I called the service department at the dealership. They said this is a know issue and Honda should have a fix in September. Since both displays go blank and because of the cracking noise - I'm worried about the safety of driving my SUV. I feel like they should have told me about the issue when I bought it in April. The dealership didn't want me to bring it in to look at until I hear from Honda - there's supposed to be a recall.

Update from Oct 5, 2021: The dealership did repair my issue

I have a brand new 2020 Honda Pilot. It has 3 miles on it when we bought it. We paid over 50,000 for it. I needed a car that was safe, as I drive my grand babies often! I needed a car that was big as I often have 5 passengers. I needed a car that was comfortable as I am disabled and have major back issues. We settled on the Pilot for these reasons. Shortly after we bought it at about 1000 miles we noticed it was having issues! I would get a horrible cracklings noise in the car that was so loud you couldn’t hear one another talk. As well as the crackle my cell phone would not work. I was unable to place calls or text messages.

The dash would also blink on and off like it was trying to reset. When it would do this I would lose everything on the entire dash as well as the on board computer. So this meant I had nothing to tell me my speed. No gages at all! It was and continues to be unsafe! I called South Tacoma Honda and told them what was happening. I told them I would need to be given a free loaner car that was big enough for the babies as well as would be big enough (no cars) for my back. They said they would do their best to accommodate this. I was given a small car. I once again stated why I needed a larger suv or truck comparable to the one I have. I was told this was all they had. I then had to wait a week to get my car fixed!

When I was told it was ready they said they hoped the got it fixed! I hope so too! I drove it away. Within a few days the car started doing the exact same things yet again. I called to make yet another appointment. I informed them once again that I needed a free loaner car and why as well as what type. I informed them I am disabled and I can’t do a small car. Once again they gave me a small car because that was all they had. They once again had my car for a week. I was also in the process of moving.

When I needed to move I told them I needed my car back because the car was too small to move with and I could now hardly walk after driving this car for a week once again. It is much to low to the ground for me which is a huge problem - I don’t have a car! They said good news they just got my car fixed it was ready! I went to pick it up so I could do my move. The car did appear to be fixed for a few days! Then the crackle came back. When it starts at first it is an intermittent issue then it gets worse and worse impacting all issues such as phone and on board computer. I had to wait this time as my life was too hectic right then to possibly be without my car again. I contacted my service manager however to let him know the issue was still happening and I would need to bring it back in.

I must also mention that I was told by multiple people at this dealership that this issue is happening with other people as well with 2020 pilots. I’m not sure if that is supposed to make me feel better or worse. Last week I had time to take my car in. It had gotten very bad again. I once again stated what type of loaner car I would need and why. I was pleased to be given the South Tacoma Honda courtesy van as it could accommodate my needs while they have my car. I needed an oil change, a wheel scratch fixed a window fix as well as the crackle fix and issue with the on board computer fixed. I was told that my car was part of a big 2020 Honda Pilot recall and that recall would likely be the fix to my issues. I was told all of the work would be done but it would probably take a week or more. I was fine with that as I finally had an appropriate loaner to drive.

A few days later I got the call that my work would be done minus the recall because Honda doesn’t have the parts for the recall. I was told this could take days... weeks... months??? They don’t know how long. But rest assured.... I’m not the only one! Then the big news hits! I learn they someone that is an awesome source and also works for Honda that this was not true! The parts are in... but Honda is not using them for cars that were already bought! They are using them for the new Honda’s on the lot so they can sell those! What? Are you kidding me? So I asked that I keep the van until my Honda can be fixed!

Today I get the call that I need to bring the van back tomorrow they need it and some of my work was done! I directly ask if the recall work is done I am told to bring the van back tomorrow with no answer on recall work which tells me the answer is no! I then ask for contact names and phone numbers for upper management as well as that persons boss. I have been ghosted since. So it’s South Tacoma’s best practice to have someone in a dangerous vehicle for possibly months so they can fix the cars first that they have not sold so they can make money? Not OK!

I had mentioned that I had it in 3 times for over a week each as I check my records its been 4 times each time 7 to 10 days. Tonight once I finally wrote this, posted on social media, news outlets, attorney general so on, I get a call at 8 pm saying that they fixed my car and did the recall work! Now hoping my issue is resolved!

Pilot has been to the dealer 5 times now. On one occasion they replaced the head unit. The cracking and popping noise is random and sounds like something hitting the windshield. Phone calls will disconnect or they will make static noises when someone on the other end is talking. The biggest issue is that while using Waze the sounds will go to full blast using Apple Carplay.

This is a safety issue and needs these vehicles recalled. It could startle someone and end up crashing the car. The only way to fix this temporarily is disconnect the lighting cable. The dealer says Honda is aware of the issue but has no fix for it. Hey Honda, how about you buy back my car and I look elsewhere. I have owned Hondas since the mid 90's and this by far is the worst engineered component. Fix the issue or buy back the vehicles!

Hello, So I just bought a 2020 Honda Pilot Touring on 3/31/20 and guess what I am having the same popping/cracking issues.  The screens go black and the radio, DVD player, navigation, speedometer does not work. Nothing works. I have had it at the dealer twice now and it still makes the noise and screens go black.  I am currently waiting for dealer to have a loaner car for me so they can keep the Honda until they can get it fixed.  My car has less than 500 miles and those miles are going to and from dealer.  They replaced the infotainment control unit.  I was about 20 minutes from the dealer when it started popping again.  The dealer is 1 hour away from my house. I called American Honda and filed a complaint.  

How is it a manufacturer like Honda hasn't fixed static electrical issues with the audio system by now? There's some grounding wire that makes listening to the radio or anything to do with audio (including calling) unuseable. They taking this long to identify and rectify the issue makes me worry we are not as intelligent or capable of changing behavior as much as I had hoped. I took my brand new 2020 Pilot in for this issue and they had to take the whole freak'n dashboard out to fix the issue! Imagine all the squeaks and potential issues I'm going to have in the future thanks to this intrusive repair, not to mention the scratches and the now uneven dash material issues the tech left on the dashboard when he/she pulled the dash out to fix the issue. It's kinda ruined how excited my wife and I have been about getting this new ride.

I've always driven my Honda's to death with no major issues. It saddens me to have problems with a brand new vehicle. I bought a 2020 Pilot Elite in Nov. 2019 and by end of Feb. 2020 it was having electrical issues; the crackling noise. It was annoying but when the instrument panel and computer screen blacked out, while I was driving, that was it. I had to pull over and park. Left the vehicle off for about 15 minutes before everything would come back up. Took it to the dealer I purchased from and they found some amplifier wires loosely connected at the back of the vehicle. They said they tightened things up and sent me on my way.

All was well for 2 months. The crackling came back. This time I took it to my local dealer. They found crimped wiring throughout the vehicle and had to rewire it all. I'm hoping this is the final fix for this crackling issue. The vehicle should never have made it from the factory in this condition. Evidently Honda quality is slipping :(

Bought the 2020 Pilot Touring in November. In March we noticed the cracking noise; sounded like rocks hitting the windshield. Took it to local Honda dealer, where they supposedly did something with the wire harness. It was ok for a while but it came back a couple of weeks ago, off and on. It would go away after we shut off the car for a few minutes and turned it back on. The Honda dealer now says they have no idea how to fix it. We went on a road trip last week and in addition to the crackle we had a new symptom - the DVD player wouldn't work. We had another road trip yesterday and it crackled for 2.5 hours of it - turning off and on didn't work - and we got yet another new symptom: the radio and Sirius feeds were jacked up. I have a feeling we're about to be part of the ongoing class action suit involving prior model years.

We purchased a 2020 Honda Pilot AWD Touring and experienced the same infotainment issue that others have described in 2018 and 2019 models. Ten days off the lot, we heard crackling and popping across the dash and both the center dash screen and the screen behind the wheel went black with no access to nav, radio, bluetooth, backup camera, speedometer, etc. The system continually tried to reboot but would continue crashing. Took it in and they replaced audio tuner and gauge control module and then said it was working perfectly. Two hours after I picked it up, the same problem occurred. They kept it for 2 more weeks, saying they were in touch with Honda's engineers. They wound up replacing both the floor harness and dash harness. Time will tell whether it is actually fixed. Have had it back for a month with no issues.