10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,833 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.

2017 Honda Pilot drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Honda Pilot:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2017 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #45

Dec 172021

Pilot

  • miles

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

Traveling about 70 mph on the interstate using cruise control. I don-??t think there was a change in steepness/grade, but if there was it was mild. Suddenly, the rpm-??s were erratic and the engine and gears seemed out of sync. Pressing the gas pedal didn-??t seem to effectively accelerate the vehicle. I don-??t believe the brakes were affected. The -??D-?? for drive indicator kept blinking on and off. Multiple warning lights on the dash display: transmission system problem, all wheel drive problem, and interestingly, blind spot monitor problem. The last indicator to show was emissions system problem, and this indicator remained on the screen. I exited the interstate. Shifted to reverse, then parked the car and turned engine off. After a few moments, I restarted the engine and the only anomaly I observed was the warning indicator light on the dash read: emissions system problem. There was roughly 1/4 to 1/2 tank of gasoline remaining at the time of incidence. I continued to drive approximately 350 miles more to my destination, without using cruise control and without further or other issues. I made a couple stops to add gas and both times the engine was turned off then back on again without issue. The following day, after restarting the engine, the -??emissions system problem-?? warning indicator light was no longer showing on the display. I have yet to encounter the problem thus far, but I haven-??t used the cruise control since nor have I driven at interstate speeds for any considerable length of time. I haven-??t yet taken the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. But will do so.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #44

Dec 032021

Pilot

  • miles
When slowing down to stop at a light, or pull into a parking space, the vehicle rather than braking and stopping, accelerates violently on its own, and there is no way to stop it other than putting the vehicle in park immediately, or slamming on the emergency brake. This is an intermittent problem. It happens once every few months, however last night it occurred and I did not put it in park quickly enough, and I was close to another vehicle while parking, that I slammed into the other vehicle doing extensive damage. Obviously, this is a very dangerous situation that could kill or maim myself or an occupant of another vehicle; the police officer who happened to own the other vehicle said I should not drive my vehicle until the problem is solved, which, of course, makes sense as my vehicle at present is unpredictable and dangerous. I have now taken the vehicle into the dealer, but I've found in the past these intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose. Should it not be diagnosed and fixed--I noticed that others have had this same vexing and dangerous situation, and it was not fixed or resoved to their satisfaction--I will no longer drive the vehicle as it is too dangerous. There seems to be a glitch with the drive trains/engines of the 2017 Honda Pilot and this needs to be fixed and the vehicles recalled before serious injury occurs, if it has not already. Owners of these vehicles should be compensated, or receive a comparable vehicle that is road worthy.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #43

Nov 242021

Pilot

  • miles
In the past week, my Pilot has stalled for no known reason. Both times the vehicle was stopped and the feature that idles the car down to conserve energy was activated. When I let off the brake instead of the car restarting or gearing up and accelerating, the car just died. Warning lights went off on the dash, but the car wouldn't restart for at least a minute both times. No warning lights were on the dash before the incident and after the car restarted, no warning lights remained lit on the dash. I took my car to an automotive store and had them check the battery, the alternator and the starter - all of these came back as being in perfect condition. I was extremely scared when both of these incidents occurred. One time I was at the bottom of an exit ramp of a busy interstate and the other occurred on an interstate in stop and go traffic. In addition to these two incidents, for the past 2 years, the car has been having issues after it idles down and then should restart and accelerate. About 2-3 times per month, when the car is stopped and has idled down, when I let off the brake and accelerate, the electrical system will flash on and off. The entire dash goes dark, the audio goes off and comes back on, etc. The entire electrical system reboots. When this happens, it does not impact the ability of the car to accelerate because it is more like a flash - the car doesn't die and have to be restarted. I am taking my car into the Honda dealer on Monday to attempt to diagnose the problem, but from the research I've done, may other Pilot owners are having the same problem and their dealers aren't able to find an error code caused by these issues. I have been attempting to get a video of this when it happens, but so far, I've been unable to reproduce the issue.

- Andover, KS, USA

problem #42

Aug 012020

Pilot

  • 16,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds and attempting to come to a stop, the vehicle revved up and independently accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal with excessive force and the vehicle moved forward a little before coming to a stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the dealer however, the contact was unable to speak with a representative. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.

- Morris Plains, NJ, USA

problem #41

Oct 062021

Pilot

  • miles
My vehicle is a 6 speed automatic transmission, which is experiencing symptoms known to affect 9 speed transmissions as documented in TSB 20-029, Hard Upshift with Steady Acceleration. The transmission has intermittent harsh or jerky upshifts with steady acceleration. The vehicle will 'clank' and jump slightly forward, while accelerating between 20-45mph. Does not happen always - have not determined a pattern.

- Reading, MA, USA

problem #40

Jul 052021

Pilot

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 10-15 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering inadvertently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive to her destination. The dealer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while shifting into first gear. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

- Suffolk, VA, USA

problem #39

Aug 262021

Pilot

  • miles

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

Keyless start system malfunction.

- Carolina, PR, USA

problem #38

Jul 162021

Pilot

  • miles
Auto dashboard warning lights started and remained flashing. Transmission would not up shift - slipped into neutral - surged and jerked when up shifting This experience was repeated after pulling off the highway and attempting to reenter traffic. This was a dangerous experience as it occurred on a high speed Interstate. I took the auto to the dealer BUT they were not able to reproduce the problem and their diagnostics check could not find a problem.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #37

Jul 072021

Pilot

  • miles
Car goes into neutral or no gear at all when still in drive on its own. Has done this multiple times, will end up getting us killed at some point because when you go to get on the accelerator to get out of someone-??s way the engine just revs up.

- Owensboro, KY, USA

problem #36

Apr 112021

Pilot

  • 81,000 miles
Vehicle will not restart after engine auto idle engages. When lifting foot off the brake to begin driving car will not restart and says you must go into park and press brake. Radio and lights are still on. Even after shifting into park and pressing brake it will not start. After removing foot from brake and pressing stop car will completely turn off. We can then press start and car will usually start within three or four tries. This has happened about 10 times, with the last being in the center lane of a major freeway. Traffic came to a stop and when we started going again I was completely stuck in the middle lane with cars going all around me. Has also happened multiple times at stoplights and in drive throughs. I try and always disable this feature but forget sometimes.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #35

Dec 012017

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 0 miles

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

THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL, WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND WORKED AS DESIGNED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO D-PATRICK HONDA (4300 E DIVISION ST, EVANSVILLE, IN 47715, (812) 477-6201) BUT, WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. Consumer stated failure occurred multiple times since the report. When the consumer accelerates, let off, and re-accelerate, sometimes it's not in any gear and just revs up.

- Owensboro, KY, USA

problem #34

Feb 132021

Pilot

  • 60,000 miles
Tiene un bote de aceite Y SE me encendi la seal de problema en la transmisin mientras iba rodando por la autopista

- Doral, FL, USA

problem #33

Dec 242020

Pilot

  • 5 miles
The car would not go into reverse and when it finally did and we pulled out we received a transmission problem warning

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #32

Nov 192020

Pilot

  • 112,355 miles
After coming to a stop or slowing down to a very low speed, when I reaccelerate to build speed, the transmission stalls and then jerks into gear while in eco-mode. At times this is almost causing a collision. I reported this to the dealership almost a month after my purchase and 4 more times after the first report and each time they had no resolution except the last time to do a transmission flush which I had to pay for. In some of suggestions and questions, it appears that the dealership knows that there's an issue.

- Enfield, NC, USA

problem #31

Nov 112020

Pilot

  • 43,867 miles
My wife has reported on several occasions that when the idle-stop feature is turned on and the vehicle has come to a stop, the engine cuts as intended but will not restart when pressure is released from the brake. Numerous lights within the instrument panel, with the exception of the check engine light, illuminate, the transmission shifts itself into neutral. The vehicle says to shift into "park", press and hold the brake and restart the vehicle using the start/stop button. I have tried to duplicate this while driving the vehicle. Yesterday, this same occurrence happened to me only I was not able to readily restart the vehicle. This latest occurrence happened in heavy traffic at a busy intersection. My wife reports having had this occur at least six to seven times, once while in traffic on the freeway. I have brought the vehicle to Honda in the past because of the vehicle jjuttering at low speeds and because of this issue. Each time I was told that because no error code was found and the issue could not be duplicated, there was nothing they could do. This issue is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

- Eastvale, CA, USA

problem #30

Oct 082020

Pilot

  • 51,000 miles
Twice while car was braked at stop light the car slipped into neutral and turned off after I took my foot off the break. When I tried to compensate for car going into neutral car turns off. This almost caused an accident as I was a green turn arrow and could not turn and car behind me almost hit me. I had 2 children in the car with me.

- Smyrna, GA, USA

problem #29

Sep 122020

Pilot

  • miles
While accelerating between 44-48 mph, the car judders/shakes.

- Andrews, SC, USA

problem #28

Sep 112020

Pilot

  • 80,000 miles
For roughly the last 4 months, my car stalls at a stop (stop sign, traffic light, etc) by shifting itself into neutral. The car has a push button gear shift and the warning light says to shift the car into park. Sometimes, I can shift the car into park and sometimes I can't shift the buttons at all. If I am able to shift into park, a message on my dashboard lights up and stays 'to shift from P, engine must be running'. either way, I have to turn my car off and back on again in order to be able to drive. The first time this problem happened, I called the dealer and they thought that possibly something got lodged in the gear shift. However, as time goes on, these events become more and more common. Our local Honda dealer had my car for roughly a week in June and tried to recreate the problem. They were unable to duplicate it and did a factory reset. That worked for about a month. Now, the stalling happens at least once a week and yesterday it happened three times in the matter of an hour. When I took the car to the dealer in June, it had also stalled three times in an hour. I feel at high risk driving the vehicle because cars get impatient behind me and start moving when the light turns green even though I can't move. Or, if cars are approaching a green light, they probably won't realize that I am unable to move making this a huge safety concern. This problem happens everywhere but on the highway.

- Caseyville, IL, USA

problem #27

Sep 112020

Pilot

  • 52,000 miles
I currently own a 2017 Honda Pilot with auto stop/start feature, my wife has been driving and on multiple occasions she stopped and the vehicle would stall causing a safety concern. She then stops traffic and as they have to go around her. She has to wait a few minutes for the vehicle to restart. Of course being a hazard on the road my wife is in danger of getting hit. We contacted the dealer and they stated that if there is no errors they cant fix the problem. Multiple forums I am seeing the same concern.

- York, PA, USA

problem #26

Aug 132020

Pilot

  • 86,000 miles
Honda knows that there is a problem with the transmission that causes the fluid to overheat. The overheating issue leads to a 'judder' in the transmission. The car accelerates in a very jerky way especially between 30 and 50. This is a big safety issue if you are trying to pass someone. As soon as the vehicle reaches 80,000 miles Honda will no longer cover the so-called 'repair' which is to flush the burnt transmission oil multiple times. This costs almost $400. Honda knows they have a defective transmission and, instead of fixing it, they are passing the transmission flush cost on to the buyers. A recall should be issued before someone gets killed trying to pass in a vehicle with a faulty transmission. Already happened twice on my Pilot. First time was repaired for free, second time I had to pay since my car has 86000 miles and they only cover under 80000.

- Wellford, SC, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?