2021 Honda Pilot Complaint Log

When the idle stop system is enabled in my vehicle, on 5 separate occasions, my car has stalled. Each situation happened when I was stopped at either a stop sign or traffic light. When I took my foot of the brake to go, the car shut off and took ~30 seconds before I was able to turn the engine back on and go. I took my car to the Honda dealer and they were unable to determine the cause of the problem, and it has happened since that time.

The sunroof of my 2021 Honda Pilot spontaneously shattered while driving down the highway with my family inside the car. There is a class action lawsuit against Honda for this issue at the moment as well.

See attached document from complainant

Infotainment panel goes dark for 5-10 minutes while the car is in motion. Attempts to reboots multiple times unsuccessfully and then finally recovers. Network Connection Lost message appears on the Infotainment panel. Intermittent crackling noise in the sound system speakers. Creates a safety issue when vehicle is in motion on a highway and the GPS display on the Infotainment screen disappears right before taking a high-speed exit. The confusion can cause a major accident.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that he had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V174000 (Visibility), and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair. Following the repair, the contact became aware that the side-view mirrors were distorted, severely compromising side-view visibility. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.

Honda Pilot 2021 Elite AWD w/ 34k miles shuts down at a complete stop e.g. traffic light, stop sign or highway stop and go rush hour. Panel says put in Neutral, but the push button transmission shift does not respond. Attempts to restart with the push start/stop button and fails multiple times first and then it starts again, while other motorists are honking behind you for blocking traffic. Major safety concern.

The reason we took our Honda in to the Honda retailer to begin with is because the car kept alerting a message of an “emissions systems failure.” We took it in and found out that we had 3 recalls on our Honda Pilot. They fixed one recall but stated that they “needed parts” for the other recalls. It has been one month and after continuous follow ups they continue to tell us that they still haven’t gotten the parts and are behind in service. This is unacceptable. The retailer believed that we were receiving the “emissions system failure” error message is because of a fuse. They replaced the fuse but the message returned several days later. I am thinking we received the error message because of the “Passport/Pilot MOST FAKRA Service Cables” failure recall that has a possibility to cause “poor, or lost, connections intermittently between the audio display unit and the vehicle cable connector” (Manufacturer recall explanation). I am not entirely sure exactly what is wrong with our vehicle nevertheless the reason for the complaint is that the manufacturer/certified dealership has “failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall” for our vehicle “in a timely manner.” I hope this complaint will get our recalls fixed.

The autostart failed to restart at an intersection traffic light when light changed. It put us at risk of rear end collision while trying to decipher and correct issue. Message appeared to state car needed to go into park. Driver doesn't remember if they tried to put it into park due to stress of situation, but issue was resolved by shutting off car and then restarting.

I went to my Honda dealership today 7/15/23, and my side mirrors were on a recall, and they replaced them and my driver side mirror is all distorted. It looks like I’m looking through my contacts while wearing my glasses. It’s given me a headache. My passenger side mirror looks fine. I’ll be calling the dealership on Monday morning. This fix is awful and a real safety hazard because now I don’t want to look out of the mirror because it gives me a really bad headache.

The IDLE STOP feature sometimes fails to restart the vehicle after stopping at a stoplight or stop sign. The vehicle transmission will go into PARK, with the engine no longer running. This requires the vehicle to be restarted manually in traffic, and shifted to DRIVE. This puts the vehicle and passengers at risk for an accident, as it blocks the normal flow of traffic until manually restarted and shifted. This car is available for inspection upon request. This problem has been inspected by a local Honda dealer. There were no warning lamps prior to the incidents.

When going from stop light, car died in middle of intersection. Couldn’t get it started. Had it towed to dealership.Dealer did diagnostics and couldn’t find any issue. Drove car home. Turned it off. The car would not restart. Had it towed back to dealership. Not sure if it’s starter, alternator, auto engine stop features. Battery seems to be Gett drained. Danger is that the car randomly dies and won’t start. Dealer has no idea of the issue. Tow truck driver said he has towed severs Honda pilots with the same issue.

Lane departure braking mechanism has become faulty. Over the last 2 weeks, I've had 2 incidents that could have resulted in a rear end crash, bodily injury or death, when the lane departure caused BRAKE to flash on the dashboard and the automatic system caused the Pilot to temporarily hard brake in the middle of the freeway. I reported this to POWAY Honda during my last visit, but they ignored this system problem.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V431000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

I received the recall remedy for my Pilot from a Honda service center per the side-view mirrors detachment recall (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V174000). Although my side-mirror was working just fine, I decided to receive the recall remedy, i.e., new side-mirrors, believing that it will improve safety of my car. However, after the Honda service center finished replacing my old side-mirrors with new side-mirrors, I realized while I was driving away from the center that the image of the new side-mirror on the driver side was very waving and distorted, which made me feel nauseous and zoned in when I looked at it. In fact, I had to keep looking at the mirror for more than a second while driving in order to clearly see what's behind my left lane. After trying to adjust myself to the new mirror for several minutes, I realized that I couldn't do it. So I had to take my car back to the service center and they explained that they received the same complaint a lot but another new mirror would have the same issue. After several back and forth between me and the staff, thankfully they replaced it with another new mirror. Although the distorted image on the mirror got better, it still bothered me while driving. As the manager at the center suggested that another new mirror replacement might be even worse than the current one, I decided to try the current one for now, and not ask for another replacement. In addition, I kept asking if I could get my original old mirror back since it was working just fine. But the center said that it is impossible due to the federal obligation they have toward NHTSA. I think quality of the recall remedy should be warranted. But, here, my situation got worse after receiving the recall remedy. I hope NHTSA will look into this issue and make sure the quality of the mirror provided by the manufacturer meets the basic customer expectation. Thank you. (FYI: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/distorted-sideview-mirror-image.180764/)

On 6/23/23, my wife was driving on a street & was changing lanes (from left to right) when the driver-side rear tire suddenly ruptured. She heard a loud pop coming from the tire and immediately scanned for a car impact or debris on the road—but neither was present. The vehicles within her proximity yielded to allow her to pull out of the street and into a safe parking lot. Since our children were in the car, she confirmed that they were safe. Upon my arrival, I could see a visible tear in the side wall of the tire. It is apparent that the tire side wall tore so rapidly that when the rim hit the asphault of the street its impact was so hard— that it left a gaping hole in the rim! Our family’s safety was in jeopardy because had vehicles not yielded , a crash may have been inevitable. Our local dealer has recommended reaching out to the tire manufacturer for a possible claim. There were no warning lamps prior to this incident.

When driving the collision mitigation and brakes come on for no reason. Once when driving down a two lane road with a car coming in the opposite direction in their lane and I was in mine, the car braked. Then once getting on a road nothing coming nor any other vehicle around the vehicle did a hard brake. I just purchased the car last month and it just started happening.

Audio system popping noise affecting the dashboard system and audio system not working loss of power controls to use any of the systems digital components including speed control backup camera entire audio system

The Auto Idle system that enables the cut off the engine is now working intermittently some or not at all, regardless of temperature outside or inside the cabin. Note: Took to Honda Mall of GA dealership to look at this very issue, and according to the technician, it is 'heat' related. I feel this is 100% incorrect, as the temperature in the evening has dropped into the 70s and the issue continues.

The Entertainment system makes popping and crackling sounds and will cut out. This is very distracting while driving. It does not allow you to use the screen at all including to view backing up. I contacting Honda Corp and was told to get a formal diagnosis which is scheduled for June 16, 2023. Was also told this has happened many times before in other models of pilots.

I purchased the vehicle brand new in 2021. At this time I don't feel safe driving the vehicle due to the following issues I'm having: The automatic braking system will engage without notice. On 5/20/23 I was at driving at 60 MPH at 2:00am and the car slammed on the brakes for no reason, there was NO other vehicles on the road in front of me or besides me at the time of the incident. On 5/21/22 I was driving around 45MPH and I went next to a vehicle that was parked on the should of the road, When I approached the vehicle the brakes engaged almost causing a collision with the vehicle that was driving behind me witch it happen to be a Semi Truck. 12/22/22 While driving on HWY 18th the vehicle brakes engaged for reason or warning while driving on straight line. This happens 99% of the time when I drive the vehicle. The warning yellow braking light would illuminate and the steering wheel will shake or vibrate for no apparent reason when cars are coming the opposite way. This is extremely scary situation to have in a brand new vehicle. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership in hope of repair but nothing has been done. I started having this concerns a month or so after the vehicle was purchased, and the only solution I was given by the dealership was to disengage the auto braking program, But I don't think that's the solution. This coming Thursday 5/24/23 the vehicle will be inspected. ( this will be the second or third time the vehicle will be in the shop due to the same issue. Thank you for taking the time in reviewing my concern.

On 2 land roads especially with no other vehicles in view, the car will suddenly brake, flash the dash for emergency braking and violently shake the steering wheel back and forth and almost take it out of your hands. It was done this since new. Taken to dealer 11/15/21 for this issue, they "aligned it" and made it somewhat better but still did the braking and steering wheel shake on way home from dealer. We just put up with it as the vehicle cost so much. The dealer also replaced the windshield as it cracked within 3 months of new sitting in a parking lot. This again required another paid alignment of this system. They said windshield may have been defective buy we had to pay for it anyway, alignment was needed for avoidance system In may of 2023, the vehicle became un-drivable as it would kick the process off about every 30-50 feet. The vehicle has never been in any accident or collision of any type. So they said they aligned it gain but replaced some sensors. The vehicle still has some issues and they charged us $904 to replace some sensors even though they said they were believed they were good but could not find any other explanation, yes the vehicle has been under warranty during this entire time. Dealer and Honda spoke person stated warranty repair is discretionary on these repairs. So they will not honor their warranty either on this system

The driver side door doesn’t open when unlocked. You have to hit the lock button multiple times before the door can detach from the driver side panel. And the door doesn’t shut when you close it. Something wrong with the lock.

The Auto Idle Stop is defective on this vehicle and has resulted in multiple incidents where the vehicle stalls after the break is applied in sitting traffic. I have had near collision experiences that pose a severe safety risk. The car jolts forward after releasing the break at an intersection, and immediately becomes immobile. This has happened in sitting traffic, at intersection and more dangerously, while trying to make a left turn which has left me stranded in the middle of busy intersections at risk of nearly being hit by moving traffic. Honda has done the software update on the vehicle and yet, this continues to happen. Honda needs to be held liable as this will result in injury and/or death to consumers.

Sunroof exploded while driving down highway.

Last week the the security alarm went off for no reason. The following day, I arrived to work and parked my car. 45 minutes later, I am notified my headlights were on. I ALWAYS keep my headlights on AUTO so they never should have been on. After I started my car for a minute, everything seems fine. 3 hours later, I hear an alarm in the parking lot but did not think it was my vehicle. I leave work and go to outside and realize my alarm has been going off for a couple of hours. I go to open my vehicle and try to start the car but all the whole dashboard lit up and the speakers were popping and making horrible noises. I could not get the car started and my driver seat kept moving on its own. I called Honda of Murfreesboro and they advised that I needed to get my vehicle towed. I receive a call the next day and I was told that it had an electrical malfunction and the entire keyless access control unit needed to be replaced along with the connector ends. I have had several issues with the 2021 Pilot and this takes the cake. First it was the auto/stop at a red light and it completely shut off the engine. I had to turn the vehicle off and shift to park and then start the car. Also my "warning brake" lights come on randomly which alarms me and it will shift the car over. I also have had some issues with getting on an entrance ramp and the car doesn't want to pick up speed and I push the gas and the RPM's rev. This vehicle is unsafe.

I was researching recalls on my 2021 Honda Pilot and came across NHTSA Campaign number 20V725000. When i inspected my tires I can confirm that they are the ones in question as they are the Continental CrossContact LX Sport tires with tire size 245/50 R20 102H and DOT serial number of A376. When I brought the vehicle into the dealership over the weekend they were dismissive and stated they only have one recall on the vehicle. I have explained my concern to a body shop previously and they recommended I do some research to see if any recalls are in effect, to my surprise I located this from NHTSA. I showed them the NHTSA campaign number 20V725000 and they were dismissive. I went on to inform them that my tires match what is outlined and this is a safety concern for me. I have had issues with the tires losing pressure and I have had them rotated on a regular basis. I have not looked specifically at the spare tire, but I am asking that to be remedied as well if I have a full size spare that matches the recall. The tires have lost air suddenly where I have had to go into a tire shop or a gas station to add air routinely on occasion. It is hit and miss when it needs to happen and the weather is consistent, so now sudden change in temperatures to warrant this.

When driving the collision mitigation and brakes apply causing steering wheel shake and braking WITHOUT passing of vehicles. This happens multiple times during driving. This has been ongoing since June 2022 and has been reviewed by Honda without correction.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after idling at a red light, the Auto Start failed to operate as designed. The contact had to shift to park(P), and several attempts were needed to restart the vehicle before the contact was able to continue driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the battery had failed and needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

I’ve purchased my Honda pilot 2021 Brand New within the last two months. My car is CMBS has initiated, breaking for oncoming objects that were nonexistent or when on coming traffic was passing me in the other lane, causing my vehicle to break abruptly nearly causing an accident followed by all Honda, sensing features such as forward, collision collision lane assist us cruise control assist to driving along with automatic head beams. High beams. Are no longer functional.

Loud, consistent, cracking sound along the base of the windshield along dashboard. Sounded as if the entire windshield would crack and shatter. Happened at least 3 separate instances, seems to be temperature related and on longer car rides. Once during NE winter with heat cranking it began to make the cracking sound. It was terrifying as I was unsure if the windshield would shatter and implode on us. I turned the heat off and opened windows to cool interior of the car. That made the sound stop. The car has not been inspected yet and unsure if they could recreate problem in the shop. Would probably need heat of engine over a long period and internal heat turned all the way up for a long period of time.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving in stop and go traffic, the Auto START/STOP feature malfunctioned causing the vehicle to lose electrical power and shut off. During the failure, the display and instrument panel became inoperable. Additionally, the turn signals were inoperable, and the shifter could not be shifted to neutral. Triple AAA was called to the scene and was able to get the vehicle restarted by recharging the battery. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted, and a service appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The contact referenced the NHTSA Investigation: PE22005 and indicated that the vehicle experienced a similar failure. The failure mileage was 29,000.

Collision warning system goes off when no vehicles present. Steering wheel starts shaking and brake flashes on dash display. This has happened several times before. Date of last incident recorded.

2021 Honda Pilot Black Edition with 37,007 miles. Navigation screen will display "Network Communication Lost" and "MOST Net Off" before completely shutting down for 5-10 minutes at a time, only to do the same thing after resetting. This is a known issue for Honda, hence Technical Service Bulletin 20-058 to cover a range of vehicles, including my 21 Pilot; most older covered vehicles are at 5 years 60k miles, but because my vehicle is newer, it isn't covered and is limited to 3 years 36k miles. I am having to pay out of pocket for these repairs. Contacted Honda and they couldn't help, stating my vehicle is out of warranty. It makes no sense to cover older vehicle but not a newer one when these issues are known and reported under TSB 20-058. Honda complaint Case # 13646867.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

My Honda's engine start-stop system isn't restarting at stop lights. Very frightening when the light turns green and I can’t go anywhere. I have to turn off the car and restart.

The CMBS regularly activates with the brake warning lights, audible, and steering wheel shaking. There has never been anything in front of the vehicle when the CMBS activates. Most recently, the CMBS activated and applied the brakes when driving approximately 40 mph for no reason. Obviously, the safety of the driver and all passengers are at a risk of an accident caused by the CMBS' faulty activation, as well as any other people and/or property involved. We have been complaining to the dealership regularly since we purchased the vehicle over 2 years ago, to no avail. The dealership states they have not been able to confirm or reproduce the CMBS' faulty activation. No one other than the dealership has inspected the vehicle for this problem. The CMBS is on by default, so the only option until repaired is to remember to deactivate the CMBS every time the vehicle is use, by every driver. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

There is speaker cracking noise and monitor goes black when using navigation. This is distracting and dangerous do to myself as a driver and others. It is distracting and concerning that a new vehicle goes crazy and Honda has no idea how to fix this. I have taken the vehicle to get serviced 4 times and still there is no resolution.

The brake light come out for no reason

Rear sub-frame welds failed. On January 1st 2023 while driving the vehicle a loud noise was observed. We got an appointment at the local Honda service center and we were told in fact it was the sub-frame and that Honda is refusing to cover this under the factory warranty. We are almost 500 miles from home and have a two year old vehicle with a broken sub-frame

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the information center was not connecting. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V439000 (Back Over Prevention, Electrical System) and the vehicle was repaired but the failure occurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

The issue is with a restart after the car engaged the auto idle stop feature. Outside temperature was about 43F, Car had been driven earlier in day, and was parked for about 1 hour. The car started okay after sitting for an hour, then driven at highway speeds for about 10 mins. Car then came to a stop once coming off the highway at a red light. The car's auto idle engaged and the car's engine shut off. As the light turned green, my foot was taken off the brake to start the engine again and the car did not start. I received a message on the dash stating to place car in Park and start the engine, this was done but did not restart the engine. I shut the car off completely and had to use a lithium ion jumper battery pack to restart the engine. At that point the engine did start back immediately. Once home I tested the battery's voltage with a voltage meter, which read about 12.1V. I started the car with the voltage meter attached and voltage did not get below 10V and the car started without assistance. Thus proving that the battery is in good condition. The car was purchased in November of 2020, thus the battery about 2 years old and the car has just under 30K miles. I have not contacted the dealer yet. This is the first time this issue has occurred though there have been other times when starting from the idle stop the car has had difficulty in starting, starting this summer (July 2020). Difficulty has been noticed in the hotter or colder weather.

Inside rearview mirror(adhesive detched and air bubble is between windshield and rearview mirror) a crack had since developed exactly dead center where the rearview mirror has come detached. Problem has not been confirmed with dealer. Not yet. December 7th (when I noticed a few weeks ago, i went back into my camera roll and looked for pictures of my car and I found one where I can see the air bubble between the mirror and windshield before the crack had formed.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot equipped with Continental Tires, Tire Line: Crosscontact LX Sport, Tire Size: 245/50R/20, DOT: A376D3K92321. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle started jerking and the contact was able to pull over and notice that both front and rear passenger’s side tires experienced blowouts on the sidewall of both tires. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the tires were replaced. The vehicle manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact to reach out to the tire manufacturer for assistance. The tire manufacturer was contacted but the contact received no response. The failure mileage was 29,000.

Sunroof exploded on 2021 Honda Pilot. On Wednesday November 9, 2022 approximately 3PM, my wife was driving her 2021 Honda Pilot down the freeway when she heard a loud explosion above her head followed by the sound of rushing air. The sunroof glass had spontaneously exploded. Fortunately the sunroof internal cover was pulled shut or else broken glass would have fallen on my wife's head. Driving conditions were good and my wife did not see any object strike the vehicle. We have owned the car since April 2021 and it has ~ 8000 miles. It is in pristine condition, no damage or accidents.

My 2021 Honda Pilot's Idle-Stop System has been failing at random and dangerous times. The engine shuts off when Idle-Stop is engaged and as expected. However and until recently; when I release my foot from the break, nothing happens. The engine does not start. Restarting the engine has taken me to shift to park, turn the car off, wait a few minutes, and then it starts without any hesitation. Today this happened during a busy stop where I did not feel safe for myself or my passengers. The problem does not reproduce at my will or by performing any specific set of steps. After today, I'm nervous to drive with this system enabled. The problem never happens if I remember to manually disable the Idle-Stop System every time I start my car. Nevertheless, it's not a normal practice for me to have to disengage a feature that should work. This problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or any others. There were no warning lamps, sounds, messages, or other symptoms prior that would indicate an imminent failure.

I have Continental cross contact 245/50 R20 104H. Upon 1 year inspection of the vehicle I was told all 4 tires need to be replaced and the vehicle is failing inspection. At the time the vehicle, which is a newer lease, had 30k miles on it. I’ve never owned a vehicle of any kind that has needed 4 new tires in just over 1 year. The garage is saying he has seen this issue before because the tires are too soft for the type of vehicle. I’ve managed to find the identical tires recalled just 2 weeks before the tires on my vehicle. I found recall date 2920 and my tires are 3120. It’s hard to image the same tire, manufacturer, and location didn’t have a recall issue they were unaware of just 2 week Ma later. It seems more likely it hasn’t been reported yet with that date.

My car, a 2021 Honda Pilot, has a feature called "Idle-Stop" where the engine stops when the break is depressed, when the break is released, the engine is supposed to start back up. Twice in the past week, while at an intersection, the Idle-Stop has engaged, stopping the engine, but failed to start the engine back up. After this occurs, I could NOT start the car back up, the engine would not turn over. The first occurrence was at the turn lane of a very busy intersection and there were numerous cars blocked by mine. Thankfully after about 30 minutes, the car managed to start up. I took it immediately to the Honda dealership where they said the car needed a software update. The dealership said the battery was fine and that there were no other issues. One week later, the same thing happened, I was a stop light and the Idle-Stop feature stopped the engine and it failed to start back. My 2 children were in the car this time, I felt very much that our safety was in danger. This time, I needed a jump start to get the engine started.

Auto restart stalls the car when reengaging the engine after coming to a full stop

With the auto idle feature engaged (disengaging requires manually turning off the system with each vehicle start) while at a stop light the auto idle feature shut the engine off. Typically, when you release the brake the car start back up and you can begin to accelerate. Over the past few months the issue has stalled the engine, but restarted and give the warning "Collision Mitigation Braking System Malfunction." On the past 2 occurrences the engine has shut off completely and I have had to restart the car. This occurs when at an intersection or similar after going into a complete stop, so vehicles around you are ready to move. Once it took me opening the car door and closing it to get the electronics to allow the car to restart.

The car braked automatically without any obstruction or car in front. I lost control of the brakes causing a severe Jerk and car to slip on freeway. I had a 2 month and 5 yr old in the car. We nearly escaped a serious accident as the truck was behind us in full speed. The whole warning/stopping event occurred in a few seconds. There were no obstacles in the road," the driver wrote. "There was a truck following me about 2 car lengths behind who had to stop very quickly in order not to rear-end me." I am scared and dont want to drive the car anymore