10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,250 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 15 of 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #78

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 #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

problem #76

Aug 192021

Pilot

  • miles
A known a reported issue by others, the auto idle engine function has caused our car to completely shut off at various times requiring us to put the car back in park and restart the engine. This is a clear safety concern as it has happened at stop lights, on the road, etc.

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #75

Aug 142021

Pilot

  • miles

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

When stopped long enough to engage the auto idle function the car does not always recover immediately to drive. The car completely shuts down and usually restarts. This has occurred a few times in the past couple weeks and I have been trying to capture it on video to show the dealership. Yesterday it shut down and did not restart. It took many seconds (20-30) to be able to turn it back on and put it back into gear. We were stuck with cars behind us honking. When this happens all the lights on the dash light up so there is not one warning that indicates what the problem is. A car randomly failing to function is a safety issue. Especially since there is nothing the driver can do to remedy the situation. We have not taken the car in to a mechanic yet as this happened over the weekend. The car will be going to Honda. An internet search shows this is not an isolated issue.

- Salisbury , MD, USA

problem #74

Aug 092021

Pilot

  • miles
The car stalls out at traffic lights and stop signs due to a failure of the automatic idle start/stop feature. It appears this is a common issue that there is no known repair for. It creates for an unsafe driving situation when the car does not go when the light turns green. I am waiting for the day I am rear ended by someone not paying attention.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #73

Jul 062021

Pilot

  • miles
Idle engine-off system on several occasions has failed to restart engine while stopped during normal driving. Car remains in drive and engine stalls. Auto must be completely shut off and restarted for engine to restart. This is extremely unsafe as it has occured while stopped at lights in busy intersections.

- Visalia, CA, USA

problem #72

Aug 072021

Pilot

  • miles

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

The engine auto stop/ START feature turned the car off while I was stopped at traffic light. I attempted to disable this feature by pressing the Stop/ Start button which turned the vehicle completely off. I made several attempts to start the vehicle. First, I tried pressing the start button with my foot on the break. Second, I shifted the car into park and pressed the break pedal down and then pressed the start button, still didn't start. I then opened the door and quickly closed it and repeated the last process over again and it still wouldn't start. At that time the display instructed me to press the start engine button twice. By this time the traffic light cycled once which really pissed off everyone behind me! (THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME 2 TIMES AND TO MY WIFE 6 TIMES IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS)

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #71

Jul 252021

Pilot

  • miles
On 25 July 2021, I was in stop and go traffic on I-5 South when my start stop function on my 2017 Honda Pilot Elite failed to restart. All the lights lit up on my instrument cluster. My vehicle was unable to restart for about 1 minute as i was frantically trying to shut off my vehicle and restart it repeatedly. I was worried about a vehicle slamming into me with my family in the car. Since that day it has happened a few more times where the start stop function has failed and the engine failed to restart at traffic lights or busy intersections. Today I was able to catch it on video. If you would like me to send you the video from today, please let me know the email address. I have an appointment on Saturday but when I went by the Honda dealership today, they tested my battery and they said it was good and gave me a print out attached below.

- University Place, WA, USA

problem #70

Jun 142021

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto Idle Stop feature was enabled at the time. We came to a complete stop on the interstate highway due to traffic. When traffic cleared and I attempted to resume driving, the engine died completely and pressing the Start button would not re-start the engine. We were stuck with a dead engine in the middle of the highway for about a minute before the engine finally restarted. This happened three additional times since the original incident. I've taken the car to the dealer but their service technicians were unable to replicate the issue or diagnose the problem.

- Leander, TX, USA

problem #69

Jun 282021

Pilot

  • miles
When using the auto idle stop the car will sometimes completely shut down. We could be rear ended if somebody behind us doesn-??t realize that we are stopped. Honda has looked at it multiple times. They say they can not duplicate it so they can-??t fix it.

- South Setauket , NY, USA

problem #68

Jul 152021

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles

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

The engine can die when idling at a stop sign or stop light for no apparent reason. One time it even died as I was in motion. Again for no apparent reason. The car has an auto engine idle stop feature. If you push the button the disable this gas saving feature then you no longer have this issue. Biggest issue is the you can easily get rear ended because the engine dies out of the blue for no apparent reason. Per on line viewing, this is a very common issue with Hondas between 2016-2019. Please let me know if you need any more information. Thank you for your time and consideration in reviewing this issue. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Duncanille, TX, USA

problem #67

Jul 132021

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto Idle Stop feature activated at a light, but when it normally reactivates (taking foot off the brake, placing foot on the accelerator, or moving steering wheel) the engine did not come back on, the transmission changed to Neutral, and some warning lights flashed. A car coming up on the light behind me anticipated me accelerating, but I couldn't start the engine for about 30 seconds. My safety (and of the 5 other passengers) was put at risk by the mal-performance of the feature. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer. The vehicle has not been inspected by others. There were no signs of the problem prior to the failure.

- West Jordan, UT, USA

problem #66

May 032021

Pilot

  • miles
2017 Honda Pilot Elite, all maintenance performed at dealership service department. VEHICLE RANDOMLY DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY RESTART AFTER AUTO IDLE STOP ENGAGES WHEN IN STOP-GO TRAFFIC ON FREEWAY OR WHEN STOPPED AT INTERSECTION, RESULTING IN A STALLED VEHICLE IN THE MIDDLE OF FREEWAY OR INTERSECTION. ATTEMPTS TO MANUALLY RESTART THE VEHICLE GENERALLY SUCCESSFUL AFTER FRANTICALLY (OR SLOWLY!) PUSHING THE START-STOP BUTTON SEVERAL TIMES. This is a dangerous situation as I could not restart the vehicle on a fast moving roadway. Not easily reproduced as it is a randomly occuring event. First appeared at approx 35-40k miles.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #65

Jun 262021

Pilot

  • miles
Auto Engine Idle Stop System - Restart failure. Typical Even below: 1)Auto Engine Idle Stop -engages normally (i.e. engine stops at light). 2)When time for engine to restart, it doesn-??t restart, the MID shows error message and instructs driver to "place car in park". 3)Next message is typically to step on brake and press start. 4)This restart process in never quick but often 20-30 seconds. This issue puts me at a risk of being Rear Ended at a green light and is a safety issue! I would make the car available for inspection. The dealer has not been able to reproduce. However, it has occurred 3 x in the last 1000 miles. Other than the dealer, no one else has inspected. No warnings were received before it first nor subsequently appeared. I believe this first appeared in Summer 2019. It appeared multiple times in 2020 and again in 2021. I took it to the dealer in 2019 and 2020. I will schedule another dealer appoint now.

- Reading, PA, USA

problem #64

Jun 292021

Pilot

  • miles
My car has the auto idol on/off feature. The car started turning the radio off when I sit at a light and the idol turns the car off. This had happened for a bit but we have now graduated to a total stall out. This has happened to me twice now. Once at a light the 2nd time on the highway sitting in traffic. It's very nerve wrecking trying to get your car to restart as traffic is flying past you. I have to put the car in park and restart the whole car. The process takes a few minutes. I can't imagine if this would do this in the middle of an intersection for example when I'm turning left. The dealer can not reproduce this and no errors are being thrown and they have never heard of this. I find this very convenient seeing as a quick Google search shows this is a known issue. How has this not been recalled by Honda. I'm very scared this could cause an accident

- Barrington, IL, USA

problem #63

Feb 242021

Pilot

  • miles
When stopping vehicle at stop light or stop sign, vehicle engages an automatic engine stop (turn-off) when the brake is depressed. Upon releasing the brake the engine should automatically start and allow continued operation. On one occasion the vehicle stalled when attempting to re-start and would not start for several minutes while in traffic. Many error lights illuminated. On 5-10 other occasions the vehicle hard a difficult time starting, and many error lights illuminated, but eventually succeeded in starting. The battery was checked and confirmed to be within spec. This appears to be a known issue with the starter that Honda has not addressed.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #62

Jun 282021

Pilot

  • miles
While idle at red light, the automatic idol activated when I press brake with consistent pressure. When I released the brake to start going forward and engage the gas pedal; all red light indicators turned on (parking brakes and shifted into Neutral) and the car fully siezed up. No power, no ability put car in park or drive. I attempted to put in Park and Start car with On/off switch but got no reaction from car. No brake function. I sat in an unresponsive vehicle at 4-way red light intersection. I activated my emergency flashers yet. I repetitively kept pushing power button in effort for car to respond and restart, eventually did and was able to drive off. Working on taking into dealership. This happened approx 1 month ago, a very similar situation occurred again today 6/27/2021 on i45 returning form Austin TX.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #61

Jun 242021

Pilot

  • miles
My 2017 Honda Pilot touring-??s engine won-??t turn on after stop while using the idle stop. The idle stop option has to be cancel in order to drive and stop with out engine getting shut off

- Oakland , CA, USA

problem #60

Jun 132021

Pilot

  • miles
Occasional he when the auto start stop function is activated the car will die and not turn back on. After the car has died and you release your foot from the break nothing happens and multiple lights will turn on the dashboard but the car will not restart unless you put it in park press the start button multiple times. This is very frustrating and very dangerous especially if you-??re sitting outside at a busy intersection. I-??ve seen numerous reports of this on the Internet and it-??s been going on over the last several months. I tried to take the vehicle to the dealer and they told me it was not anything they can cover on the warranty I-??d have to pay out of pocket.

- Sugar Land, TX, USA

problem #59

May 202021

Pilot

  • miles
Within the past two month, this vehicle has stall at least 5 times after the auto stop idle engage at a stop light and at intersection. The vehicle will come to a full stop and the auto stop idle engage but the vehicle fails to restart after i take my leg off the break pedal. I will then have to turn the car off and restart it before it starts again. This has put me and my family in a very dangerous and unsafe condition in traffic. I've also been having an intermittent error message on the dash that says "High beam support system problem" it comes up at random times and flashes for about 30 seconds and disappears. I took the car to the Lehigh Valley Honda dealer in Emmaus PA and initially they said the problems where related to a low voltage but after replacing the battery the problems persist. The car is currently at the dealership and they can't seem to tell me exactly what the issue is.

- Emmaus, PA, USA

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