10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,302 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 14 of 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #96

Apr 242022

Pilot

  • miles

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

The auto Start-Stop function is not working properly. In several occasions when the engine stops at a red light the engine will not start again. This has caused many dangerous situations as we got stuck in the middle of an intersection. The dealer has not been able to identify the problem. Also linked to this electrical problem is at time all kids of electrical warning messages appear in the cluster. I expect this to be an electrical/battery related problem.

- Northville, MI, USA

problem #95

Mar 312022

Pilot

  • miles
For the past few months, I have been having issues with my vehicle stalling. This issue occurs while stopped at red lights, stop signs, and while sitting in stop and go traffic. My vehicle is equipped with the Auto Start/Stop feature, and while stopped at a stop sign for instance, the vehicle will auto stop but fail to auto start when taking my foot off the brake and hitting the gas. This has happened on numerous occasions, putting those in the vehicle and those in other vehicles around my vehicle at risk. I brought my vehicle to my local dealership, at which point they checked it and found nothing wrong with the vehicle. They also stated that they, and the vehicle manufacturer were aware of the issue, but have no solution for it. The first time I brought the vehicle in, the dealer told me that a possible fix was an update to the system, however I would have to pay for the update. After the service adviser spoke with the service manager a few times, the dealership paid for the $220 update. The vehicle has since continued to stall, the only thing that seems to assist is to turn off the Auto Start/Stop feature every time the vehicle is turned on. Last Thursday, the vehicle stalled again on my wife with our son in the vehicle at a t-intersection. The vehicle failed to start for approximately 10-15 minutes. I contacted my dealer again and was advised to bring my vehicle in. I brought it in and was told that I could have a rental car, but that I would need to approve paying a $160 diagnostic fee. They were unsure of a permanent solution for the problem.

- Howell, NJ, USA

problem #94

Mar 122022

Pilot

  • miles
Our 2017 pilot tries to turn on by itself, with the electronics in the dashboard starting and engine compartment relays firing, along with the exterior lights turning on without any driver being present or attempting to start the car. It happens even without the keys being present. As a result, the battery drains while the car is parked. We took our car to the dealership where we bought it and they confirmed the issue and stated we needed to replace our keyless access/TPMS unit to start and that we may need to a new start/stop switch. It cost $190.83 with tax to access. The car is serviced at Klein Honda in Everett, WA. The R/O number for the service visit is 652453/1. Instances of other Honda owners experiencing similar car issues can be found here: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/control-unit-problems.168522/ I noted that the 2016-2017 honda pilots have a recall/service bulletin for the start/stop switch (Honda Service Bulletin 20-117) and was told by the dealership my car is not included. I find that very disappointing since I own a 2017 honda pilot. I was quoted a repair cost of $967.36 + tax. This did not include the cost of the part (part number 38320-TG7-A32) costing $469.36 with tax. Therefore the total cost of the repair is greater than $1500. I ordered the part on March 16, 2022 and it is on back-order with no expected arrival date. I cannot currently drive my car because the battery is constantly being drained when the car is off due to this error. Our low-mileage 2017 Pilot (delivered on 5/31/17) should not have the failure(s) noted above. I am not aware of a greater recall that addresses the failure(s) and was told that our car is outside of the manufacturers warranty that could cover this since it is not part of the powertrain.

- Mukilteo, WA, USA

problem #93

Mar 232022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Vehicle randomly does not automatically restart after the auto engine idle stop engages when in stop-and-go traffic or when stopped at an intersection, resulting in a stalled vehicle in the middle of traffic. Takes multiple attempts of hitting the start-stop button to restart the vehicle. Have taken the vehicle to the dealer numerous times and each time told they can't figure out what causes the problem, but they replaced the battery at a cost of $500...didn't fix the problem. No warning indicators before the vehicle stalls, the engine simply doesn't start again after the brake is released, which should disengage the auto idle.

- Auburn, AL, USA

problem #92

Mar 162022

Pilot

  • miles
Driving into work, busy road/heavy traffic, the auto-stop engine function engaged. It shut down the entire car and would not restart after releasing the brake. I had to put on flasher, and then restart the car as normal. Component failure: Auto-Stop Safety issue: Could be rear-ended, or worse if this happened in an intersection Vehicle will be inspected tomorrow by Honda. This problem has occurred before.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #91

Dec 202021

Pilot

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the emission system, transmission, and Collision Mitigation Braking System warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle then lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over and park the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with an oil rocker arm error code within the VTEC system. The dealer informed the contact that a non-OEM oil filter was used, which might have caused the failure. The dealer performed an oil change; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer and diagnosed with oil rocker arm spool valve failure. The dealer informed the contact that the oil rocker arm spool valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Novato, CA, USA

problem #90

Feb 082022

Pilot

  • miles

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

atomic breaking systems kicks on almost caused accident 2 times, and the engine shot off while driving, please investigate before death happen

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

problem #89

Jan 272022

Pilot

  • miles
This is a random issue that has now happened 3 times in the past couple of months. When the auto idle system is engaged and going to restart, the car stalls. You are stuck in an intersection, at a light, etc. You then have to figure out how to restart the car, which isn't easy, the start button has to be pushed multiple times as you are trying not to panic.

- Beacon Falls, CT, USA

problem #88

Dec 172021

Pilot

  • miles
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 #87

Dec 202021

Pilot

  • miles
On my way to work yesterday, I took my exit and stopped at the light where the idle engine function enabled and then my car completely shut off on its own. It took multiple tries to restart the car. Meanwhile, the light turned green, multiple cars were honking at me, and could have most certainly rear ended me. If it was the next street over, it would have been quite a dangerous situation as it is a super busy area. Upon taking it to the dealership today, they cannot figure out the issue.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #86

Oct 042021

Pilot

  • miles

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

Auto engine stop does not restart when releasing brake pedal. This causes safety issues when stopped at lights as it takes time for the car to go into park in order to be manually started. Only solution is to turn off Auto engine stop every time car is started so that it won't automatically turn off when brake pedal is fully pressed. Honda needs to recall and provide a solution that permanently disables the auto engine stop.

- Pepperell, MA, USA

problem #85

Nov 042021

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions over several years the car will shut completely down when accelerating from a stop light or stop sign. The car has to be restarted and it is not safe. Most recently it happened twice in 1 week and the car will not restart immediately because you have to get it into park. It's very dangerous and the dealer is useless as they "can't get the issue to duplicate"

- Pineville, LA, USA

problem #84

Nov 012021

Pilot

  • miles
issue is when the car is stopped and the auto engine idle is on, when I lift the brake to press the accelerator, the car shuts off the engine completely, puts itself in Neutral. So when I-??m at a red light that turns green, when I attempt to go by lifting the brake my engine quits, that i have to wait a few and restart the whole thing,

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #83

Oct 092021

Pilot

  • miles
In my 2017 Honda Pilot Elite the auto idle stop feature has more frequently failed to restart the vehicle when stopped at a traffic light. This leaves the car stalled in traffic instead of restarting after I take my foot off the brake (which is when the system should be restarting the engine). This failure occurs whether I press the gas pedal or just take my foot off the brake. It began happening around the 30,000 mile mark and the vehicle now has 56,000. I notice it most often occurs when the auto idle stop function engages at the first traffic light after a period (approx. more than 20 minutes) of freeway driving. The only way I have found to recover from the stall is to place depress the brake, place the car in Park, press the engine Start/Stop button twice (once to shut off the car then again to restart it), and then place the vehicle in drive and release the brake. Sometimes this process needs to be repeated. My vehicle is almost always in ECON mode. The issue happens whether or not the radio is on. My map is almost always displayed when I am driving.

- Huntington Woods, MI, USA

problem #82

Oct 012021

Pilot

  • miles
While driving, the vehicle suddenly stalled then began to jerked and was unable to accelerate above 2000 RPM. If pushed above the 2000 RPM, the car would continue to violently jerk. At this time, all the dash warning lights came on, but no warnings or driving issues prior to the incident. From the manufacturer (dealer inspected), error code P0369-CMP Sensor and this issue applies to a service article A180101 from January 2018 which notes that the camshaft thrust cover roughness out of spec and damaged camshaft position sensor. Concerns for this is that without warning the vehicle stalls out regardless of speed for a vehicle after owning for only 4 years.

- Roseville, CA, USA

problem #81

Oct 162021

Pilot

  • miles
Engine does not restart after -??auto idle-??. The car cannot be turned off because it is shifted in to drive and won-??t shift to park until the engine comes on. This leaves you stranded when driving if you-??re at a busy intersection causing an extreme safety hazard.

- Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

problem #80

Sep 212021

Pilot

  • miles
Car stalls at idle when you take foot off of brake in preparation to accelerate. Error lights and warnings flash on dashboard, car automatically shifts to neutral and it takes over a minute to restart. Inconsistently happens and Honda service technicians report there are no error codes. This is happening to MANY people with the same make/model. This is a serious safety and drivability issue. Please investigate.

- Encino, CA, USA

problem #79

Sep 112021

Pilot

  • miles
The auto idle stop feature on the vehicle poses a significant safety hazard. On multiple occasions, the engine doesn-??t re start after lifting your foot off of the brake. We-??ve had the dealer assess several times, but they simply say they can-??t repeat the problem. In the most recent instance, we were stopped at a red light and the auto idle stop engaged. When the light turned green, I took my foot off of the brake and the car did t re start. I had to shift from drive to park, and tried to re start the car a few times before the engine re started. I was fortunate I wasn-??t rear ended, as cars were coming up behind me in excess of 40 miles per hour. Thankfully, they saw my hazard lights and moved over before hitting me. This problem has been reported in multiple forums, to include here: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/auto-engine-idle-stop-system-problem-message.144153/ Unfortunately, and by design, the feature cannot be permanently disengaged. Please force Honda to take immediate action before it results in fatalities!

- Rocklin , CA, USA

problem #78

Aug 262021

Pilot

  • miles
Keyless start system malfunction.

- Carolina, PR, USA

problem #77

Aug 242021

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle stalls after trying to return to normal idle after the idle-stop system has been engaged. Vehicle may take up to 5 minutes to restart. Vehicle has a fly-by-wire push button transmission so the vehicle cannot be placed into neutral and pushed out of harms way without the engine running (which it isn't since it stalled and won't restart). Dealership "fixed" the problem in 2019 by installing a new battery which was warrantied for a bad cell. Problem returns in 2021. Dealership declares the battery good and claims that they cannot replicate the problem, nor have they heard of this issue previously. And possibly related to all of the above: Vehicle ran normally (i.e., engine running normally) until all indicator lights came on and remained on. Dealer claims a new camshaft and associated parts are needed to fix this "new" problem.

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

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