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: other or unspecified
135 reports, newest first. Show all
Other or unspecified, Nov 11, 2024
18 June 2021 took car in for A/C no longer working. They stated the a/c compressor failed, but not under recall, however they didn't have any parts since it was a common problem. Got the parts and repaired it 7 July 2021. Only safety issue is that on another Honda we own the compressor also failed during an interstate drive with thunderstorms and a tornado we couldn't see out of the window and while attempting to exit the interstate the compressor seized causing the engine to overheat leaving us stranded.
Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 29, 2024
I have a recall for fuel pump malfunction that was announced in December 2023. The first time I was notified was in February 2024 and today we are at the end of October 2024 (240 days) and there has been no update. My car failed to start twice and the battery was in good shape in May and July. The car constantly hesitates when trying to accelerate. Every time, I call a Honda dealer they tell me that the replacement for the item is not available. Upon checking for some affects that might be caused as a result of this recall, the fuel filter might get bad due to bad fuel pump, it might also affect the function of the fuel injectors, valves, and the whole fuel system. Honda wants to charge me just to take a look into this incident. I feel unsafe driving on highways or even in local areas as every time I try to accelerate, the car fails to go to full power and I am afraid that the car behind might hit me from the back if my car stops due to fuel pump failure. If the manufacturer or the dealer is unable to replace this part, I feel that they should change my car to a new car as I have been driving with this issue for over 8 months now with no visible progress.
Other or unspecified, Sep 7, 2024
Transmission needs replaced after I did transmission flush 5/24/24
Other or unspecified, Jul 1, 2024
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? THE A/C COMPRESSOR IS BAD, REMOVED DISCHARGE HOSE AND FOUND METAL CONTAMINATION. NEED TO REPLACE ALL MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE A/C SYSTEM. NEED TO REPLACE THE A/C COMPRESSOR, CONDENSER, EXPANSION VALVE, EVAPORATOR, DISCHARGE HOSE AND FLUSH LINES. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The safety of both the driver and passengers was compromised due to the malfunctioning air conditioning system in the 2017 Honda Pilot EX-L. Driving without a functional AC system can lead to discomfort, distraction, and potential health risks, especially during extreme weather conditions. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, problem has been confirmed by Honda of Bay County on 04 April 2024. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No
Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 11, 2024
Had an “Emission system” problem in Jan. 2024. The Honda services replaced fuel injector and other parts relating to the problem. However, 1,000 miles after the same problem showed up again and was told on 6/10/24 by the Honda services that problem is the same again after running a test. I tried contacting American Honda to check any recall and found out that anything relating to fuel injector has extended warranty. Today, 6/11/24, after I demand for free car loaner Honda services called to tell us that this time it was the catalityc converter fails. I’m very concern whether telling me the truth or not.
Other or unspecified, Apr 15, 2024
The radio intermittently changes volume, brightness level, turns off/on all by itself. This has caused the volume to get so loud I have to take my eyes off the road. There has been several other complaints online about this. It's dangerous to be driving to have the radio all of a sudden startle everyone and the driver tries to fix it while driving
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.
Other or unspecified, Feb 4, 2024
I was driving my 2017 Honda Pilot Exl back from work at 35-40 mph when I heard a loud thud noise. Initially I thought I had gotten a flat or something, but then I heard air escaping as if a window was open but it was coming from over my head. As I continued to drive I heard pieces of glass sliding across the roof of the car. When a got home a few minutes (< 10 minutes) later, I tried opening the sunroof tray and noticed I couldn’t and I could see that the glass looked to have shattered. I got out of the car and examined the roof of the car and the sunroof was indeed shattered.
Other or unspecified, Jan 14, 2024
On [XXX] I was traveling south on [XXX] from Omaha, NE to Bella Vista, AR. There were no other cars in view either behind me, ahead of me or traveling north in the opposite lanes, nor any debris on the highway when I heard a loud explosion. I thought I had blown a tire but had no problems steering the vehicle. I immediately pulled over to stop on the shoulder of the road. I got out of the car and saw that my sunroof had exploded. Small pieces of glass were everywhere. The time was late morning and the temperature was not especially hot. I reported this to Honda and to my insurance company. On June 18 my local dealer replaced the moonroof. My cost was $691.49. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Dec 30, 2023
While driving at normal speed car suddenly is unresponsive (will not accelerate, looses power, and is jumpy). The computer triggers a limp mode and alerts every code possible on the dash screen, even though all mechanical parts are fine. This computer/electric failure is a risk that is so unpredictable may cause life threatening accident. The certified repair shop has reviewed, reproduced, and is scratching their heads why Honda hasn’t recalled this because several other Pilots are doing the same.
Other or unspecified, Dec 5, 2023
Auto idle had been turning off and not re-starting quickly for past 6 months. I asked them to look at it last service. They didn't find anything wrong and said to turn off the auto idle. I did turn off the auto idle most of the time and never had a problem when it was off. Sometimes I forgot to turn off the autoidle. On Dec 5 2023, I was at a red light and had forgotten to turn off auto idle. The car would not turn back on and it was stuck in park. I had it towed and the mechanics said they needed to use a special tool to get it into neutral since the usual protocol had not worked. My car was stuck at a light and I directed traffic to go around me for about 30mins before the tow tuck came. There was no way to push the car out of the way because the wheels were locked due to it being stuck in Park. My safety and the safety of other cars was at risk because the cars went into the incoming traffic lane to go around me. If this had happened on a busy road or in traffic on a highway, it would have been more dangerous. A previous time they replaced the battery and this time they are replacing the starter. I am concerned that the problem will persist since the mechanics say there is nothing wrong with the auto idle. I do see that there is a class action suit and over 200 complaints to NHTSA on the autoidle for Honda Pilots. This is a serious safety concern to have a car stop that will not re-start and then cannot be put into neutral to be towed or pushed to the side.
Other or unspecified, Sep 14, 2023
On three separate occasions, the idol stop/start feature has failed requiring me to manually restart the car. Most recently, it took several attempts to restart before ignition fired all while holding up traffic on a busy street. During failed attempts to restart, it made a sound like it was attempting to restart but didn't have enough power. Weirdly, all three occasions have been at the same intersection, a light on an exit after driving non-stop on the interstate for an hour.
Other or unspecified, Aug 30, 2023
For over eight weeks, the vehicles alarm randomly goes off until it is disabled with key FOB. There is no indication of when it will alarm. It has happened during regular business hour and in the middle of the night, with no pattern in time of occurrence. This is a nuisance and disturbance to the public, as the alarm is very loud. Took the vehicle to the dealership for a diagnosis. Dealership diagnosed vehicle with a malfunctioning Keyless Access Control Unit. The part was on back order for eight weeks but it was delivered sooner than expected to the dealership. Diagnosis cost $195 and repair cost $659.59 for a total of $854.59.
Other or unspecified, Jul 24, 2023
The car had 49,400 miles on it when I decided to take a trip to see a friend in NC from NY about 3 hours into my trip a transmission temperature to high light came on. I pulled over turned the car off for a half hour and restarted it and the light disappeared after another hour a light came on that said transmission problems. I stopped in VA and brought it to a Valvoline where they flushed the fluid and said it was running low on transmission fluid. I continued on my journey and no light came on and 2 hours into driving the transmission temperature light came back on. When I arrived in NC I brought it to a Honda dealership where I was told I needed a new transmission on a car that only had 49,000 miles and was a $65,000 car. I also had to pull over on major highways because I was scared the car would catch fire. (Pulled over on NJ turnpike and I-95)
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, May 8, 2023
This vehicle keeps having a "Emissions System Problem" Then other times says "Transmission Temperature Too Hot" I bought and get this serviced at my local dealer. They don't know what the problem is and it goes away after I see them for a couple weeks but the problems come back. They say no problem. It's unnerving to drive a car with theses messages and I drive long distances.
Other or unspecified, Apr 5, 2023
My Honda continues to display a transmission service problem warning. There’s nothing specifically wrong with the transmission and this is a reported problem across the Internet. I suspect there is an issue with the torque converter or other part that is causing this error in some cases, passengers have been stranded.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Mar 29, 2023
On March 18th, 2023 at 6:30 PM I parked my car and waited for the curbside pick up at a cafe with my 3 girls 6 (my niece) 7, (daughter), and 11 (daughter) years old. The car started blinking all the lights started accelerating by themselves and turned off immediately. while I tried to turn it on it never started instead it blinked and displayed many messages, including transmission system problem, emission system problem, etc. I thought the battery died and called my husband to jump-start the car and it took 30 minutes to get driving with all these scary movements. my kids were traumatized by the experience and I thought thank god they were safe and the problem is solved. After almost a week once again on March 27th at I'm driving the kids to Karate and driving back at 5:45 PM all of sudden it started blinking, shanking, grinding noise, loud noise, and many messages, transmission system problems, emission system problems, etc. "D" drive started blinking. smoke came and I was still on the road not sure what to do. I thought I will be hit by the other cars behind me. luckily I was almost close to our street and it made a loud noise and I parked the car. it still blinked and smoked heavily and I turned off and got out of the car. It was a very scary movement of my life. I have 2 kids and I drive them every day for their day-2 day school/activities. I cannot believe I bought a new car in 2017 trusting the brand and it is already failed, my family. The car has to be towed to the dealership the dealer gave me a code P-2652. I want Honda to take care of their mechanical issues. I cannot get over the trauma I went through and I'm still shaking while I'm writing this. My 7 year old do not want to talk about the car which made me very sad. My girls loved the family car and now I'm in tears thinking about their safety. I want NHTSA to safeguard the consumers who go through these issues. HONDA PLEASE WAKE UP. My girls are ready to draft a letter to HONDA and NHTSA.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Mar 26, 2023
I have a 2017 Honda Pilot EX-L with a mileage of 41010 miles. I have completed all the recommended services in a timely manner by an authorized Honda Dealer. When I was driving the vehicle yesterday (3/25/2023) at a speed of around 65 mph, I got an error message saying "Transmission System Problem". There was no error code associated with it. There was no problem in the driving. But at the end of the drive, in the parking lot when I had to reverse, the backup camera will not turn on. After parking the vehicle and turning off the vehicle and restarting it, the error message went away. And then the backup camera also started to work fine. When I was driving back home, the error message came on again when the speed reached around 65 mph. I came home and searched about this error message and I came across a lot of complaints of the same nature for 2017 Honda Pilot owners. Please refer to the discussions on the following links as samples: https://is.gd/RB78A1 , https://is.gd/a84e9h . Since many owners are experiencing this, I am wondering if this is a manufacturing issue. Many owners are talking about the Dealerships asking them to replace Transmission which costs around $8000 or to replace Transmission torque converter which will cost $5000. As of now my vehicle drives fine but I got exactly the same message twice at the speed of about 65 mph. I am scared to take this vehicle on to highways since my vehicle is following exactly the same pattern as that of other owners of 2017 Honda Pilot. I also saw Honda Ridgeline owners in the same year also having similar experience online. All of this make me think that this is more of a design/manufacturing problem impacting many owners and hence may be NHTSA would want to look in to this.
Other or unspecified, Feb 25, 2023
Car has failed to restart numerous times after coming to a complete stop, typically at a traffic signal leaving me stranded in the middle of the road with cars whizzing by in adjoining lanes and cars behind me beeping. This creates a very great hazard. This has happened at least a dozen times. To restart the vehicle, I have to put the vehicle into park, put my foot on the brake, and press the start engine button. This issue started in 2019. Another issue is that periodically the dash display will rotate through every possible malfunction indicator. When this happens, each malfunction indicator light stays on the screen for a couple of seconds and moves onto the next one. When this is happening, the vehicle will not go any faster than 15-20 mph which I think is a safety mechanism to make sure the engine is not further damages if an actual issue is occurring. Fortunately, this has only happened on neighborhood streets where the speed limit is 35 mph so the sudden loss of power did not create an immediate hazard. This issue started in 2019. I took the vehicle to a Honda dealership regarding both these issues but they were unable to determine what caused these issues even after I showed them the video I took of the dash display rotating between all of the malfunction indicators. No police, insurance representatives, police or others have inspected the vehicle.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 22, 2023
Vehicle's start/stop system continuously failing. Vehicle will "stop" or shut off at intersection as intended, but then fails to restart, leaving my family stranded in the middle of traffic. This obviously creates a very dangerous situation for my family. This has happened several times. When you try to restart the vehicle it acts as if it doesn't have the power to do so. Inspections of the vehicle at the dealer continuously show the battery is in the "green" or great working condition. Although they've said this, their only response to the issue so far is to replace the seemingly fine battery.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 12, 2023
Was stopped at a very busy intersection today (2/12) and the vehicle's auto start/stop turned the vehicle off. When the light turned green, I attempted to apply gas and the engine stalled out. Was unable to restart the car again after many retries. I was very concerned that another vehicle would hit me since we were at a very busy intersection. All the electronic warnings on the dash appeared to flicker on and off when trying to restart. Eventually had to have the vehicle towed to the Honda dealer since the vehicle could not be jump started or restart on it's own.
Other or unspecified, Feb 12, 2023
I took ny Honda Pilot in for a routine oil change. I have had issues with a squeaky sound coming from under the hood. The dealership said my transmission fluid had broken down, and they had to flush/replace it. It cost me over $350. Honda said it wasn’t covered under warranty as it is a maintenance issue. I only have a little over 57,000 miles on it. The squeaky sound persisted, so they replaced a belt. I had to take it back a week after, because yup sound is still there. It was in the garage for over 2 weeks and I just got it back yesterday. I’m not sure exactly what they did, only know they had to take the undercarriage off to get to it. I never received the paperwork as the case hasn’t been closed by the repairman yet. I have an appointment Thursday February 16th to go over wheel bearing issues now and am supposed to get the paperwork for this last repair then. Very frustrating.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 4, 2023
The auto stop/start does not restart after stopping at a red light.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 4, 2023
I am reporting 2 safety issues in this report, both involving the AUTO STOP/START function in my car. SAFETY ISSUE #1: MALFUNCTIONING AUTO STOP/START (ASS) FUNCTION: At least 4 times during the past 2 months, I have had a serious safety issue with my 2017 Honda Pilot wherein it stalls and is completely inoperable for a short time, while I’m stopped at an intersection. This has caused me undue stress and jeopardized the safety of myself and my passengers, and disrupted traffic. According to my best recollection, the situation occurs when the ASS function stalls the engine (when stopped), and I manually press the ‘Disable ASS’ button to restart the engine. But instead of the engine turning back, all systems completely ‘black out’ as I frantically try to re-start the engine, to no effect. After several scary seconds, somehow it re-starts. SAFETY ISSUE #2: CORRECTLY FUNCTIONING ASS FUNCTION: Even when functioning correctly, the ASS function has caused a safety issue for me at least twice. When the ASS function was automatically engaged, I was unable to immediately accelerate to avoid a potential collision. Although no collision resulted, these few scares ‘trained me’ to manually disengage the ASS function whenever I remember to do so. Based on my experiences, It would be safest to have no ASS function at all.
Other or unspecified, Nov 2, 2022
Emissions System Problem On 8-11-2022, multiple lights came on the dashboard with multiple systems errors. Brought to dealership and they replaced the fuel injectors. The dealership stated that this was a known problem with the 2016-2017 Honda Pilot's. Honda is giving a 10-year, 150,000 mile extended warranty from the date of purchase to cover fuel injectors and pipes leading up to the fuel injectors. On 9-27-2022, dash lit up with another Emissions System Problem. Brought to same dealership and they stated that the vehicle needed a software update. On 10-31-2022, dash lit up for the third time showing Emissions System Problem. Brought to same dealership. Currently waiting on diagnosis.