10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
882 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.

2021 Honda Pilot engine problems

engine problem

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2021 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #34

Jun 122024

Pilot

  • miles

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

when auto-idle engaged and car is stopped, it will not restart the car's engine. My safety was at risk because the event took place while I was in traffic with my family. The problem has not been reproduced. It is a problem known by Honda for many years. The vehicle has not been inspected. Unknown.

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #33

Apr 222024

Pilot

  • miles
When driving the car and stopped, the car goes into idle engine automatically. There are have been 5 incidents where the engine wouldn-??t turn back on. The car starts beeping and flashing to put in park, shut off and restart. This is extremely dangerous when in the middle of traffic, cars honking and my children in the car getting nervous. Luckily I have not had an accident yet and figured out how to not use the -??idle stop-?? feature to prevent this from happening but it-??s not a long term solution as I have to stop idle feature every time the car is turned on.

- Long Beach, NY, USA

problem #32

May 252024

Pilot

  • miles
My Honda Pilot has, on multiple occasions, just died after the auto engine idle stop engaged. I have had to put my vehicle back in park, restart it, immediately disable the auto idle stop and put it back in drive. On several other occasions it has also said "engine idle stop system unavailable". Even with that useless feature disabled my car will hesitate and kinda sputter when I stop at red lights. It's dangerous. I just bought this car from the Toyota Dealership in my area so I shouldn't be having these issues. There's less than 28,000 miles on it, I shouldn't be having any issues whatsoever.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #31

Mar 062024

Pilot

  • miles

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

The automatic idle stop does not restart engine upon release of the brake pedal. It has been happening with increasing frequency.

- Ithaca, NY, USA

problem #30

Dec 312023

Pilot

  • miles
When I-??m stopped and try to drive my car it sometimes dies. It-??s a big safety concern and happens often and when I have my kids in the car. I can-??t get it to start again for a little while. The lights come on the dashboard but it won-??t start at all until a while after trying.

- Mcminnville , OR, USA

problem #29

Jan 292024

Pilot

  • miles
There appear to be more than one issue. When using the auto idle feature, my car will turn off completely. Meaning the engine turns off and it is difficult to restart. I also have issues starting the car from scratch. This has occurred multiple times where the engine will not turn on but other components will. I cannot be jumped or put in neutral as the transmission won't move out of park if the engine is not on. It has been to the dealership multiple times for both issues. A software update was done to fix the auto idle issue, but it has not fixed the issue. i know longer use the auto idle feature. The most recent incident was today.

- Chester , VA, USA

problem #28

Nov 272023

Pilot

  • miles

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

Hello, Twice in the past two months, my car's engine has lost power while driving on the highway. First, while entering and merging onto the highway, and once while exiting the highway. Both times, the check engine light came on, pressing the gas pedal had no effect, and we could only coast to the side of the road. Both times we had to restart the vehicle. After the first incident, I went to the dealership. They "fixed" the vehicle, replacing gaskets that Honda knew might fail but didn't issue a recall (only fix if there is an issue). This obviously did not fix the issue. Thankfully we did not have an accident, but complete loss of power could have been disastrous. I now have to go back to the dealership.

- Saint Charles, IL, USA

problem #27

Jul 252023

Pilot

  • miles
The reason we took our Honda in to the Honda retailer to begin with is because the car kept alerting a message of an -??emissions systems failure.-?? We took it in and found out that we had 3 recalls on our Honda Pilot. They fixed one recall but stated that they -??needed parts-?? for the other recalls. It has been one month and after continuous follow ups they continue to tell us that they still haven-??t gotten the parts and are behind in service. This is unacceptable. The retailer believed that we were receiving the -??emissions system failure-?? error message is because of a fuse. They replaced the fuse but the message returned several days later. I am thinking we received the error message because of the -??Passport/Pilot MOST FAKRA Service Cables-?? failure recall that has a possibility to cause -??poor, or lost, connections intermittently between the audio display unit and the vehicle cable connector-?? (Manufacturer recall explanation). I am not entirely sure exactly what is wrong with our vehicle nevertheless the reason for the complaint is that the manufacturer/certified dealership has -??failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall-?? for our vehicle -??in a timely manner.-?? I hope this complaint will get our recalls fixed.

- Merkel, TX, USA

problem #26

Jan 152024

Pilot

  • miles
Auto Engine Idle Stop issue. Engine would stop at intersections and not restart, which was a safety risk. I told the dealership this was a known defect affecting many vehicles and they said no, it was just a -??bad battery.-?? They replaced the battery.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #25

Jan 042024

Pilot

  • miles
Twice now at red light my pilot has not started due to stop start feature. It was stuck in park / neutral. Car wouldn-??t restart or go into gear. Almost everyday at least once car is hesitant to start after engine cuts out. Then dash lights like system collision isn-??t working. Extremely dangerous was at a light on major interstate road. Last time it happened I. The summer had it checked out and nothing was resolved.

- Ambridge , PA, USA

problem #24

Dec 162023

Pilot

  • miles

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

Auto start/stop function. The auto start/stop engaged and the vehicles engine stopped while we were at a red light. When the light turned green and I released the brake the starter engaged but very slowly and failed to start the engine. I attempted to start the vehicle again but it needed to be in park, which was taking time engaged. We were blocking other vehicles from making a protected turn during this. On the 3rd attempt to restart the vehicle restarted. This has not been inspected or or reproduced. No warning lamps other than vehicle must be in park to start.

- Wakefield, RI, USA

problem #23

Jul 012022

Pilot

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the Auto Idle feature on the vehicle intermittently failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that an unknown message was displayed on the instrument panel during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer on several occasions and software updates were performed; however, the failure returned soon after the updates were completed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

- Marco Island, FL, USA

problem #22

Oct 182023

Pilot

  • miles
2021 Honda Pilot is subject to "rapid acceleration". We had no notification of this issue until the vehicle drove itself into our home on its own causing damage to the car and our home. Only after we did some research did we know Honda had this issue.

- Helotes, TX, USA

problem #21

Oct 272023

Pilot

  • miles
This vehicle has some major concerns. I have issues with the starter on this thing not wanting to restart the engine after a traffic stop. Battery is fine and there are no obvious issues with the car other than the fact that the starter appears to barely spin the engine over the compression stroke. I have been a Honda owner for years but unless Honda issues a fix for this issue, i am finished with them. I continually turn off the auto stop/start feature out of fear that i will have issues at a traffic intersection. Please investigate this issue and force them to recall these vehicles. BTW my vehicle only has 28k miles on it so it is unacceptable for them to keep denying the issue exists when i take it to my dealer.

- Madison, AL, USA

problem #20

Jul 152023

Pilot

  • miles
The IDLE STOP feature sometimes fails to restart the vehicle after stopping at a stoplight or stop sign. The vehicle transmission will go into PARK, with the engine no longer running. This requires the vehicle to be restarted manually in traffic, and shifted to DRIVE. This puts the vehicle and passengers at risk for an accident, as it blocks the normal flow of traffic until manually restarted and shifted. This car is available for inspection upon request. This problem has been inspected by a local Honda dealer. There were no warning lamps prior to the incidents.

- Broomfield, CO, USA

problem #19

Jun 012023

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto Idle system that enables the cut off the engine is now working intermittently some or not at all, regardless of temperature outside or inside the cabin. Note: Took to Honda Mall of GA dealership to look at this very issue, and according to the technician, it is 'heat' related. I feel this is 100% incorrect, as the temperature in the evening has dropped into the 70s and the issue continues.

- Grayson, GA, USA

problem #18

Aug 312023

Pilot

  • miles
The Auto Idle Restart Feature has malfunctioned a number times and cars behind us have almost rear-ended us. With Eco mode on or off, a/c on or off, it doesn't seem to make a difference. When the vehicle has Auto Idle Restart enabled, the vehicle is stopped at a stop light, the engine turns off, and when the user presses the gas and releases the brake, the engine does not turn on. When the brake pedal is released, the brake lights turn off - the vehicles behind us drive forward as they think we are accelerating but our vehicle does not move as the engine does not turn back on properly. We are lucky we have not been rear ended yet. This is very unsafe, especially in very busy intersections.

- Okemos, MI, USA

problem #17

Aug 042023

Pilot

  • miles
When the idle stop system is enabled in my vehicle, on 5 separate occasions, my car has stalled. Each situation happened when I was stopped at either a stop sign or traffic light. When I took my foot of the brake to go, the car shut off and took ~30 seconds before I was able to turn the engine back on and go. I took my car to the Honda dealer and they were unable to determine the cause of the problem, and it has happened since that time.

- Whitmore Lake, MI, USA

problem #16

Aug 202023

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle shut off while at a busy intersection light. Unable to restart the vehicle for several minutes. All safety systems (crash mitigation.....) were disabled. Unable to find a current recall through Honda and the dealership is closed since it is sunday.

- Springdale, PA, USA

problem #15

Jul 252023

Pilot

  • miles
Honda Pilot 2021 Elite AWD w/ 34k miles shuts down at a complete stop e.g. traffic light, stop sign or highway stop and go rush hour. Panel says put in Neutral, but the push button transmission shift does not respond. Attempts to restart with the push start/stop button and fails multiple times first and then it starts again, while other motorists are honking behind you for blocking traffic. Major safety concern.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

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