2018 Honda Pilot Complaint Log

While driving with auto-idle on, anytime I come to a complete stop and the ide engine engages it fails to restart when I let off of the break.AI message stating accessory mode comes on the screen and the car completely shuts down, requiring me to power off the car completely and push the start button on the car again. It takes a few tries for the car to start. I feel like it is very dangerous for me, my passengers, and all the cars in the vicinity. By my car not moving cars have to merge into other lanes to go around the hazard, which is now my stalled vehicle, or will fail to stop before contact with my stalled vehicle at a green light. This well known and documented issue will cause accidents.

While stopped at an intersection, the vehicle's Auto Start/Stop technology engaged. When driver attempted to drive, the Auto Start/Stop wouldn't disengage, as a result the car would not start. The vehicle prompted the driver to put the car in park and push the ignition button to start the car, however nothing happened, meaning the car would not start. After about 2 minutes, the car was able to start and the driver was able to continue driving. An immobilized vehicle at an intersection put its passengers at risk, including 2 children under the age of 3. Dealer will be notified of this occurrence.

Vehicle was being driven in a construction zone on the highway when the CMBS (collision mitigation braking system) error message appeared on the dashboard. This is the 2nd occurrence of this issue (1st occurrence also happened while driving through construction zone) When error occurs all advanced safety features (auto-emergency braking, lane keep, etc) become disabled. I believe there is a fundamental design flaw in how Honda's Sensing system handles obstacles such as temporary construction zones. American Honda claims the only way to turn off the light is to pay a diagnostic fee and labor charge. A safety design flaw should not be the responsibility of the vehicle owner to pay to fix.

Emissions system problem

My wife was pulling into the dentist parking lot, made a slow right hand turn to a parking space when the vehicle suddenly and violently accelerated. Depressing and pumping brake had no effect and the car slammed into a tree destroying the right front of the vehicle. She assured me that she did not depress the accelerator. She is a very safe driver, never received a ticket nor involved in an accident. Research into similar accidents showed multiple cases where this occurred with Honda Pilot vehicles.

Emissions light comes on due to a faulty Fuel Injector and Catalytic Converter. This continues to show up in multiple forums when it comes to this problem.

When the vehicle is turned off, the lights panel will flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights will come on. The car alarm will go off at random. On average 7-10/per day. I’ve taken the vehicle to the dealer and there appears to be a back order of the part needed to fix the issue.

Good afternoon, I would like to bring an issue to your attention and file a complaint on Honda Motor Company. Last week, I scheduled an appointment in the Service Department at Russell and Smith Honda to diagnose my 2018 Honda Pilot. My vehicle jerks when driving at a low speed. Russell and Smith diagnosis was a transmission oil flush and a system update with "recommendations to replace the battery and spark plugs" ; total charges to fix the problem was roughly $365 additional to the $110 that I paid for the diagnosis. That same day, I picked up my vehicle from Russell and Smith Honda and refused to pay because its a 2018 truck that I shouldn't be dealing with a transmission problem. As I was driving the truck back home, it started to turn off automatically and an engine light alert would turn on. The truck would start working after turning it back on. Two days after, I took it back to Russell and Smith Honda and advised them of the truck shutting down and I was notified to pay another $100 for a diagnosis which I refused to pay since it was recently diagnosed two days ago. This is putting my life at risk on the streets. The employee who assisted me went inside to ask a mechanic on duty and came back to notify me that I do need to pay for another diagnosis to determine whats wrong. I refused to pay and left the dealership. I called Honda Motor Company on 4/10/23 to advise them of the problem and they created a case #13752705 to further investigate and I advised them if not I will report it to NHTSA. Honda Motor Company requested a copy of the diagnosis and when I called them for an update, the case worker assigned to my case Samir stated they agreed to pay for the transmission flush and system update and they have notified Russell and Smith Honda. The next day I called Russell and Smith Honda to advise them that I will drop off the truck according to Honda Motor Company and they said I need to pay for the recommendations listed on the diagnosis first. Faulty vehic

Vehicle lagging when and most of the time does not run right away when you press the gas several times. Whenever I'm in an intersection and am trying to cross to my left when cars are coming towards me, I push the gas slightly so I can see the road complete; when I'm certain that there is no car, I try to push the gas right away to cross the intersection when I do this the car would lag in the middle of the street and has caused me almost to get hit several times with my kids and a baby inside the vehicle. I had been to the dealer many times and explained this situation, but they always made me spend for something that did not fix the issue. I had to beg them many times and even called the corporation to do something about the recall with the fuel pump, but I was always dismissed and told to wait. It has been almost a year since this started happening today. I got an emission light on again and am scheduled to return on Wednesday. I am hoping to get the recall for my car fixed. Please help me investigate this matter. I don't want to be in an accident, especially since I drive with my toddler and two kids every day to and from school. Thank you

Our 2018 Honda Pilot Touring has had auto idle stop issues from the moment we purchased this vehicle. We have addressed this safety concern with multiple Honda service centers and were repeatedly told this is how the car was designed. The auto idle stop function stalls every time the vehicle is stopped at an intersection and fails to automatically restart the engine as expected. Instead of the engine starting up again after take foot off the brake and press the gas pedal, the car stalls completely and have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. Sometimes have to try several times before car restarts. This has been a major safety concern for our family and Honda refuses to fix it.

incident March 5th, 2023 speed approx. 30 M/hr when my MID lit up "PUT IN PARK" my Pilot slowed down on his own gas and brake pedal were frozen I heard some scraping and crunching noises and steering wheel was hard to move and engine shut off. That afternoon (Sunday) I made an appointment with Arrowhead Honda, 8380 W. Bell Rd., Peoria, AZ 85382 to bring the car in. AAA towed the car to the Honda Dealer. After 45 Min. Techn. Divac Aodisho advised me they could not find anything. And I drove my vehicle home. This sounds familiar with the recall I found from NHTSA today. I made an appointment to have the fuel pump impeller checked on 01/19/24 but just now I was called and told the parts will not be available until March 2024 appointment is cancelled. So now I'm driving a vehicle that is not 100%. A 2nd similar problem happened [XXX] and a Diagnosis was preformed on my Pilot for $ 160.00 with again no problem found. Would you drive a car that is not 100% ? I don't have a choice and I was told by the Techn. Mr. Grant today "well you have been driving it for 5 Years" that is not very comforting. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Vehicle auto start/stop feature actually shuts the car off (at times) and requires me to put the car in part and go through the car startup process. This causes issues when you’re at a green light. I have taken the car to Honda and so far they’ve performed a software update, replaced the starter, and tuned the valves.

Powertrain: The transmission has problems engaging, where I have had several near misses due tot he car not moving in the delay of the transmission engaging. This has been going on for some time and the dealer tells me there is nothing wrong, that it is a special transmission and I need to get used to the shifting mode. I have 36,300 miles and have complained several times over the past five years, this is a real safety issue since the car will not move and when it dose it lunges forcefully. Idle shut-off: the engine shuts off and will not restart, it has also shut-off on the freeway at random times.

On several occasions so far, when stopped with the idle stop system engaged, the brake depressed and at a full stop, the engine shut down, as expected, but failed to restart once the brake pedal was released.

While traveling at highway speed there was what sounded like an explosion and first thought was it was a blown tire, but upon stopping to inspect it was discovered that the sunroof had exploded, leaving a large gaping hole across it. There had been no warning signs and there was no previous known damage to sunroof. I was lucky that the sun shade had been closed at the time or there would have been the real risk of the interior passenger compartment being peppered with flying glass shards, posing a danger to all 6 occupants, including 4 minor children, and especially to the front passenger and driver sitting directly underneath the sunroof who would have been at greater risk of injury with the very real possibility of the driver losing control of the vehicle.

The engine light appreared with this note on my dashboard, emission system problem. My Pilot is a 2018 with 41K miles. The engine light appeared 2/12/2023. I took it to my local auto mechanic but they couldn't fix the issue without performing a deep diagnostic testing that last 2 to 3 hours long and it would cost more than $500 including the parts to repair it. The mechanic suggested to take my car to the Honda dealer as this is common issue with this vechicle. I'm reading online from owners from vechiclehistory.com with this same issue and the owners all have the same issue. Honda needs to recall these Pilots and repair the issue at Honda's expense.

Unknown. I was using cruise control maintaining approx 60mph. The car in front of me started to slow and I tapped the brake to disengage cruise control. The car lunged forward and the accelerator went towards the floor. I tried to turn the car off and the push button did not respond. As my speed increased I narrowly missed rear ending cars in front of me as I swerved in and out of lanes, with the brake pedal not responding. I drove into the dirt medium of the road on the left and pushed the shift into park and the car eventually slowed to a stop. I was very shook up and sat in this dangerous area until I was calm enough to start the car and see if I could get across the highway to an exit. I tried turning the car off twice before attempting this to see if I could get it to respond. Both times it responded and the light on the dash indicated to put it into Park. I made it across the highway to an exit where I drove around a parking lot for 1/2 hr turning the car on & off to see if it was safe to get it home. I did not touch cruise control again. It was nothing short of a miracle that I didn’t kill anyone on the road or myself.

Transmission is jumping between first and second gear randomly.

Extreme vibration from the high pressure fuel line due to premature failure of the high pressure fuel pump. Was told that I need to replace everything going to the high pressure fuel pump when I replace the pump because of the risk of fire. Honda is aware of this issue as they have issued a 16-013 service bulletin and has passed the cost of a design flaw down to the consumer knowing the line could rupture and catch the vehicle on fire. Honda says oops well it's over 60k miles and your past the warranty. The vibration from acceleration is so loud and the fuel line shakes freely back and forth within 3 inch span of movement. It won't let me upload a video. There are 1000s of cars with the issue in the forums and it should be a recall due to the possibility of fuel line rupture.

The car has an automatic engine shut off when the car comes to a complete stop (brake pushed fully). Over the course of a month, the car will stop and start correctly many times, however 5-7 times a month the engine will not come back on...the lights and radio will all be on and the engine will not come on. This requires me to put the car in park, turn the car completely off, restart the car all while the light is green and cars are behind ready to go. The battery is fine. There is an issue with the automatic system. Unfortunately Honda Dealership has not been helpful and is more interested in charging extra money. I have read this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing engine hesitation while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the transmission fluid and the coolant were flushed. The contact was charged a service fee; however, the failure recurred while driving. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH on the third lane of an interstate with her children in the car seats in the rear seats, the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound. The vehicle decelerated to 35 MPH abruptly, causing the driver's and passengers' seat belts to retract. The contact immediately depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to exceed 40 MPH, nearly causing a crash. The contact activated the hazard lights and drove to her husband's shop. The contact's husband cleared the diagnostic trouble codes, and the vehicle accelerated as needed while driving; however, the vehicle shuddered, made abnormal sounds, the engine had a misfire, and the vehicle stalled while driving. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the message "Emission System Problem" was displayed. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

When driving and slowing down or stopping at stop to which the auto/off engages, the vehicle turns all the way off. I cannot move the car and have to try several times to power the vehicle down and disengage the auto off function. It has happened several times and I just took it to Gillman Honda where they said it is probably just the battery but my battery has been fine.

I was driving 55 miles per hour on a highway when I intended to press the hazard button to illuminate my hazard lights, but instead accidently pressed the ignition button. When I pressed the ignition button the car turned off while going 55 miles per hour. I lost all power including steering. I was able to muscle the car off an exit ramp and put it in neutral to press the brake and restart the vehicle while moving on the ramp. This could have been a catastophic event for me and my daughter and others driving along with us one the highway. I have not tried to reproduce this event as it would put me in an unsafe situation. The vehicle has not been inspected. I plan to do this next week at the dealership. No warning from the vehicle occurred when the event occurred. No warning lamps or messages or symptoms.

The transmission does not transmit consistent power to the wheels to ensure the car moves forward at consistent speed. This intermittent transmission of power to the tires causes a safety concern when driving, especially during a rainfall with stop and go traffic or when joining roads. The car is unresponsive or very slow to respond when moving forward from a stop position. Any attempt to force the car to move results in a lunge or aggressive acceleration which usually causes the tires to screech. The unnatural acceleration results in forward motion not consistent with the flow of traffic. This issue is further compounded when there is rainfall with a little slop. Any forward motion results in the tires screeching forcing the driver to take his/her foot off the accelerator. This results in a stop and go situation which is confusing to other drivers especially when joining a road.

Vehicle engine shutdown while at full stop and does not turn on or has difficulties turning back on. This happens sporadically and only happens at stops such as red lights, stop signs, and or stop and go traffic.

he auto start/stop is not working for my 2018 Honda Pilot Elite. The vehicle does not start in the middle of the traffic when it stops. I've stuck stuck multiple times and now for last 1 year I have to force switch off that feature every time I drive the car.

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle started losing motive power, and jerking, and there was a slight hesitation while accelerating. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was informed that the issue was normal; however, the issue persisted. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,662. Parts distribution disconnect.

When the idle stop feature is active the vehicle can stop, ceasing all functions, including steering and engine. The entire electrical system does not function, and the vehicle cannot be restarted. In order to restart the vehicle you are required to jumpstart the vehicle. This issue was not common during early ownership of vehicle, but has become more frequent with age. This is a safety issue as the vehicle can become inoperable in busy intersections.

Failed Torque converter at 80, 000 miles leading to dangerous underperformance

When stopping at a traffic light the engine auto stop/start engages, but then the engine will not power back on when I release the brake. I have to completely restart the engine, causing a safety concern with other vehicles behind me. This just started in December 2022 and seems to occur daily.

When stopping at a traffic light the engine auto stop/start engages, but then the engine will not power back on when I release the brake. I have to completely restart the engine, causing a safety concern with other vehicles behind me. This has been ongoing for the last 6 months or so, and it seems to be getting worse. Sometimes the car will turn off mid intersection and we will be stuck there for 10-30 seconds while I try to get the car back on and going again. It is a very dangerous hazard and Honda denies there being an issue. After reading online it seems that many people are having a similar problem.

The sun visors on both driver’s side and passenger side are unusually difficult to pull down. It got to the point that you needed two hands to pull it down. The stiffness progressively got worse over the last year. In the last six months the visor does not return to flush with the ceiling, impeding clear view thru the windshield. Taller drivers needed to move the visor to the side position in order to view clearly out of the windshield. Dealer mentioned that it’s not the first Honda vehicle with this issue and a quick google search shows evidence of such as well.

When attempting to start the car's engine by pressing the start/stop button, it takes several times of pushing the button to start the engine and the dashboard displays a keyless start system error. There is a tech service bulletin for 2016 and 2017 models of the same car providing an extended warranty for customers to get free start/stop switch replacement. I took my car to a dealer and and they reproduced the problem. I was told it was not covered under the warranty. Why did Honda provide warranty and free replacement for previous model years but not for 2018 model that had the same problem? Please advise.

Emission system problem warning sign come and go

Today my 2018 Pilot EX-L suddenly started displaying these warnings: - Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) Problem - Hill Start Assist Problem - Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) Problem - Power Steering System (EPS) Problem Looking at Honda Pilot Forums, it seems like it is a very common problem and has to do with Fuel Injectors as described by: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10187289-0001.pdf Many people have complained of this issue, here is one such blog of many many more: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/multiple-warning-lights.127665/ This should be a recall and not just an extension of warranty which shifts the burden of proof to the consumer. Please help Honda honor this warranty for my 4 year old pilot with only 47,463 miles on it.

I have, on several occasions, been driving my vehicle and when I stop and try to start again the engine fails to start again. This most recently happened when I got off the highway and had to stop suddenly and then had difficulty getting my car started back up in almost the middle of the intersection. This could have ended up being a really dangerous situation. This has occurred now several times. I brought my car in because I was concerned about it and they just told me that I would need to replace the battery. The battery worked fine except for this, so I am unsure why they aren't helping us understand this all better. They did confirm the issue was happening and said that they have seen it a lot. Lots of warning lots would pop on and back off when this happened.

Problem with start-stop system. Engine shuts off when vehicle is stopped but engine does not restart at times. Dealership could not find a problem and said they’ve never heard of it happening to anyone else, BUT a simple online search shows that it is a problem and NHTSA has an open investigation. VERY DANGEROUS when the vehicle doesn’t restart at a stop light or in stop and go traffic. Honda needs to step up and rectify immediately!

Numerous restart issues when car in in idle mode stopped at a traffic light or stop sign. Car does not idle but completely powers off. I'm required to place car into "park", turn on power, shift to drive in order to accelerate

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System and Gasoline) however the parts to repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair as the recall notice was received several months ago. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The contact stated when driving the vehicle, it stuttered and stalled. The automatic car start was inoperable. The check engine and the all wheel drive warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and stated a misfire code existed and that parts were not available. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer who performed a diagnostic as well, but stated the valve system needed to be flushed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. VIN tool confirms part not available.

Upon stopping for a red light, the car turned off the engine and is supposed to restart when the brake is released. However my car stalled out and wouldn't auto start. After 20 seconds it then prompted to restart the car. This was on a busy road and I was lucky no one rear-ended me or got into an accident themselves while trying to avoid my car that should have been moving with traffic but was just sitting idle at a green light. I called the Honda dealership and they weren't alarmed by this or even interested in looking at the car. The told me to select the "disable auto stop" when starting the car so the engine won't idle. This is OK as a short-term solution but remembering this every time we start the car isn't a sufficient solution. On instances when I forgot, the car stalls out, and now occurs at least once a week. I'm now resorted to adding a post-it note to remind myself (and anyone else that uses me car) to turn the auto stop off. This isn't practical solution for a defective, default feature that Honda added to their cars. There needs to be a permanent override for this unnecessary feature that compromises safety, not only for the vehicle occupants but for those trying to avoid the stalled vehicle.

Car does not turn on after stopping at a red light with auto start/off on. Turns on after being jump started. Also windows automatically come down without pressing any buttons after opening or turning off car. Dealer reports no issues. Battery has been changed with no solution. Car is inoperable with concern for pedestrian safety and personal safety.

On at least three occasions after being stopped at a light the engine suddenly died (not simply auto idle stop). After putting in park and shutting off ignition (button start) and waiting some time the vehicle could be restarted. Battery is good. Fuel is good. Injectors already replaced. Dangerous as vehicle may be unexpectedly on powered while in traffic

Car won’t start after auto stop engages at red lights. I was on a busy road at a red light when my car wouldn’t restart. I had to sit a few embarrassing minutes (felt longer) turning the car off and on until it finally restarted. I noticed the issue occurred a few months ago as well, but because it only happened once I wasn’t concerned. This time was on a very busy road with cars coming 45mph towards me. Since the first incident, I did notice when it auto starts 9/10 times it turns my radio off and my cabin lights cut on then off (as if I’m starting the whole car again). Sometimes it will flash lights on the dash as well but I cannot recall which ones (I know battery is one). I try to remember to turn the feature off every time I get in my car, because you can’t turn it off and leave it off.

I was stopped at a red light, the engine cycled down because of the environmentally friendly option. My foot was on the break. The transmission shifted to neutral and turned orange. I could not get it to shift back to Drive. I had to turn the car off and restart it. At that point I was able to put it in drive and move the car. This was very dangerous because I was on a busy highway and could have been rear ended by a driver not noticing the car was stopped and off.

I have taken my 2018 Honda Pilot several times to the Honda Dealer, and they have failed to fix what appears to be a transmission problem with the vehicle. The transmission is burning transmission fluid. The vehicle makes a grinding sound when you shift gears. The gears feel like they are catching when you change them, The transmission gears shift appears to be delayed, slipping/jerking and pulling. This situation is very dangerous to me, my children, and the public. The Honda dealer appears to be stalling, so the vehicle runs out of the warranty. They do little to fix the problem; they keep charging me money and repeatedly replacing the burnt transmission fluid. This vehicle has a lemon transmission that they need to replace. Please help investigate this common problem that so many people are complaining about, and Honda keeps ignoring or excusing the complaints. They are selling unsafe vehicles. The incident/issue is contimous, they have NOT fix the issue. Please review the attached documents. Please contact me with some that can speaks Spanish or is able to translate. Thanks

At 50,000 miles the car started to make a clanking noise. The car was checked no issued were found. at 60,000 oil change was preformed vehicle was checked no issued were found. At 63,000 the following lights came on at once: check engine, TSA, Hill start problem. Took the car again to get checked and now they have stated the car needs a new engine no lights had previously came on.

I was driving on a city street, during traffic I came to a complete stop and the car turned off the engine automatically by the idle-stop feature. When traffic was moving, I lifted my foot off the brake pedal expecting the engine turn back on and move forward but the engine never started and I tried to start the engine manually stepping on the brake and press the Engine Start button but in didn't work either, all the while I could have easily gotten rear-ended by driver behind me. Luckily other drivers were paying attention but nonetheless I was pressure to move my car. After struggling for 5 minutes, I finally manage to restart the engine again. I am the original owner and service my car at the dealer and the car only have 39160 miles on it. This problem happened before but is happening more often now, which is causing more safety concerns for me.

The vehicle routinely shuts off at intersections and is unable to restart. This often causes traffic to back up behind the vehicle and vehicles around us having to make sudden stops. This occurs during normal driving conditions about 3 times/month. It seems to be attributed to the automatic shut-off feature but does not restart as it should when operating properly.

On September 27, 2022 the vehicle start/stop failed at Georgetown Texas highway 195/I35 overpass stop light. When the light changed the vehicle started to move forward then stalled in the left lane. I engaged the emergency flashers, stopped the vehicle, put it in park and proceeded to restart the vehicle. During this event, there were several near misses including a gravel truck. I believe a review of service orders will conclude the vehicle’s engine start/stop feature has been problematic for a few years.

The engine stop feature did not allow the car to restart at multiple stops. I was not able to immediately restart the car. It did restart after some time. This was concerning, since I was stuck on the middle of an intersection. There are no problems if we immediately disable this feature when starting the car.