10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,933 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Honda Pilot engine problems

engine problem

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2011 Honda Pilot Owner Comments

problem #17

Jan 252018

Pilot

  • 148,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2011 Honda Pilot shakes going 80 or more miles per hour. The dashboard shakes so bad that it looks like its about to pop out.

- Little Elm, TX, USA

problem #16

Sep 162016

Pilot

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle independently accelerated without the accelerator pedal being depressed. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Branson, MO, USA

problem #15

Dec 012015

Pilot

  • 65,000 miles
I was nearly stopped pulling into a parking spot. Touched brake when car suddenly accelerated into a steep incline in front of the spot. I pumped the brake a number of times. I think the steepness of the hill plus the braking may have stopped it. Otherwise it would have hit some big trees. It is now at the dealer's...probably won't find any cause. Not sure what to do if that happens. Don't think there is any damage..only some dirt and grass stuck into my license plate. No injury. Very lucky...never want to be so scared again.

- East Falmout, MA, USA

problem #14

May 152015

Pilot

  • 28,518 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owned a 2011 Honda Pilot. While parking, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a wall. The air bags deployed. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,518.

- East Rutherford, NJ, USA

problem #13

Mar 032014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
2011 Honda Pilot. Consumer writes to express dissatisfaction with the service and resolution of sudden acceleration problem that she experienced. The consumer experienced sudden acceleration, on three separate occasions, while the brake was being applied. When the incident happened in a parking lot, the vehicle jumped the parking bumper and struck a column in front of the store. After each occurrence, the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, and each time, she was informed there was nothing wrong.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

problem #12

Jun 202014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
While making a 3 point turn in a driveway in order to parallel park on the street my 2011 Honda Pilot accelerated at a high rate of speed and hit a parked car. My 2011 Honda Pilot continued out of control hit a curb and almost hit a chain link fence which would have caused me to travel into a busy four lane road. My 2011 Honda Pilot stopped by pressing both feet on the brake. Five hours later my battery was dead. I had aaa roadside service replace it. I took my 2011 Honda Pilot to the dealership today where the service rep agreed that there have been acceleration problems with the Honda Pilot. He had me go to a body shop next door where the rep told me he would only work on the body problems. He advised me to go back to Honda because I wanted to know what may have happened and to be sure my car was safe to drive. When I went back to Honda the same rep told me he did not tell me that Honda had any acceleration problems.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

problem #11

Apr 162013

Pilot

  • 18,122 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle erroneously accelerated and crashed into the contact's residence. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 18,122.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #10

Apr 162013

Pilot

  • 18,122 miles
On April 16th 2013, I was driving my 2011 Honda Pilot on my street preparing to drive into my driveway, I slowed the vehicle down when I saw another vehicle behind me. I put my blinkers on informing other vehicle I was going to pull into my driveway. I waited for the other vehicle passed then proceeded to gently pressed on the gas, that's when the vehicle accelerated violently speeding onto my driveway. I immediately slammed down on the brakes but it instead of stopping the car accelerated even faster. The vehicle crashed into my house damaging the pillar wall structure next to my garage door. I tried putting the vehicle in park but it was jammed. When it finally allowed me to put it in park I put it in reverse and again it accelerated uncontrollably. I slammed down on the brakes but it wouldn't stop. The only way it stopped is when it crashed into the vehicle parked across the street. I had nightmares ever since. I had sent it to the Honda dealership and expressed my concern with the car and informed them that I no longer feel safe in this Honda Pilot and no longer want to drive my car. Honda had told me they didn't find anything wrong with the car. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In the 20+ years of driving I've never experienced having a car accelerate. I truly believe Honda is covering up and trying to protect themselves from a law suit. They are capable of easily fixing the problem without reporting it. Who''s to question them or checked if they did their job correctly or if there was a problem with the throttle, brakes or engine? now no one will ever know the truth. I believe that the Honda Pilot 2011 is not a save car to drive and needs to be recalled and have an independent company examine it.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #9

Mar 262013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 18,200 miles
Today Tuesday March 26th 2013 I was in brooklyn, NY off mrtle ave. On a residential one way street. Pulled up to a large open parking spot with cars in front and back of the spot. The spot was large enough for 2 cars. As I pulled into the spot and progressed slowly forward with my foot on the brake, the car rengine began to rev quickly and jolted forward hitting the parked car in front of me. This is the second time I have felt the car engine rev on it's own with my foot off the gas and jumping forward. First time was while slowing down to a stop sign and the car jumped forward and accelerated on it's own but with no accident. I dismissed it not sure why it happened. This time of course I felt the same symptom with foot on brake the car jolted forward and engine revved on it's own but hitting the car in front of me. I hope Honda fixes this issue. I am very afraid this could happen around other people and accidentally hits someone when the car does this on it's own.

- Port Jefferson Station, NY, USA

problem #8

Nov 162012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 40,711 miles
Started car and started to drive the car and it had a mind of it's own. The engine would start and stop independently from me touching the gas pedal. Apparently, this 2011 don't not have an accelerator cable anymore and it is computerized. I am thankful I was not driving on the highway. The only way to stop the car is to turn off the engine in the neutral. Very serious problem. They reset the senor and charged me $126.50. They should have a warranty on this for the live of the car. The reset the tp sensor.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

problem #7

Dec 292012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle in question is a 2011 Honda Pilot which was purchased brand new in September 2011. Problem occurred when I was heading South on wellwood ave. I came to a red light at the intersection of wellwood ave and straight path road in lindenhurst. When I attempted to come to a stop the vehicle began to accelerate. I kept my foot on break but the car kept on accelerating and engine kept on revving as though I was pressing down on gas pedal. This created a loud revving noise and a cloud of car exhaust. If I had removed my foot from the break at this time I would have crashed into back of vehicle in front of me. I kept my foot on the break and put the vehicle into park. When the light changed and the car in front of me moved I put the car back into drive and the car seemed to function normally again. Incident occurred on Saturday evening December 29, 2012.

- Lindenhurst, NY, USA

problem #6

Dec 282012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 40,008 miles
When I started the car this morning, I heard a high-pitched grinding noise - something I've never heard before. Driving at 30mph, the car suddenly accelerated as I applied the brakes rounding a corner. I could hear the engine revving up so I quickly shifted it into neutral until it went back to normal. Then shifted it into drive and continued on.

- Lakewood, CO, USA

problem #5

Sep 052012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
Driver was pulling into a parking space when the 2011 Honda Pilot suddenly accelerated out of control. At the time of the sudden acceleration, the driver did not have a foot on either the gas pedal or brake. Rather, the driver had just taken the foot off the gas pedal in the process of slowing to a stop and turning into the parking space, and was about to place a foot on the brake. After straightening into the parking space, the car accelerated violently on its own volition. At that time, the driver quickly pressed a foot on the brake. The brake did not work. The car continued to accelerate through the brake, and lunged over a concrete barrier at the end of the parking space and began to travel down a hill on the other side. The car only stopped when it hit a tree near the top of the hill. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the driver that it was unable to recreate the incident or determine the cause. The driver contacted and complained to the manufacturer, Honda of America, which sent a regional representative to the dealer to look at the vehicle in further detail. Currently, Honda of America is in the process of finalizing its review of the incident. The driver's insurance company was notified. The mileage of the vehicle at the time of the incident is unknown (as the car is currently with the dealer), but the driver estimates it to be around 18,000 miles. The speed at the time of the incident is difficult to determine as the car was nearing a stop and then forcefully accelerated through the length of a parking spot with enough force to jump the concrete barrier on the other side and hit a tree causing significant damage. The driver estimates the speed to have reached 15-25 mph +/-. while the driver suffered only minor injuries, the driver is pregnant. The full extent of any potential injuries to the baby are yet to be determined.

- Annapolis, MD, USA

problem #4

Dec 082011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 10,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. While stopped at a drive thru window, the vehicle suddenly accelerated with the brake pedal was depressed and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The police arrived on the scene and as the contact attempted to move the vehicle a second time, the vehicle accelerated yet again. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. The technicians inspected the vehicle and were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000....update 01/20/12 updated 01/27/12

- Kinston, NC, USA

problem #3

Jun 022011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. While stopped at a traffic stop, the contact noticed that the vehicle would hesitate when accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer three times for diagnostics but the technicians were unable to diagnose the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000. Updated 01/25//12 the consumer stated the vehicle was running rough in eco mode and under acceleration there was a delay F about one second when driven 45- 55 mph. Updated 01/30/12

- Dexter, OR, USA

problem #2

Nov 122011

Pilot

  • 1,175 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle cruise control was set at 60 mph. When the contact depressed the brake to deactivate the cruise control, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 80 mph. The cancel button was also depressed, but vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact had to apply the emergency brake in order to bring the vehicle to a stop. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that they would return the contact's call at a later date. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 1,175.

- Blanchester , OH, USA

problem #1

Aug 112011

Pilot

  • 7,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while parking the vehicle there was sudden acceleration. The vehicle lunged over a concrete barrier and crashed into a wall. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who will inspect the vehicle and follow up with the contact. The insurance company was notified. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 7,000.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

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