10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,605 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.

2018 Honda Pilot electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #67

Nov 112024

Pilot

  • miles

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

There is an auto start/stop feature on my 2018 Honda Pilot. I-??ve owned it new since July 2018. My wife and I have experienced the same issue both together and separately. The auto stop feature will engage with the break depressed, but the auto start function will not always engage when the break is released. This has left us stranded in the middle of intersections in the middle of left turns with oncoming traffic driving around us, stalled on the freeway with cars whizzing by us at 70+ MPH blocking the fast lane, blocking congested one lane roads with no recourse for drivers behinds to get around us, etc. This feature stops the engine but periodically does not allow it to turn back on. With the engine stopped by this feature, but not shifted to park/ neutral, pressing the ignition start/ stop button does nothing. Shifting to park, and pressing the ignition start/stop button significantly delays removing the road hazard now created by the vehicle-??s now dangerous location. To further complicate the matter, the engine starting has, on many occasions, taken multiple minutes to start, endangering myself, my wife, my four children, and other family / friends on too many occasions to count. My local dealership recommended replacing the vehicles battery, even though I had no other battery related problems. I did, in fact, follow that recommendation, only to have the same problem persist. I have encouraged my wife to disengage this feature proceeding forward, but the feature automatically resets itself everyone the ignition is started. This becomes problematic if the feature is forgotten to be turned off or, due to placement of the features button, the feature is inadvertently re-engaged.

- Diamond Bar, CA, USA

problem #66

Jul 012023

Pilot

  • miles
The back-up camera / navigation / infotainment screen is intermittently off. Without this screen one cannot get a camera view directly behind the car to back up, park, or see the rear position of the vehicle for loading and unloading. After visiting the dealership with an estimate of $2000 to $3000 for replacement, the message was clear they did not want to replace this part at a reasonable cost. On about 11/01/2023, this problem was taken to our dealership and it did re-occur at the dealership but does remain about 50% intermittent since the middle of 2023. When doing on-line searches, this must be a repeat problem for other Honda Pilot owners. Other manufacturers have implemented recalls for this same problem but not Honda to my knowledge. This vehicle now has about 60,000 miles on it; but this problem is a safety concern as well as a resale concern-?? but we would like to be able to keep it. This part seems to have been designed to be difficult to remove and replace with 5 separate cable connections, attached air vents, and without disassembling the two full panels across the full width of the dash. The dealer did remind us that this vehicle is out of warranty as well.

- Hamler, OH, USA

problem #65

Aug 172019

Pilot

  • miles
My vehicle has been in the Honda Dealership (Honda of Fort Worth and Norm Reeves Honda) with no resolution to the engine failure issues I have had since purchasing my vehicle. Mainly in the heat of the summer if I was in traffic idling, stopped at a red light or in stop and go traffic my car would shut off and hesitate to restart. The collision mitigation system would show failed. Honda could never find a solution. The last time I had it in their shop they said I needed a new battery. I bought a new battery from them but the problem continued. I believe my car is part of the engine recall.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #64

Aug 082024

Pilot

  • miles

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

The components of my vehicle that were affected is from the power train and emissions.Honda issued an TSB on August 2023 for this. The warning light on my vehicle is now illuminated. I have a DTC code P0471 stored on my vehicles computer and can no longer pass a smog chech without the problem being repaired. This issue has impacted my vehicles torque converter. When I drive at high speeds my car shakes and I get a warning that says transmission system problem. Also the transmission slips and has poor fuel mileage. Honda extended the warranty for this part because it is prone to failure. My vehicle was diagnosed at Gardena Honda on Sep 4,2024. The service advisers confirmed that my vehicle has the issue that the warranty was extended on. However, due to my vehicle having a salvage title they will not honor that warranty. This issue should have been recalled instead of extending the warranty. Other pilot owners may pose a serious risk to themselves and others as Honda failed to notify myself and other about the risks of having a defective part on the vehicle. I can no longer drive my vehicle because of the risk involved. The dealer quoted me $5000 to repair. Federal law requires car manufacturers to repair any issues that arise from emissions regardless of bad title. Honda refused to repair on 9/4/2024.

- Los Angeles , CA, USA

problem #63

Aug 152024

Pilot

  • miles
Sitting stopped at a red light. These messages with the check engine light start scrolling on the dashboard: TSA, Emissions system problem, stability control, EPS, etc. it kept changing. When trying to go in drive to he engine had reduced power and I had to get out of the intersection quickly. The code to show up when scanned was P0369 camshaft sensor. Had the vehicle towed to Honda dealership to find out that other pilots in my same year model have this issue but my specific VIN was not included in the recall LVM or the service bulletin 19-045 even though the same year model is included.

- Bremen, GA, USA

problem #62

Jul 262024

Pilot

  • miles
The original manufacturer windshield and the adhesive holding it to the body of the vehicle was improperly installed by the manufacturer allowing water to leak into the A-pillar of the driver's side down into the lower dash and foot well. Moisture and degradation of the factory installed windshield adhesive can cause electrical faults, mold, a loose windshield, and other issues that can disable the vehicle and/or cause bodily harm. The dealer noted and advised about the possibility of the adhesive degradation before the vehicle was inspected, which confirms this is a common issue with this vehicle. Upon inspection, they advised that the windshield adhesive was the issue. The issues/symptoms presented themselves during recent and prolonged rain events at which time it was reported to the nearest authorized dealer. The local dealer claims a crack in the windshield as the cause of the problems. Unfortunately, there are no cracks in the area where the leak is originating from. The vehicle leaks from the upper driver's side corner of the windshield, with the crack noted being on the lower mid section of the windshield. Water would not run up into the corner from where the adhesive leaks.

- Weslaco, TX, USA

problem #61

Nov 072023

Pilot

  • miles

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

-??Transmission system problem-?? message is displayed. Vehicle still runs fine, but reverse camera becomes disabled.

- North Kingstown, RI, USA

problem #60

Jan 022024

Pilot

  • miles
Unknown

- Annandale, VA, USA

problem #59

May 082024

Pilot

  • miles
This issue started last year upon purchasing my used Honda Pilot. The gas save mode that allows the engine to shut off at stops and restart does not work properly. Rather than the engine restarting, the car will instead shut down. Taking about 2-3 minutes to have to put the car in park and being able to restart after several attempts. The Pilot was taken to Honda last year where they did a computer upgrade. This issue happened again last week on 5/8/2024 and again this morning, 5/13/2024. This can cause a safety issue as the car is stopped at a stop sign or a light, and when traffic is trying to move, I am holding traffic up which may cause cars to attempt to go around or cause an accident. I need to know why this is happening and when Honda plans to have a solution.

- Boonsboro, MD, USA

problem #58

Dec 012022

Pilot

  • miles
When attempting to start the car's engine by pressing the start/stop button, it takes several times of pushing the button to start the engine and the dashboard displays a keyless start system error. There is a tech service bulletin for 2016 and 2017 models of the same car providing an extended warranty for customers to get free start/stop switch replacement. I took my car to a dealer and and they reproduced the problem. I was told it was not covered under the warranty. Why did Honda provide warranty and free replacement for previous model years but not for 2018 model that had the same problem? Please advise.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #57

Nov 012023

Pilot

  • miles

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

As of 11/21/23, our honda pilot has approx 75,000 miles, we purchased it new so we are the only owners. A few weeks ago, the vehicle while driving about 45 mph, completely shut off, all lights on the dash cam on and the transmission became disengaged. We were able to shut it off for a few minutes, and drive it about 1/2 mile to the local Acura dealership. The car did not operate normally though, it would only go about 20-30 mph, before the transmission disengaged for a few seconds, then re-engage and continue driving. Acura said it was a producing a bad cam-shaft sensor code, they reset it, but said if it happened again, they would need to open up the engine to inspect the cam-shaft. Two days later, the exact same thing happened, we returned it to the same Acura dealership, where they said the cam shaft, and abunch of other parts needed replacement, at a cost of about $2,500. We had no choice since the car was immobilized. Now, the week of 11/20/2023, a recall regarding the rod bearings was issues, which cause the exact same immobilization issues we experienced, which is very dangerous as a driver. Upon research online, the cam shaft sensor and faulty cam shaft is more common than I expected, and I believe should be investigated before someone is seriously injured. To add, our specific pilot is not showing the engine rod recall, but we have experienced issue with the vehicle in regards to the auto start/stop feature and the car not restarting, as well as cruise control issues where the car will go into neutral at 70+ mph when cruise control is activated. We will probably not have this vehicle much longer because of the issues we have had in the first 75K miles, and the continued safety issues that plague this model. More needs to be done for the safety of it's drivers and passengers.

- Macon, GA, USA

problem #56

Jan 012021

Pilot

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped, the Auto START/STOP activated, the vehicle shutoff but failed to promptly restart while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #55

Jul 242023

Pilot

  • miles
The wave radar came on during out travel. We traveled in south Dakota on through construction when the light came on. Now I went to the dealership to get an oil change and ask them about the error. I was informed the the wave radar part had been over worked and need to be replaced. Cost $1268.70. We never got in a collision. The part should not fail for being used causing the error message. I also belive it is a huge safety concern because I dont know if the collision system will work. The second issue we are having with the vehicle is that we turned it in for the recall for the idle stop function. It continues to turn off our vehicle at stoplights and on stops on s hill. I dont feel safe operating this vehicle with me and my family.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #54

Jul 162023

Pilot

  • miles
I previously reported issue 11360107 which Honda attributed to a bad battery cell and replaced the battery on this vehicle. I followed up with them that I consider auto-idle-stop functionality that doesn't restart despite the battery being capable of restarting to be a safety issue. I re-iterated to them that I "rebooted" the car by holding the car start button down until the Honda logo appeared in the driver display. The car then proceeded to start and I didn't have any issues with the battery being able to start the car before or after that. As stated in that issue, this happened on the access road of a major Texas Freeway while stopped at a stop light. Cars were flying by at 50 mph with my family in the car sitting at a green light. Honda has apparently issued a "fix" for this, but today I experienced a similar issue at the gas station. Today was different b/c my auto-idle-stop was disabled. My Honda dealership had disabled it the second to last time I brought it in for service, but didn't tell me. I had complained to my dealership about this issue in the past, but the feature had been disabled when I received it, without notating the change in any paperwork. I asked about it the last time I had my car at the dealership and they acknowledged that Honda was telling them to disable the auto-idle-stop on vehicles where the owner said something. Today, July 16th, 2023, I experienced the same behavior when I stopped for gas. The car would not restart, the starter would not attempt to star the car. I had driven about 60 miles in this 100 degree weather in Aransas, Texas. After filling up with gas my car wouldn't start, the electronics worked, the radio came on, but the car wouldn't start. I got out of the car while the electronics were on, went to talk to another person in the caravan. I came back and tried again and the car started. The battery was obviously capable of starting the car without jumping.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #53

Apr 182023

Pilot

  • miles
When the vehicle is turned off, the lights panel will flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights will come on. The car alarm will go off at random. On average 7-10/per day. I-??ve taken the vehicle to the dealer and there appears to be a back order of the part needed to fix the issue.

- Pearland , TX, USA

problem #52

Apr 202023

Pilot

  • miles
Emissions light comes on due to a faulty Fuel Injector and Catalytic Converter. This continues to show up in multiple forums when it comes to this problem.

- Heartland, TX, USA

problem #51

Jan 192023

Pilot

  • miles
The car has an automatic engine shut off when the car comes to a complete stop (brake pushed fully). Over the course of a month, the car will stop and start correctly many times, however 5-7 times a month the engine will not come back on...the lights and radio will all be on and the engine will not come on. This requires me to put the car in park, turn the car completely off, restart the car all while the light is green and cars are behind ready to go. The battery is fine. There is an issue with the automatic system. Unfortunately Honda Dealership has not been helpful and is more interested in charging extra money. I have read this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #50

Jan 012021

Pilot

  • miles
Engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged.

- Lake Clarke Shores, FL, USA

problem #49

May 012022

Pilot

  • miles
The problem began in May this year and has gotten worse over time. The idle engine stop does not always work properly. After driving for 10-15 minutes in stop and go traffic, when the brake is released, a popping noise or click is heard and the electronics (radio, AC, etc.) go off momentarily. When the idle engine stop is working properly, there is no noise and the radio, etc. are not interrupted. After several additional miles of driving, the noise or click becomes louder and the engine will not restart. I have to put the car in park and restart the engine. This is a safety issue in that my vehicle blocks traffic and given the number of aggressive drivers today, I am concerned someone could react in an inappropriate manner. Now, whenever I begin to hear the noise, I am forced to manually turn off the idle-stop feature. Honda responded to my concern by saying they have no "open campaigns" on the issue and for meeting to see the dealer. In the past the dealer says they have never heard of this problem and said they could not do anything. I saw online there are multiple others with the same problem and the NHTSA has opened an investigation as of June 2022. I am very disappointed that Honda US does not seem to be addressing the problem so I am adding my complaint to the NHTSA investigation. I look forward to hearing what can be done to alleviate the problem. Thank you, Dan

- Delaware City, DE, USA

problem #48

Dec 202022

Pilot

  • miles
When the idle stop feature is active the vehicle can stop, ceasing all functions, including steering and engine. The entire electrical system does not function, and the vehicle cannot be restarted. In order to restart the vehicle you are required to jumpstart the vehicle. This issue was not common during early ownership of vehicle, but has become more frequent with age. This is a safety issue as the vehicle can become inoperable in busy intersections.

- Johnson City, TN, USA

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