There are 50 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2005 Honda Pilotin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The Honda Pilots Engine Mounts are constantly having to be replaced prematurely than any other vehicle I have ever owned. This is an extremely dangerous part failure and an expensive cost to have. This dealership explained this is a known issue with these Hondas, yet no help or solutions from the manufacturer. There has to be some form of help or accountability for this type of negligence.
USING EXCESSIVE OIL 120K USING 2 QT EVERY 2,300 MILES WITH NO VISABLE LEAKS
LOSS OF POWER ON HIGHWAY EVEN WHEN ACCELERATOR ENGAGED. HAD TO PULL OVER THE SHOULDER. VEHICLE COULD NOT BE DRIVEN. SMOKE WAS COMING FROM THE REAR OF VEHICLE BUT SENT AWAY AFTER ENGINE WAS SHUT OFF. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED. SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT NEAREST HONDA DEALER CITED A RADIATOR LEAK THAT LIKELY GOT INTO THE TRANSMISSION LINE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA PILOT. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING AND WAS ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.
CAR WAS HARD SHIFTING UNTIL I GET HOME. PULLED UP DRIVEWAY, COULD NOT GET INTO "PARK". VERY HARD SHIFTING BETWEEN OTHER GEARS, UNABLE TO PUT INTO "I" OR FIRST GEAR AT ALL. HAD TO PUT IN NEUTRAL ON FLAT SURFACE BECAUSE CAR WOULD ROLL EVEN WITH EMEGENCY BRAKE ON. HAD TO UNHOOK BATTERY CABLE TO SAVE ON JUICE. HAD THE CAR FOR 5 YEARS , PROBLEMS.
I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALER TODAY TO GET THE CURRENT RECALLS TAKEN CARE OF AND ALSO TOLD THEM TO CHECK THE MOTOR MOUNTS. I'VE READ QUITE A FEW COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE MOTOR MOUNTS FAILING AROUND 55,000 MILES AND ABRUPT/HARSH SHIFTING IN THE TRANSMISSION IS A GOOD INDICATOR OF THE DEFECT. DEALER JUST NOTIFIED ME THAT 2 MOTOR MOUNTS NEED TO BE REPLACED (FRONT AND SIDE MOUNTS). THEY REPLACED THEM BUT AT MY EXPENSE, UNFORTUNATELY. NOT SURE WHEN THE MOTOR MOUNTS EXPIRED SINCE I OWNED THE VEHICLE, I'M THE SECOND OWNER. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON MY PILOT IS 159,000 SO I ENTERED 159,000 MILES FOR THE VEHICLE INCIDENT. BUT THE 3 YEARS I'VE OWNED IT, I HAVE ALWAYS NOTICED AN ABRUPT OR HARSH SHIFT FROM PARK TO DRIVE/REVERSE. I FEEL WITH A LOT OF HONDA PILOT OWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS DEFECT, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. THANK YOU, [XXX] PS, HERE'S A COUPLE OF FORUMS/BLOGS ABOUT THIS ISSUE. HTTP://WWW.PILOTEERS.ORG/FORUMS/18-MAINTENANCE/22774-ANYONE-CHANGED-MOTOR-MOUNT.HTML HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/HONDA/PILOT/2005/ENGINE/MOTOR_MOUNTS_BROKEN.SHTML HTTP://HONDA-TECH.COM/HONDA-ACCORD-1990-2002-2/HOW-MUCH-REPLACE-MOTOR-MOUNT-95083/ INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *JB
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING TO WORK WHEN SUDDENLY SHE HEARD LIKE A WHIRRING SOUND AND THE CAR JUST SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN. SHE PULLED ON THE SIDE AND NOTICED FLUID WAS LEAKING UNDERNEATH THE FRONT SIDE OF ENGINE. WE HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. TALKING TO THE AGENT, THEY TOLD US THAT TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKED INTO RADIATOR AND RADIATOR COOLANT/TRANS FLUID LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION. COST OF REPAIRS: $1130 TO FLUSH OUT THE FLUIDS AND 5000 TO FIX TRANSMISSION. MY PROBLEM IS THAT WE'RE UPTO DATE WITH THE SERVICE CHECK-UP AND UPSET THAT THIS WAS NOT PREVENTED FROM HAPPENING. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND FAILED TO RESPOND WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RADIATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 137000.
TRANSMISSION COOLER LINE INSIDE RADIATOR FAILED COMBINING FLUIDS AND CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION. LOSS OF ABILITY TO DRIVE/MOVE VEHICLE WITH FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE AND REQUIRES A NEW RADIATOR AND REPLACE / REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION. A RECOMMENDATION FROM HONDA TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR EVERY 100,000 MILES WOULD HAVE PREVENTED HAVING TO REPLACE / REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION. SUBSEQUENT TO REPAIR, OIL REMAINS IN THE COOLANT SYSTEM AND HAS CAUSED FAILURE OF A COOLANT LINE DUE TO OVER-PRESSURIZATION. THE VEHICLE, WITH MULTIPLE CHILDREN IN IT, HAS BEEN STRANDED TWO MORE TIMES DUE TO COOLANT SYSTEM FAILURE. *TR
TRANSMISSION COOLER LINE INSIDE RADIATOR FAILED COMBINING FLUIDS AND CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION. LOSS OF ABILITY TO DRIVE/MOVE VEHICLE WHILE ON A RURAL ROAD BETWEEN CITIES DURING A SNOWSTORM WITH MY FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE AND REQUIRES A NEW RADIATOR AND REPLACE / REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION. A RECOMMENDATION FROM HONDA TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR EVERY 100,000 MILES FOR A MARGINAL FEE(SIMILAR TO THE TIMING BELT) WOULD HAVE PREVENTED HAVING TO REPLACE / REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION. *TR
RADIATOR FAILED CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO MIX WITH THE COOLANT. MY WIFE WAS STRANDED WITH MY FOUR CHILDREN. WE HAD THE RADIATOR CHANGED AND COOLANT AND TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSHED. THE TRANSMISSION HAS NOT FUNCTIONED PROPERLY SINCE THE PROBLEM HAPPENED. *TR
TRANSMISSION COOLER LINE INSIDE RADIATOR FAILED COMMINGLED FLUIDS AND CAUSING TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION. LOSS OF ABILITY TO DRIVE/MOVE VEHICLE WHILE IN MIDDLE OF MULTI-LANE HIGHWAY. *TR
I WAS ON A CIRCULAR ON-RAMP TO A HIGHWAY. MY VEHICLE STARTED LOSING POWER UPON ACCELERATION SO THE ENGINE REVVED BUT CAR SLOWED DOWN. I MADE IT OFF THE RAMP TO THE HIGHWAY AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR HAS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SO I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WASN'T CLICKING INTO PLACE PROPERLY BUT IT WAS. I NOTICED A PUDDLE OF FLUID. I HAD IT TOWED TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID THAT THE TRANSMISSION COOLING LINE BLEW OUT & THE RADIATOR WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE ADAPTER BECAUSE THERE ARE NO THREADS LEFT ON THE RADIATOR TO GRAB THE CONNECTOR. HE SAID IT WAS SOMETHING THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. IT WAS A MECHANICAL FAILURE. I HAVE READ SEVERAL POSTS ON LINE ON A NUMBER OF WEB SITES FROM OWNERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. MOST PEOPLE HAVE ALSO REPLACED THEIR TRANSMISSIONS BECAUSE THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION FLUIDS RUIN BOTH WHEN MIXED TOGETHER. MY CAR IS STILL AT THE MECHANICS, SO I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION YET, BUT THE POSTS INDICATE THAT THE CAR IS NEVER THE SAME. I WAS LUCKY THAT I HAD ENOUGH JUICE TO PULL OVER TO SAFETY. APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO RECALLS FROM HONDA IN SPITE OF THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS THAT I'VE SEEN. REPAIRS ARE EXPENSIVE & THIS PROBLEM SEEMS TO OCCUR MOSTLY WITHIN THE 100,000 MILE RANGE, GIVE OR TAKE. IF I GET RID OF THE CAR BEFORE OR AFTER FIXING IT, IT WOULD ONLY BE A PROBLEM FOR THE NEXT CONSUMER & THAT'S NOT REALLY FAIR. I FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD REIMBURSE CURRENT OWNERS FOR TRANSMISSIONS AND RADIATOR REPLACEMENTS ON THOSE CARS THAT HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM AND RECALL/REPAIR THE PARTS ON THE ONES THAT HAVEN'T. I FEEL THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE BECAUSE MY CAR COULD HAVE COME TO A COMPLETE STOP ON THE HIGHWAY AND CAUSED A SERIOUS & POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENT. HONDA NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DEFECT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. *TR
HAD A SUDDEN FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION COOLING PORTION OF THE RADIATOR CAUSING A LOSS OF POWER TO THE REAR WHEELS WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED ON A BUSY FREEWAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS. UPON DOING AN INTERNET SEARCH I SEE THAT HUNDREDS OF 2005 HONDA PILOTS HAVE SUFFERED THE SAME SUDDEN FAILURE OF THE EXACT SAME PART CAUSING THE SAME CONDITION. THIS USUALLY RESULTS IN DAMAGING THE TRANSMISSION AND COSTING THOUSANDS TO REPAIR. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A SAFETY HAZARD. HONDA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY PROBLEM EXISTS. IT IS PLAINLY EVIDENT THAT A MANUFACTURING DEFECT OF THIS PART EXISTS. ANY ENGINEER WHO EXAMINES THE DATA OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF ACCOUNTS POSTED ON THE INTERNET MUST COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION. THIS IS DEFECTIVE! THIS IS DANGEROUS! OWNERS SHOULD BE PARTIALLY COMPENSATED FOR THE EXPENSE OF REPAIR. HONDA SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR A KNOWINGLY DEFECTIVE PART. *TR
VEHICLE DIAGNOSED AT DEALER SERVICE CENTER AS HAVING 2 CRACKED / BROKEN ENGINE MOUNTS. AFFECTED MOUNTS ARE RIGHT (PASSENGER) SIDE AND FRONT MOUNT. BASED ON SIMILAR ANECDOTAL REPORTS ON INTERNET FORUMS (PILOTEERS.ORG AND OTHERS) THIS APPEARS TO BE A FAIRLY COMMON OCCURRENCE ON HONDA PILOTS AND ODYSSEYS OF THIS VINTAGE. THEY SHARE THE SAME CHASSIS. IT ALSO APPEARS THE RIGHT AND FRONT MOUNTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED. *JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 3 MPH, THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE SPIKED AS COOLANT BEGAN OVERFLOWING FROM THE RADIATOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS FOUND IN THE RADIATOR AND RADIATOR FLUID WAS FOUND IN THE TRANSMISSION. AS A RESULT, THE RADIATOR, TRANSMISSION COOLER, TRANSMISSION AND ALL OF THE LINES FROM THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 83,000.
FRONT AND RIGHT SIDE MOTOR MOUNTS ARE BROKEN ACCORDING TO VA INSPECTION. THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 69K MILES AND BEING SERVICED REGULARLY, HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN? NEED TO PAY OVER $500.00 TO REPLACE IN ORDER TO PASS VA SAFETY INSPECTION. NOTICED MANY OWNERS HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
RADIATOR FAILED, CAUSING LOSS OF TRANSMISSION FLUID, CAUSING LOSS OF MOTION. THE CAR STOPPED DEAD IN THE ROAD AND COULD NOT MOVE ON ITS OWN POWER. FROM CONTACT WITH OTHER HONDA PILOT AND HONDA RIDGELINE OWNERS, I LEARNED THAT THIS TYPE OF FAILURE OCCURS FREQUENTLY AT AROUND 100,000 MILES. THE SINGLE RADIATOR UNIT COOLS BOTH THE ENGINE AND THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT THE DEALER FOR A STABILITY CONTROL REPAIR, THE DEALER ADVISED HIM THAT THE ENGINE MOTOR MOUNT ALSO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER DID NOT SPECIFY IF THE MOTOR MOUNT WAS FRACTURED OR WORN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 115,000.
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX. 45 MPH, THE ENGINE BLEW OUT THE MIDDLE FRONT SPARK PLUG (I BELIEVE IT'S #5) AND COIL PACK DAMAGING THE RADIATOR AND STALLING THE VEHICLE. THE SPARK PLUG WAS ORIGINAL AND HAD NEVER BEEN TOUCHED. THE SPARK PLUG THREADS WERE STRIPPED REQUIRING AN INSERT TO REPAIR THE HEAD. THE COIL PACK WAS BROKEN AND THE TWISTED WIRES BLEW THE IGNITION COIL FUSE. THE EXPELLED COIL PACK AND/OR SPARK PLUG (I NEVER DID FIND THE SPARK PLUG) ALSO PUT A HOLE IN THE RADIATOR REQUIRING REPLACEMENT. *TR
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026