10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,187 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2018 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 5 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #44

Jul 122022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Engine unable to restart after stopping at traffic light. When Auto Engine is enabled I have faced this problem multiple times and it was unable to restart. Traffic backed up because I could not go forward. I had to literally shut down everything and then start the engine again. I have already seen this news that you guys are investigating this issue with Honda. Now I disable my engine before I start my journey.

- Mooresville , NC, USA

problem #43

Aug 012022

Pilot

  • miles
The engine stop start function fails to "start" the truck in traffic when the failure happens 60% of the time you can follow on dash instructions and restart the truck - the remaining 40% it will ONLY restart after you JUMP Start the vehicle with another car. This has left my Wife Stranded 2 times in a busy intersection and we had to get jump started in the busy intersection While in this state we also could NOT put the vehicle in neutral to move it from the intersection trapping it where it was until it was jump started.

- Valrico, FL, USA

problem #42

Aug 092022

Pilot

  • miles
routinely if the auto stop is on the car will stall out when you try to accelerate from a stop. It will completely die, multiple errors will flash on the board. The car will be completely unresponsive. Eventually I have thus far been able to restart the car but it frequently happens at intersections and I am constantly concerned about getting rear ended. The dealership denies there is a problems. I have replaced the car battery and even with a brand new battery the same things happens. Only way to prevent it, is to disengage the idle/stop every single time you enter the car.

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA

problem #41

Aug 072021

Pilot

  • miles

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

As I was coming to a stop light and started to slow down the automatic start/stop system engaged, but the light turned green and when I tried to accelerate the car was not running anymore lights I the dashboard where flashing that I needed to put vehicle in park to start back up. Our vehicle was almost impacted by the truck behind us because he assumed I would be able to speed up instead of having to come to a complete stop. This has happened at least 20 more times since then when I forget to turn off the automatic start/stop feature. It's always when I'm coming to a stop, the suv will not turn back on mostly its inconvenient to drivers behind me that feel I just didn't see the light turn green but a couple of times it has happened when approaching metering lights in the freeway where the cars behind me or in the lane next to me are ready to accelerate not knowing that my car will have to come to a complete stop because of this issue before I car start the car again.

- Vacaville , CA, USA

problem #40

Aug 062022

Pilot

  • miles
Auto start stop function is activated at stop light. Upon releasing the brake to accelerate, the car shuts off completely and am unable to restart vehicle immediately. Requires me to push on/off button a few times to get vehicle back on and running.

- Fort Polk, LA, USA

problem #39

Jul 032022

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions over the past month or so, my wife has experienced engine issues associated with what we believe is the Auto Start/Stop function on our 2018 Honda Pilot (Touring Edition). Upon coming to a complete stop, the Auto Stop function disables the engine. Upon releasing the brake, the system is supposed to restart the engine. However, on at least five occasions the engine has not restarted, and it has required her to turn the vehicle off and completely restart it as if starting from cold. This has occurred at stop lights, which obviously could cause safety issues/implications. On at least a couple of the occasions, she had to attempt to restart the vehicle multiple times by applying the brakes and pressing the main start/stop button). I frequently drive the vehicle and always turn off the Auto Start/Stop function. I have never run into these issues whatsoever. The vehicle is scheduled for routine maintenance at a Honda dealership in two days; the vehicle is serviced solely at this same dealership. The issue will be brought to their attention as well.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #38

Aug 022022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Our Honda Pilot began stalling four years after purchasing the vehicle. When the Honda was stopped, the engine shut off but the engine wouldn't automatically restart when the accelerator was pressed. I fortunately was able to get the Honda to restart after a couple tries.

- Ponte Vedra, FL, USA

problem #37

Jul 162022

Pilot

  • miles
After the car was stoped at a red light with the auto-idle feature on, the car stalled out when I pressed the gas petal to drive. The radio and A/C shut off and a PARK warning displayed. It took several attempts to turn the car back on. After the car started it took several minutes for the radio to start working again. None of the touch buttons for radio, phone or navigation would respond. This happened when I was at a light after getting off the highway. It almost caused a car accident with the drivers around me who were coming off the highway. Since this happened, every time I turn on the car, the radio stations can not be found. I have to turn the radio off/on once or twice for the car to find the stations. Frequently, when I go from stop to drive at lights or stop signs, the radio and AC will turn off for a second. This seems to only happen when the auto idle feature is on. The car transmission is also having lurching when going from 1st to 2nd gear.

- Plainville, CT, USA

problem #36

Jul 152022

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped at a red light and stopped at a 4-way intersection my 2018 Honda Pilot turned completely off. It was not in engine idle mode. A message flashed up on my dash saying to put my car in park.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #35

Jun 192022

Pilot

  • miles
Auto idle system failed and the car stalled at a streetlight. The auto-idle kicks in when car comes to a stop like it-??s supposed to but when I release my foot off the break and the car is supposed to start back up it stalls. It can take anywhere from 45 seconds to 1 minute to get it into park and get the car to restart. During which time I-??ve been honked at by other cars but thankfully haven-??t been hit yet. I worry about it happening and I get hit because I-??ve been in the way of traffic and unable to move. Very scary situation to be in. This has happened on 4 separate occasions over the last couple months, the most recent one was June 19th. I now try to remember to turn the system off every time I get into the car to drive. Dealership tested battery and it came back fine.

- Celina, TX, USA

problem #34

Jul 062022

Pilot

  • miles

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

I was stopped at a stop light and the car was in auto engine idle. After releasing the brake when the light turned green, the engine shut off and the dash told me to put the car in park and restart by pushing the brake and hitting the engine start button. This process took about 30 seconds for the car to finally restart and I was sitting in the middle of traffic with cars behind me that had anticipated me moving forward when the light changed. Several warning symbols popped up including the collision mitigation system. This is an easy way to get rear-ended. In other instances, I have had issues where the radio and engine shuts off after releasing the brake when in auto engine idle at a stop light or driving in slower traffic but it kicks back on in just a second with no need to stop and restart. Both of these issues are very concerning. Battery life is fine, so that is not the issue. Issue stops when auto engine idle is disabled.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #33

Jun 282022

Pilot

  • miles
Car when in the idle stop has not restarted for several minutes. Some times it starts back up within 5 seconds. Other times it shuts the engine down and tells me to hit the start button to turn vehicle on, but then nothing happens. I am not even able to put car in neutral. Most recently this happened while exiting off a highway on the ramp. A bus driver pulled over in attempts to help me get the car off the ramp. However, a minute into trying to get it into neutral, the car popped back into drive and the engine on so I could get home. Car has been brought in multiple times and the dealership says they cannot find anything wrong with the car.

- Nazareth, PA, USA

problem #32

Jun 182022

Pilot

  • miles
Engine auto start/stop has failed. 68000 miles, recently when system is engaged my car completely dies. Have to wait 60 seconds to turn off car and restart Understand numerous complaints already submitted and want to add mine to the list

- Apex, NC, USA

problem #31

Jul 042022

Pilot

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving in stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle would engage the engine STOP/START fuel-saving feature while stopped. The contact stated that whenever she depressed the accelerator pedal the message "Place Vehicle in Park" displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted to start the vehicle using the Push to Start button. The vehicle was restarted but failed to respond after shifting into drive. The vehicle was restarted several times before resuming normal operation. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Hampton, VA, USA

problem #30

Jun 272022

Pilot

  • miles
I was at the red light stop, when I got green light, I moved my feet off of brake, engine did not wake up or restart. I pushed gas pedal but the car would not move, then it showed all kinds of lights on dashboard. Afterwards, the car showed a sign asking to shift into parking, which I did. The engine start button could not restart or turn the car comepletely for a minute. After 2 minutes the card started it again and there was no light on dashboard.

- Fort Leonard Wood, MO, USA

problem #29

Jul 202021

Pilot

  • miles
The following has occurred 3 separate times. The first time occurred in July 2021. When stopped at traffic lights, the engine shuts off to conserve energy but then has difficulty restarting. When the light turns green, we take our foot off the brake and the engine does not restart. Instead, the ignition button light flashes and the car is unable to shift into gear and appears to be in neutral. The only way to solve it is to shut the car off and restart it. This process takes anywhere from 20-60 seconds. This has caused us to stall at lights and cars behind us have to go around, which creates a safety concern. After the first instance, we brought it to our Honda dealership and informed them. They inspected the vehicle and were unable to find anything wrong. They also were not able to reproduce it. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to or after the incidents.

- Eagan, MN, USA

problem #28

Dec 312021

Pilot

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle would hesitate while driving. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact stated that while idle at a stop light and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle independently shifted to neutral and stalled. The contact shifted into park(P) and restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Hot Springs, AR, USA

problem #27

Feb 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Several times I have been driving with the auto stop on. When I get to a stop light or traffic light to make the stop, the engine shuts off as it should. When I let off of the brake and go to accelerate, the engine appears to start, then shuts all of the way off. This creates a problem where the lights on the dash flash and errors start flashing at me because I did not shut off the vehicle while in "Park". I have to push the P button and pump the brakes to get the engine to turn back on. It is a process which feels like it takes forever when other motorists are honking and yelling at me in my disabled vehicle. It probably takes 45-90 seconds, but feels like an eternity. This has unfortunately happened at one of the busiest lights in our city. I almost got rear ended with my 3 kids in the car as I sat trying to get the vehicle to turn back on. This has happened about 4 or 5 times. Now I shut off the Auto Stop every time I get in the vehicle. My kids don't want to ride in the vehicle anymore since they think it is unsafe. I took it to the Honda dealership and they replaced the battery despite telling me it was okay. I have not gone back to turning the Auto Stop on because I feel this is a huge safety issue.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #26

Jun 142020

Pilot

  • miles
The automatic stop start on the engine fails to restart at lights and when stopping in heavy traffic. One time it happened luckily I was in a parking lot I had to get out of the car out of key fob range and it seemed to reset. Before I got out everything on the dash was frozen nothing would turn on or off. I-??ve been pressing the button when I get in the car that overrides it but sometimes I forget. When it-??s active and does restart at a red light it lurches ahead so much that you almost hit the car in front. It-??s a horrible feature. This is ongoing problem.

- Arnaudville, LA, USA

problem #25

Jun 122022

Pilot

  • miles
Engine failed to restart after the auto stop/start feature shut the engine off while I was stopped making a left turn onto a busy road. This is the 3rd time this has happened. I am unable to disable this feature permanently. I have to shut this feature off manually each time I start the car. The prior two times I was stopped on a busy road for a car stopped in front of me and the car failed to restart exposing my family and i to a potential rear end collision. This feature is very dangerous and it is only a matter of time till someone is hurt.

- Glen Rock, NJ, USA

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