CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012-2013 Honda Pilot have a small complaint trend of owners reporting the engine hesitates sometimes when accelerating.

While it's not a widespread trend with the Pilot, it's a little concerning because of the possibly safety ramifications. While it's certainly something to keep in mind, most Pilot owners are not experiencing this problem.

9.2

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
80,300 miles
Total Complaints:
5 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (4 reports)
  2. flushed and changed oil (1 reports)
2013 Honda Pilot engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Honda Pilot Owner Comments

problem #5

Nov 302017

Pilot EX V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 103,091 miles

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

Our 2013 Honda Pilot started using a quart of oil every 1000 miles. I change the oil myself and take good care to check it often. We took the car to the dealer to have it checked out on 3/21/18 after a few months of adding oil. The dealer did an oil consumption test, where they change the oil, then we bring it back every 1000 miles to have them check the oil. Their conclusion was normal oil usage, which I do not agree with.

Two weeks ago my wife took the Pilot in for an airbag recall and again told them about the oil consumption. They surprisingly said it was covered under warranty (due to NHTSA 10152424 class action law suite) and agreed to fix the problem. The dealer was great and gave us a rental car while they tore down the engine.

This week my wife received a call from the service manager that they found excessive metal fragments in the oil and screen. They believed this to be from a crankshaft bearing that was failing. They recommended replacing the engine and that this was not covered by the above warranty, which means I would have to pay for it out of pocket at over $7000.

I contacted Honda Corporation and opened a case 09395758. Honda contacted me the next day to get more details. The representative was very nice, but continually told me that this was not something covered, and it felt like they are going to do nothing. I decided to contact an attorney, but it took a while to find one that would take the case (which they feel there is a case here) since there has not been an personal injury.

I would rather not have to spend time in court on this, and it may end up costing me more money than it is worth, but the engine problem is not due to my neglect of maintenance, abuse of the vehicle or any fault of mine. This is a manufacturers defect. I do hope Honda is the solid company that I have known in the past. I have (3) Hondas in our family now. If so, this may be the last Honda I buy.

Update from Mar 12, 2019: First, I do not know why I need to be updating employees within the same company. This is not acceptable with any company I have worked for in my 40 years of employment.

Honda Customer Care got back to us and said that this is not covered, and that the service manager at the dealer said this is a "recommendation" not a requirement and that the case is closed. I contacted the service manager with this information (our Pilot's engine is still in pieces as I understand). He stated this was not what was said and to call Customer Care back and have them call him.... (refer to above note on communication)... I did as requested, but got v-mail, so I left a message.

This was last week. No calls from anyone at Honda. We contacted the service manager at the dealer. He said he was still waiting for a call. We called back to Honda Customer Care, again, had to leave a message.

I have contacted an attorney, but no one is interested in our case because there was no injury, so there will not be any large payout. This is still open, but I do not think it will be in my favor. I am regretting now owning (3) Honda vehicles.

- Jerry S., Harmony, US

problem #4

Mar 012018

Pilot LX V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 112,367 miles

Honda Pilot burns a quart off oil every five hundred miles! How do I get Honda to fix it?

- John C., Falmouth, US

problem #3

Mar 232018

Pilot EX-L 3.5L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 56,000 miles

Mechanic found that the oil was 1.5 quarts low, causing the code to be activated. It had been approximately 4000 miles since last oil change. Turns out a class action lawsuit has been filed about this issue. Going to look into it more.

- Jerame M., Kirkland, WA, US

problem #2

Oct 132017

Pilot V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 64,438 miles

We purchased a 2013 Honda Pilot Certified Pre-Owned from a Honda Dealership. They assured us the Pilot was in excellent condition with no concerns at all since it had been certified by HONDA. They said if anything did come up it would be completely covered under the warranties given for a HONDA CERTIFIED PREOWNED. 4 months after purchasing the car it is burning excessive amounts of oil. At least 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Honda says it is normal. After researching online we are discovering a multitude of complaints concerning excessive oil consumption. Even a class action law suit. Honda needs to stand behind their cars and take care of this problem. This is our first Honda purchase and will be our last if they do not honor their customers and their honda purchases.

- Kelly A., Portland, US

problem #1

Nov 172017

Pilot LX 3.5V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 65,471 miles

Bought this Pilot as a certified used Honda. Sales people said it was certified because it was in such good condition ( "Like New" ). It came with a 12 month/12,000 mile bumper to bumper plus the 7 year 100,000 mile power train warranties. We were told it was a very safe way to purchase a preowned car if we didn't want any unexpected problems, because they would be covered. Honda is telling us that burning a quart of oil every thousand miles is not a problem and it is not something they intend to fix under warranty. Well it is a problem to us and we would not have bought this Honda Pilot had we known of this problem. The service tech even suggested that we bring it in every 3,000 miles for an oil change ( more than twice as often as what would be considered normal ) . This seemed rather ridiculous to us since either half its oil capacity would already been changed or it would be running 3 quarts low by then. Obviously not a good suggestion or solution from our point of view. Although, maybe not from theirs, since it would put more money in their pockets.

Update from Jan 9, 2018: Since filing our complaint Honda has stepped up and replaced the piston rings on the cylinders that shut down during ECO mode. This was done at no cost to us. Although this action was probably prompted by a bad dealership review and it is too early to tell if it solved the oil consumption issue, we are quite happy with Honda for doing this. Thankyou Honda!

Update from Jan 9, 2018: Since filing our complaint Honda has stepped up and replaced the piston rings on the cylinders that shut down during ECO mode. This was done at no cost to us. Although this action was probably prompted by a bad dealership review and it is too early to tell if it solved the oil consumption issue, we are quite happy with Honda for doing this. Thankyou Honda!

- uppervcc, Portland, US

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