Owners have filed 8,552 complaints on the Honda Pilot, covering 2003–2026. The system named most often is Electrical System (980 reports). Worst years by volume: 2016, 2017, 2019; cleanest: 2026, 2010, 2014. 309 reports describe a crash, 91 a fire, 104 a death. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Honda Pilot
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 8,552 Pilot complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 980 Read
My 2025 Honda Pilot’s Collision Mitigation Braking System and backup sensors have failed three times at low speed, resulting in collisions with objects directly behind or in front of the vehicle. These include a front collision with a tree, running over a small tricycle, and backing into a tree — all under 5 mph with…
I wanted to share a very scary incident that occurred while I was slowly creeping into a parking space in a parking garage. With my foot over the brake, as there were children in the area from a car that had parked to the right of mine, my car suddenly surged forward at a high rate of speed. It ultimately crashed into…
When I started my 2022 Honda Pilot Special Edition (VIN: [XXX] ) in a parking lot, the vehicle immediately behaved abnormally. As I attempted to turn into a space, the car unexpectedly accelerated and moved in an unintended direction. Despite pressing the brake pedal firmly, neither the standard brakes nor the…
Engine 603 Read
2021 Honda Pilot is subject to "rapid acceleration". We had no notification of this issue until the vehicle drove itself into our home on its own causing damage to the car and our home. Only after we did some research did we know Honda had this issue
We parked the vehicle in a hospital parking structure in order to meet an appointment at the hospital. We were in the hospital for about an hour or so when we headed back to the vehicle in the parking garage. We were stopped from getting there because of police and fire trucks. Then we got a call from the local police…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an unknown speed when she smelled an odor of smoke coming from the vehicle, then she noticed fire coming from the vehicle. She was able to exit the vehicle safely as it started to burn. The fire department was able to extinguish…
Power Train 400 Read
Vehicle had an engine fire yesterday. Inner cv boot is burned. Luckily fire was put out quickly with a fire extinguisher
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while the engine was idling and with the gear shifter in the park position, the contact reached into the vehicle from the front driver's door, and suddenly the vehicle began to slowly roll backwards. The contact was pushed to the ground, causing the front…
I have recently had a traumatizing event with respect to the 2019 Honda Pilot. As you know this vehicle has the 3.5L v6 engine and transmission. Recently I was in a situation where I needed to accelerate to miss an oncoming tractor trailer that crossed the median. The only course of action was to accelerate. At the…
Forward Collision Avoidance 224 Read
Description: While using cruise control at highway speed and winter weather conditions, the cruise control system suddenly and unexpectedly disengaged without adequate warning. The vehicle experienced rapid deceleration and I lost control, resulting in multiple spins, a near collision with a truck, and impact with a…
The controls froze while driving and I was unable to safely maneuver the vehicle and it crashed in nearby bushes. I don’t see any recall for the VIN, Also we asked the motor repair team run scan though nothing was found. But would like to report this as we still feel it is some mechanical failure
Rear ended the vehicle in front. Vehicle in front had emergency braking activate, our pilot did not activate emergency braking. It does often go off on 2 lane highways when a large vehicle is coming the other way or when trying to take a freeway exit, but apparently not when you're about to hit someone
Fuel System 179 Read
The contact owns a 2006 honda pilot. While driving 40 mph, the contact rear ended the preceding vehicle. It was a minor crash. She noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment of her vehicle followed by flames. She immediately had the vehicle towed and it is currently at the repair shop. A police report was filed.…
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fujel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that…
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power in the middle of the road. The contact stated that after opening and closing the door, the vehicle was able to restart. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to…
Fuel/propulsion System 172 Read
NHTSA Recall Number 23V-858: I have contacted my local Honda dealer multiple times to fix vehicle per the recall and have been told that Honda has provided no parts to fix the vehicle, even after my vehicle began experiencing problems. Recently, while operating my vehicle, it hesitated (i.e. Almost stalled out) and…
I returned from work at approximately 5 pm on 03-01-22. As I prepared to enter my garage, I realized I could not pull in due to objects in the way. I put my foot on the brake, and as I planned to reverse, the car lurched forward and into the side of my house! No warnings, no air bag deployment, and a sudden lurch,…
While driving up the driveway and turning the steering wheel to the right, the car accelerated by itself, tried to apply the brakes but the brakes didn't work causing the SUV to crash thru a concrete fence and down a 40 feet cliff
Air Bags 143 Read
Purchased brand new pilot in june 2011. Around noon I was driving down on stretch of road at about 60 mph when I saw a vehicle with a trailer moving ahead of me. As I approached to pass the vehicle it appeared to slow down and started turning left ahead on the road. The trailer it was hauling did not have any signal…
I have not had this vehicle in 10 years. I have written honda six times and called a dozen times. If someone has this vehicle and gets injured due to non-notification of a recall, and I show how long I have been trying to stop these letters coming to my house so you can find the right person, someone will be seriously…
Multiply communication failures with the CAN Communication failures found across ECM/PCM/TCM and sensor issues with ADAS components. The vehicle had a surge acceleration after a stop sign and when the auto start stop engaged the vehicle surged forward and, in an effort, to control the vehicle side swiped another…
Service Brakes 127 Read
The brakes failed on the car resulting in an at fault accident. The recalled was issued 3 weeks after the accident. * safety is put at risk as this resulted in a car accident because the car would not stop. It endangered the occupants of the Honda and the vehicle that was hit. *No as the recall was issued a little…
The contact owns a 2025 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle did not slow down as intended. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. On another occasion, while attempting to park, the…
I just drove into a parking lot at First United Methodist Church parking lot. [XXX] ng a parking space very near. Driving into the space, applying brakes like I’ve done for the last 12/13 years….the car would not stop. I applied the brakes fully down to the floor( which I’ve never had to ever do at any time) the car…
Pilot years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Air Bags, Seat Belts | — | — | |
| 2025 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 10 | 5 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 13 | 5 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 9 | 5 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 22 | 9 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 11 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 15 | 3 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 24 | 5 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 6 | 4 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 11 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 8 | 5 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 21 | 7 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 34 | 7 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 25 | 12 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 34 | 10 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,214 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.9 |
| Worst single series | 43 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 3.9 hides a worst series at 43. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,109,349 of them, covering 2,013 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Pilot?
By complaint volume, 2016, 2017, 2019 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Pilot years are the cleanest?
2026, 2010, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Honda Pilot have?
8,552 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2003–2026. Of those, 309 describe a crash and 91 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
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