2017 Honda Pilot
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 926 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 23 Pilot model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 9 involved a crash and 5 involved a fire. 6 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, frame and membersJun 4, 2026
American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.
Campaign 26V365000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, body, hoodNov 29, 2021
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.
Campaign 21V932000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
481 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine, Jun 12, 2024
My engine seized up and needs to be replaced. There was no warning lights on, no check engine lights, no sounds coming from the engine. It wasn’t overheating. It just suddenly stopped working. It’s been properly maintained & now I have to replace it. There was metal shavings in the oil and I noticed how there were issues with the bearings on the 2016, 2018 & 2019. It’s just fishy that the problem was fixed for one year but then was an issue again for the next 2 years again.
Engine, May 20, 2024
Rod bearing failure, engine replacement required. Recall for 2016, 2018, 2019 Pilots for same issue.
Power train, Engine, May 7, 2024
The vehicle was driven from my house with a plan to reach destination about 30 miles away. 1st half was on back roads, the 2nd half was on highway. Once the vehicle reached the highway, the pilot started to overrev, loud bang, a bit of smoke from hood. Vehicle was pulled over on closest shoulder which was the left shoulder on highway. I had my 2 twin 4 year olds in the car and had to call someone to come get us safely off the highway with cars passing at high rates of speed while shuffling car seats and children off the highway. I then had it towed to a honda service center. They tried to crank the engine over and couldn't and stated it was seized. Since I was out of warranty by time and mileage (6.5 years and 61K miles), they wanted to charge me $1K for diagnostics and provided the quote for a used and new engine. Since they didn't diagnose first, I had it towed to another mechanic and he took the bottom splash guards off and there was oil all over and a hole in the lower engine block, which appeared to be caused by a broken rod.
Electrical system, Engine, Apr 29, 2024
Twice in the past week my 2017 Honda pilot equipped with the auto start/stop feature completely shuts off at traffic lights. Usually it turns back on but it completely shut down and would not restart at very busy intersections. I was very afraid of being rear ended while i was stuck there at the light, and this is a known issue that Honda has yet to address.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 26, 2024
After owning 2017 pilot (brand new) for 3 to 4 years, started experiencing intermittent stalling at stops when auto idle engaged. Similar to many other complaints, car would stall out, entering into an accessory mode. At times takes several attempts to restart the car. Have replaced battery and had the software update related to the issue done at the dealer. However, the issue persists and we now much remember to turn off the auto idle feature every time we start the car, or else we will end up stalled after a stop - usually creating a very dangerous situation and infuriating the drivers around us.
Engine, Mar 28, 2024
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the acceleration was delayed. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with a fuel injection failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact researched and discovered Technical Service Bulletin 20-029 which described a similar failure, however, the contact was informed that the contact's VIN was not associated with Technical Service Bulletin 20-029. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Engine, Mar 28, 2024
Heard slapping noise. Took to auto repair shop AND to dealership. Both confirmed failed rod bearing and need for engine replacement. Vehicle 2017 Pilot Elite 4D AWD V6 with about 93,000 miles. Car was routinely serviced and in good shape except for failed rod bearing. Repair estimate $10,000. I am aware of recall for other years. I am seeing Pilot Forum discussion that this is problem for more than the years Honda is allowing recall. This is unconscionable. This is a KNOWN manufacturer defect and Honda should not be allowed to avoid liability just by limiting the recall years. The contact attempted to obtain the requested repair diagnosis already performed by one of Honda's dealerships and there has been no response to the inquiry.
Engine, Mar 7, 2024
I purchased my 2017 pilot in Oct 2022, when I test drove the car I asked the sales rep is it normal for it to take off like this with a little hesitation. He said yes and I believed him since I was use to CVT transmissions. A month later I had to take it back to the dealership for service with my RPM fluttering. After 8 hours of sitting there I ended up leaving the car and going home and picked up the next day. After all that, they told me that the did several flushes and had a software update. Now fast forward to March 2023, I am having problems again when going into second gear. I have only put 11,386 miles on my car in over a year. This year has a lot of issues with the transmissions. I bought my car certified and I will never buy another Honda. I think it should be some type of recall on this issue. You should not have engine problems on a HONDA (so everyone says they are the best) at this low millage. Not sure how to handle this or who to reach out too. Maybe get a lawyer.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 19, 2024
There is a significant power loss while driving and power up all of a sudden!! This is a major safety concern. Last time nearly missed the hit by behind vehicle due to sudden power loss. today I was taking left turn and suddenly accelerated and it went out of my control. I think it’s due to a fuel pump issue. And from last month in the dashboard “EMISSION SYSTEM PROBLEM “ light pop up twice. First time took to service in Aberdeen SD at Harr motors service center and he adjusted the program I guess. Please take an immediate action regarding this. Thanks, [XXX] Cell [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Feb 19, 2024
Oil Bank sensors failed, causing the system emissions problem light to come on and essentially disable the vehicle in the middle of driving. It is a 2017 and had routine oil changes on time, there is no reason for the sensors to fail and put my car at risk as well as our lives.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 13, 2024
Regular issues with Fuel injection system, had to change the fuel injectors multiple times. Severe vibrations in the car between 2nd and 3rd gear, had changes transmission fluid including full flush but made no change. Several complaints online on this model. NHTSA/DOT need to investigate the lemon issues. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Engine, Feb 12, 2024
For no reason the Alarm is going off randomly the dash lights, interior lights, driving lights and headlights are flashing and loud clicking noises come from the dash. This happens frequently and has been going on for some time. I have had to remove the fuse from the Horn to keep it from waking us up at night which creates a potentially dangerous situation if I forget to plug it back in. Also this keeps running down the battery and when it is doing this, it sometimes won't start. I worry about it damaging other electronic parts and causing a dangerous situation. Honda must be aware of this issue with the Pilots. You can search online and find hundreds of others that have experienced the same issue. The Honda Ridgeline has the same issue and they have issued a TSB for it. I find it totally irresponsible that they would try to correct the Ridgeline but not also the Pilot. They know the TPMS Control Units are the problem and they need to fix them.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 7, 2024
My 2017 Honda Pilot has a jerking issue when accelerating slowly or fast. It lags to accelerate. You can see the RPM gauge bounce when this happens. The "bucking" or "jerking" can be felt by the driver and sometimes the passenger but its not super noticeable. My vehicle has less than 60,000 miles on it currently. I have not changed the transmission fluid but this issue has only just started recently. My transmission fluid currently does not look brown or smell burnt. It looks the normal red color. There is no warning lights have appeared on the dashboard.
Electrical system, Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Feb 3, 2024
Auto engine idle continues to be problematic. Leaving me stranded in intersections and unable to restart my vehicle for minutes. Today when it happened it turned off my collision detection feature. I have taken to dealership several times, once they replaced fuel injectors due to related recall but since they show no issues.
Structure, Engine, Jan 17, 2024, fire
The vehicle was driven by my [XXX] daughter and at @ 6 pm on [XXX] the engine was making a noise and that the car was starting to slow down and stall,so she called me. She pulled over and shut the car off and then all the dashboard lights started to blink really fast. The car started to smoke from the engine, she got out and called 911. 911 said they would send a tow truck. within a few minutes sparks were coming from underneath the engine and then the fire started. she called 911 and myself again to report the car was on fire. Thank God she was away from the car. The tow co. arrived first, then first responders, then myself. The highway was shut down to put out the fire. Our daughter was hysterical and the car is a total loss. We waited until the car fire was extinguished. The first responders offered medical attention, but she just wanted to go home. There is a current recall for this make and model, but not the year. What my daughter described, sounds like the current recall from Honda for other makes including the Pilot. I posted on social media and a few people reached out to say their 2017 honda pilot had a similar issue, but thankfully no fire. This recall is very serious because they are replacing the engine for owners. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Jan 15, 2024
I've had the engine and catalytic convertors fail on my 2017 Honda Pilot which is equipped with the J35Y6 engine. It is currently available for inspection as the vehicle sits unable to be driven safely from place to place. The vehicle is unable to be driven or carry passengers safely due to a constant misfire in the engine. This problem has been reproduced multiple times by an independent service center which had the vehicle for 3 weeks. No governmental agency or insurance representative has inspected the engine for failure. There were warning lamps that would come in and then clear on their own up and till the engine failure. The warning lamps would first appear while driving at highway speeds and then gradually started showing up while driving in city traffic.
Electrical system, Engine, Jan 8, 2024
With the IDLE function ON, the vehicle fails to start once the engine shuts down. The car suddenly stop and shut off at traffic lights, stop sides. Someone almost hit me 4 times during last month with my kids inside when the car fails to start. There is no recall about this problem yet.
Fuel system, Gasoline, Engine, Dec 21, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The Emission System Fault message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the cause of the failure was unknown. The contact was informed to add premium fuel and fuel injection cleaner however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rocker arm oil pressure switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,400.
Engine and engine cooling, Dec 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, he observed a ticking sound coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle started to lose motive power. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced due to the rod bearing fracturing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and complaint was filled. The contact believed that failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
Engine, Dec 15, 2023
I have 2017 Honda pilot , while driving, i was not able to accelerate and pulled over and after that engine stalled completely, dealer looked at and said need to replace engine , I was requesting dealer to send request to Honda ,to see if it recent recall related, it has been sitting at dealer for month now. Incident happened on 11/04 , it’s more than a month sitting at Honda dealer , dealer is saying , working with American Honda , they had recall for 2016 and 2018-2019 models already , it’s very frustrating
Engine, Dec 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 5MPH, there was a faint clicking sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for routine maintenance where it was diagnosed that the main bearing were loose and metal shavings were in the oil pan. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Dec 6, 2023
Driving vehicle when multiple warning lights illuminated, including check engine and emissions control issue. Vehicle sputtered to a stop and would not accelerate after that. Vehicle was towed to Honda dealership and they said it was a faulty rocker arm oil pressure switch.
Engine, Nov 29, 2023
Vehicle was diagnosed with a damaged #3 rod bearing and required the engine assembly (long block) to be replaced. The Honda dealership retained the engine after inspection and replacement. While driving on the highway with family in the car the vehicle developed a knocking noise from the engine and loss of power. Our safety was put at risk because I was forced to immediately pull off the highway. The engine was moments from catastrophic failure. Once pulled over we found the loud noise was from the engine assembly and were forced to call a tow truck to take the vehicle to a dealership. Honda inspected the assembly and it was replaced at a Honda dealership. No warning lamps or signs existed prior to or after the noise.
Electrical system, Engine, Nov 25, 2023
If I do remember to turn off the auto engine idle, the engine will stall at stoplights and will not immediately restart. I have almost been rear-ended several times. It just happened again about two weeks ago. The dealership replaced my battery and another part associated with this problem but it still occurs. The dealership refuses to disconnect the auto engine idle. My 2017 Honda Pilot should be included in the latest Honda Pilot recall.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Nov 8, 2023
I was at a stoplight at a busy intersection (car previously running well) & when I went to accelerate as the light turned green, my car leaped/jerked forward & would only accelerate to 5-8 mph. All of the warning lights on the dash lit up at the same time. I SLOWLY got out of the traffic & onto the side of the road. I turned the car off & back on. All the warning lights were still on. The car went into drive, but would not accelerate past 25 mph & was jerking. Honda evaluated the car & determined that it was the camshaft that wasn't manufactured correctly. Honda stated that this is a known Honda defect & already had parts packaged to fix the problem. I have all of the paperwork provided to me when the repairs were made. However, this is not acceptable. A known HONDA issue like this should be recalled & repaired ASAP. This is a huge safety concern for the Honda driver & those on the road around them. I was lucky that mine went out at a stoplight, but had I been driving & it shut down it would have been hazardous. As well, if I'm stopped & all of a sudden unable to accelerate that puts me at a very high risk for injury in an accident.