2019 Honda Pilot Powertrain & Transmission Problems

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The vehicle was restarted; however, the advanced safety features remained inoperable. The vehicle remained in LIMP Mode and failed to properly accelerate while driving. The contact referenced TSB: 23-0780 (Torque Converter); however, the vehicle was not associated with the TSB. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,500.

I own a 2019 Honda Pilot. The transmission failed and was replaced under warranty in October 2023. In March 2026, the same transmission problem occurred again and the vehicle is now not drivable. The dealership diagnosed the issue and estimated the repair cost to exceed 19,000. The manufacturer, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., opened and then closed my case (#16240409) without explanation and has not responded to repeated requests for assistance. The vehicle remains at the dealership awaiting authorization from American Honda Motor Co., Inc whether to repair the vehicle or not.

While driving at highway speed (approximately 60 mph), my vehicle suddenly lost all propulsion and automatically shifted into Neutral without any warning. This occurred in active traffic and resulted in an immediate and dangerous loss of power. I was unable to accelerate and narrowly avoided a serious accident. Following the incident, I took the vehicle to an authorized Honda service center. The dealer diagnosed the failure as a defective Transmission Control Module (TCM/TCU). Diagnostic code P0810 (Clutch Position Control Error) was stored, and the dealer confirmed the TCM must be replaced. This is a serious safety defect. Sudden loss of drive at highway speeds places the driver, passengers, and surrounding vehicles at extreme risk of serious injury or death. The failure occurred shortly after the expiration of the 5-year powertrain warranty. Honda should investigate this issue immediately, as unexpected TCM/TCU failure causing loss of propulsion can result in catastrophic outcomes.

The 9 speed transmission suddenly lost power while accelerating onto an interstate from an on ramp. It is available for inspection at the auto shop as it is not driveable and had to be towed. The vehicle did not give any indication in the moment. My safety and the safety of other drivers were at risk due to the posted speed limit of 65 MPH and my car had no ability to accelerate and get to a shoulder with three lanes of traffic. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer. I've reported this issue numerous times and they always state they don't find anything defective with the vehicle. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or other entities. There has never been any warning lamps or messages prior to the sudden loss of power on this occassion. In the past when I have lost power, it's been momentarily and no signs have illuminated. It has gained power within seconds of me stepping on the gas. On this occassion, it never got power back and the signs came on. Once I got to the side of the road, I tried turning the vehicle off and back on but once I try to put it in drive, it goes back to neutral automatically on its own. Prior to this incident, other than losing power momentarily at times, when stopped at a red light or stop sign, the car would automatically put itself in neutral and I was unable to drive when the light turned green/my turn at stop sign. I had to turn the car off (in the middle of the road) and turn it back on to get it to go in drive and accelerate again.

My car "lurches" when increasing speed sometimes acting like it does not want to go at all. I am constantly on edge that I am going to get rear ended or hit. Especially when my children are with me. Occasionally the brake light will light up and my car will slow down and then accelerate again. Which also makes me worry about getting hit. Both of these things have happened multiple times and we've done our research. It's a major issue

Rear differential unit failed at about 66,000 miles without warning. During normal driving, the dashboard warning light came on indicating AWD warning. It was raining at the time the warning came on. The Pilot onboard computer did disable the AWD and place the vehicle in front wheel drive only mode. The next morning again the AWD warning came on when put into drive and was raining again. Driving again in the afternoon the AWD warning did not come on and there was no rain. I could not see any physical signs of an issue. The Pilot was just in for two recalls: one for backup camera wiring harness on 8/27/2025 and fuel pump on 9/8/2025. About two weeks later on 9/24/2025 was when the first warning came on. The Pilot was taken to the dealer and was reported that the differential pump, sub harness, and differential all needed to be replaced. I informed the dealer that the two recalls were performed and the warning coming on during wet weather. The dealer stated the failure was not caused by the recalls. In order to make to Pilot safe to drive again, I had the dealer replace the parts.

Vehicle surges occasionally at 30 to 45 MPH. Had a loud engine knock when driving on interstate and vehicle slowed down and multiple warning lighted up on dash like a Christmas tree. Was able to get to the shoulder safely. Restarted the vehicle, warning lights gone and was able to drive home. OBD II scanner read P0369. Took it to dealer for inspection, they confirmed camshaft “walk” and damaged the camshaft position sensor. After the repair, the surging issue still occurs occasionally.

My 2019 Honda Pilot was surging when it went up a hill or was at a steady speed on the highway. I was concerned that the car would stall. The dealer confirmed/reproduced the problem and called it a torque converter shudder. Per Honda's instructions they changed the transmission fluid 3 times and did a software update. There were no warning lights. This is a known problem with a very specific fix that is recommended by Honda. It should be a recall and the repair covered by Honda. It costs me over $400.00 to get the repair done at my dealer-Washington PA Honda.

As the vehicle is stopped in traffic and is about the proceed, the vehicle automatically shifts into park and the emission warning light comes on. The vehicle is unable to be put back into drive unless the vehicle is turned off and then restarted creating a dangerous condition while you are stuck in middle of the roadway.

2019 Honda Touring: driving down the highway the windshield would crackle ( Electricity) then we started experiencing transmission delays in shifting and the transmission sounded rough and it was delayed. when the car was put in park the whole dashboard lit up with emissions system problem, Stop driving when safe. transmission problem, Blind spot info system problem. after this showed up the car was not able to move at all. it would not move to gear. the problem was not reproduced at the Honda dealer. They recommend replacing the transmission. I had it towed to another shop where they tell me all codes that pertain this the initial issues stated and refer back to dealer to reset the tmc system failure and to reset the electrical system. Honda refuses to do work as they want to replace the entire transmission

DRIVING IN THE WOODLANDS AND AT A STOP SIGN WHEN THE AUTO-STOP FEATURE ACTIVATED AND WHEN LIGHT CHANGED TO GREEN THE CAR WOULD NOT AUTOMATICALLY RESTART, I HAD TO PHYSICALLY RESTART THE VEHICLE BY PUSHING THE START BUTTON WITH THE BRAKE ENGAGED. VERY ANNOYING! AND A BIG SAFETY ISSUE.

Transmission shift from 2nd to 3rd gear is extremely violent and inconsistent. This is not a normal "transmission slip" but rather a miscalculation of how much RPM to input post shift. This causes the car to "jump" or slow drastically while driving through city. Typically felt between 25 and 35 mph. When I took car in for diagnostic, the dealership said "oh, that's just how these cars a made. I hear about this many times with now problems." There are no engine lights on as a result of the shifting, but the reported concern has been present on car since first owner.

The transmission surges while accelerating and cruising. Honda issued a service bulletin, 17-014 issued 2/27/2018, to fix the problem for the 2016-2017 models. Mine is a 2019 with the same transmission as the 2016-17 Pilot, the 6AT. The solution to the issue was the same as the 2016-17 Pilot, flushing the transmission fluid three times but now Honda will not issue a service bulletin for the same problem on the the 2019 model so I had to pay for it.

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 time of acceleration the car skipped and slipped gear. We narrowly missed colliding and in my estimates dying. I had the vehicle inspected and diagnosed by a Honda dealership in Sanford NC. They determined the Torque Converter failed and is bad. They also informed me this same power train is in the 2018 and previous Honda Pilots. Which Honda extended the warranty on to address the issue. Why haven’t they included the 2019? This is unacceptable I have reached out to Honda and they will not discuss the issue.

Ticking noise and check engine light. Taken to dealer. Dealer replaced tensioner, timing belt, water pump, did oil change and engine flush. Did not fix the problem. Dealer took the engine apart and discovered damaged rocker arm assembly which caused valve spring break which caused a problem with the cylinder. Honda is denying a warranty claim as the vehicle is just outside of the 5 year power train warranty period even though it only has 48 thousand mile on it and has been serviced regularly and kept in good condition.

We were driving from the [XXX] Area to [XXX] in June 2024. We noticed a "Transmission Too Hot" indicator on our dash while we were driving on [XXX] in [XXX] . It was not a hot day. We pulled over because we did not want to damage our car. We were towed to Ciocca Honda in [XXX] . They ran diagnostics and determined the problem was a known issue "A23-073" and our car needed a software update. The did a fine job and got us back on the road. My concern is that this was a known problem which could still be affective other motorists. Please evaluate whether a recall is needed for the fix done to our car and the software update. Thank you! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

dash instuments goes blacked out , entertainment system goes black in sequence to dash, this has happened multiple times . I cannot tell my speed, gas levels, etc, the LKAS, collision warning, adaptive cruise control , auto emergncy breaking ,lane departure warning failed with lights coming on with various failure warinings, it fails ,then works randomly then fails again. I have taken my vehichle in starting in 2022 for the dash instruments and entertainment going out .The transmission has rough shifting multiple times, i have brought for diagnostic service 4 times on transmission, they cannot find the causes. I have had transmissions serviced and flushed as required.

While driving on Highway 35 in Olathe traffic came to a crawl and vehicle automatic idle caused vehicle to stop. Luckily vehicles were slow and was not hit in the rear. Had to place vehicle in Park and restart. Several other times while at stop light vehicle just shuts down and fails to restart. We are just manually turning off auto idle on every start. If we forget the vehicle will start to shut down and we quickly turn off. Safety concerns while having grandkids in vehicle so we usually just take the 2014 Honda Odyssey which does not have this feature. ON going problem.

As soon as my car hit 58,000 miles all of a sudden my transmission is doing a jerking like if it’s trying to fail, which doesn’t make sense because I’ve never heard of transmissions going on a car so young with very few mileage and then I realized, and I looked it up that pilot from 2018 2017 and 2019 are known to have transmission issues. Why didn’t Honda fix this issue already?

Hello, I have owned my 2019 Pilot for almost 6 years. From day one, I have had ongoing issues including over 12 situations in which my vehicle would not restart at stoplights, 4-way stops or other areas (my driveway, gas station etc.). I have had the vehicle jump started multiple times by my extended warranty company, my husband and neighbor and towed to the dealer. My most recent stall when not even let me turn on my hazards as my vehicle completely died at the stoplight. I have called 911 multiple times to protect me from being rear-ended. I fear for my life driving the vehicle. My kids refuse to also drive the vehicle. Honda does not have any answers for the fix. There are over 1,000 complaints from vehicle owners. Let's do something before someone is rear-ended and killed! Look at my service history! My car is a lemon, and has lost value. I deserve peace of mind driving this vehicle and compensation for this never ending nightmare.