huge safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469485June 15, 2022
ENGINE
Vehicle failed to restart after stopping at a stop light while auto stop feature was on (defaults on). Had to completely turn off vehicle and restart it for it engine to fire back up.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469108June 14, 2022
POWER TRAIN
We bought the Honda Pilot to tow a NuCamp 2019 Tab 320 Bookdock Trailer, which has a gross dry weight of 1,848 pounds (well below the 3,500-pound Pilot published towing capacity). We tow the trailer dry, which is without water in the black, gray and fresh tanks. We do not load any items of significant weight in the trailer (two lightweight camp chairs, a 3-inch thick foam mattress topper and pillows). We have towed the trailer from Akron, Ohio, to Twentynine Palms, CA, in 2020 and to Glacier National Park, MT, in 2021. We have also towed it to several Ohio state parks. In the fall of 2021, the vehicle’s transmission began to exhibit unusual performance that manifested itself as gear shifting hesitation in the range of 1,500 – 2,000 RPMs. With that issue, we took it to Great Lakes Honda which changed the transmission fluid (Great Lakes did not flush the transmission) at 28,000 miles. On April 3, 2022, the transmission hesitation began again. I took it to Apple Tree Honda in Arden, NC, (we had moved to Waynesville, NC, in late 2021) on April 5, 2022, a technician found no error codes, but performed a transmission flush and fill.. My issue with this is that the transmission fluid should not degrade in 7,000 miles of normal driving, causing transmission malfunction. The vehicle does seem capable of towing a weight near the published owner's manual maximum of 3,500 pounds. With this interval, I am concerned that the Honda stated operational guidelines are false, and the vehicle’s transmission might continue to degrade as many other Honda Pilots’ transmissions have as reported by many owners. The Apple Tree Honda technician who worked on the Pilot, advised me to add an auxiliary automatic transmission cooler, which is necessary if towing more than 3500 lbs. Since the April service, I have not towed the trailer. I am fearful that the transmission will fail when I am towing the trailer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469152June 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The engine idle-stop feature did not restart. It is available for inspection. The safety of my two small children and myself was at risk as we had to get out of the car at a busy intersection. It has not been reproduced by a dealer or a service center. The vehicle and the parts have not been inspected by authorities. It happens without warning. While at a red light, when I take my foot off the brake it shuts off completely.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469165June 14, 2022
ENGINE
The automatic stop start on the engine fails to restart at lights and when stopping in heavy traffic. One time it happened luckily I was in a parking lot I had to get out of the car out of key fob range and it seemed to reset. Before I got out everything on the dash was frozen nothing would turn on or off. I’ve been pressing the button when I get in the car that overrides it but sometimes I forget. When it’s active and does restart at a red light it lurches ahead so much that you almost hit the car in front. It’s a horrible feature. This is ongoing problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469207June 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
My 2016 Honda pilot stalls when my car turns off from the auto idle engine. If I do not manually turn the feature off EVERYTIME I turn my car on my car will stall out when i lift my foot off the brake. It has progressively taken longer to turn the vehicle back on (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) I have been to honda 2x for this issue & their "fix" has never resolved the issue. They will not admit they cannot fix it, even when I showed them a video of exactly what happens when I try to get my vehicle back on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469230June 14, 2022
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the Auto START/STOP feature malfunctioned while the vehicle was at a complete stop, causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was not able to restart immediately. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was not able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469233June 14, 2022
ENGINE
When stopping at a stop light the auto idle start stop will not start up immediately as it sometimes has a lag and the audio in the car also completely shuts off. The car stalls out. Have brought car to dealership and since they can’t “recreate” the problem they’re acting like there is no problem. There is definitely a problem. This vehicle has been doing this on and off for sometime now and I have to remember to turn OFF the idle/stop function button every time I start up my car in order to avoid stalling in the middle of traffic. Very unsafe, dangerous and scary.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469249June 14, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, STRUCTURE:BODY
My vsa light came on when I was on the freeway and made my vehicle jerk almost pushing me into the next lane. It has been coming on and turns off when I restart the car and other cars of my same modal and year have recalls for this same issue but my vin yields no results for a recall.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469264June 14, 2022
ENGINE
When I use the auto start stop feature and stop at a light or stop sign my transmission shutdowns. I have to restart my engine. Afraid of being rear ended at a traffic light or stop sign. Honda has checked the vehicle and they said I need a new battery. I verified with autozone that the battery still passes. It is only 1 1/2 old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468917June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The stop/start feature fails to restart engine and I have to shut off the car completely to restart again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468918June 13, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
Stop/start feature fails to restart the car. I have to turn off the car completely to restart.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468927June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
I bought this car used in May 2022. My wife is the primary driver and this incident happened to her three times and myself once. When stopping at a red light, the engine turns off to save fuel with the auto start stop feature. We normally turn this off, but sometimes when we forget, the auto start fails to start the engine leaving us stuck in traffic trying to start the car at a green light. It takes multiple attempts to restart the car. This wouldn't be an issue if we could turn off the auto stop start permanently. We don't like the feature anyway, sometimes it causes the car to lurch forward when removing your foot from the break while the engine is starting.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469001June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Pilot has an auto start/stop function that turns off the engine when the car is stopped/idling. When the driver releases the break pedal, the engine is supposed to turn back on. The engine would very frequently fail to turn back on after idling. This happened many times at traffic lights and while stopped in traffic. It's much worse than stalling out with a manual transmission vehicle, because the engine does not turn back on quickly. The whole system (including battery power to the car) needs to be turned off and turned on again. This is a safety issue because the engine has failed to start while in traffic on the interstate, where cars are quickly accelerating, and the failure for the car to accelerate with traffic could lead to a collision. It also poses the risk of leaving the driver stuck in a dangerous location without the ability to move the car. I took the car to the dealership and they told me my battery was dying, and they charged me to replace the battery. So far, I haven't experienced anymore engine stalling with the new battery. The car has not been inspected by anyone other than the local Honda dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. The failure first started in 2020, but only happened a few times. Since then, the problem increased in frequency, until I finally took it to the dealership and had the battery replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469070June 13, 2022
ENGINE
Start/Stop function engaged at a red light, stopping the engine. Engine would not restart. Car and driver were stranded in the middle of a busy intersection for almost 2 hours until car could be jump started. Car would not restart on its own, leading to a very dangerous situation for driver and other motorists.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469087June 13, 2022
ENGINE
Engine stops completely when I make a stop at the signal. I think this is due to the engine shut down idle function. When the engine shuts down completely, the car doesn't start for 5 to 10 minutes. This happened at least 10 times in 6 months on the middle of the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468840June 12, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
When stopped in traffic the car will switch to neutral by itself. It will turn off and will have to be restarted. This has happened about 12 times since last July. After the first time it happened I brought the car to the dealership. They were not able to replicate the issue and it has continued since then with greater frequency. (2x last week in 3 days) This has happened when in econ mode, regular mode, right after a tune up, no pattern detected. Sometimes before it happens there would be a spluttering sound of the engine, sometimes a clicking sound, sometimes a collision warning sign flashes right before it happens, sometimes no warning- the car just shuts off and needs to be restarted. When the car is idling there are frequent reminders about pressing the break to shut off the engine. Googling this issue shows other people have the same problem with their 2018 Honda Pilots and other models as well. I believe these incidents are related to ODI Investigation PE 22-005 just opened on 06/03/22.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468852June 12, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The auto start\stop feature doesn't work and is extremely unsafe and dangerous. I will be sitting at a stop light and when the light turns green I take my foot off the break and the car will completely turn off and error messages will appear. Multiple times it has completely turned off the car and the car couldn't be restarted right away, leaving us stranded in the middle of the street trying to restart the car while cars are going by me. It takes at least a minute for the car to restart once it turns itself off. This has happened at least 10 times. We always turn the feature off when we drive now but sometimes we just forget because it's extremely inconvenient and difficult to remember that we have to turn off the feature every single time we start the car. When we took it to the dealership mechanic they told us we needed a new battery and that would fix the problem. Our battery was still at 50% and yet we still changed it but the problem has never gone away.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468865June 12, 2022
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
When the engine stops when the brake is applied, there are times when the engine shuts down completely, restarting electrical systems and not starting up again. This incredibly scary and dangerous. I have brought it to the dealer who has no idea how to fix it. I read an article that this is something the NHTSA is investigating and am very relieved that there is finally some attention being paid to this problem. I wanted to log my vehicle as being effected also.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468899June 12, 2022
ENGINE
Auto Start/Stop Engine starts to stall and can take 5 seconds or more before restarting. This is dangerous when going in stop and go traffic. Having dealer look at it in the upcoming week. No warning signs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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