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
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Oct 28, 2022
Car alarm keeps going off randomly and the electronic dashboard flickers repeatedly while the car is parked. I recently left the car at a parking garage and apparently the alarm was triggered and ran all day - I came back to the car that evening and there was clicking sound coming from the engine (not turned on, of course). The battery was drained and when I got a jump start, the alarm went off and the dashboard went crazy again. I wonder what would might happen when the car is being driven. There's clearly something wrong with the electronics. The dealer said I needed a new body control module (BCM), but the part is hard to come by apparently. Having done some research on the the issue, this appears to be a common problem with Honda Pilots. My car only has 50k miles on it and seems out of character to have this part fail. The short-term solution is to leave the car unlocked which in turn disarms the car alarm, but I've seen the dashboard and cabin lights flicker off and on in this state. This problem has been ongoing for months now.
Other or unspecified, Oct 17, 2022
Auto Start/Stop feature malfunction. Vehicle fails to restart after shutting off using Auto Start/Stop feature.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 11, 2022
This is my third incident of being stopped at a red light and the auto idle turns on. When the light turns green, and I release my foot from the break, my car stalls and tells me put it into park. My car essentially stalls out and I have to shut it off and on. Usually takes about 30 seconds to a minute for it to start up again. I almost got rear ended today at a light and I am concerned for my safety. How can we turn this into a recall and get this fixed before somebody gets injured?
Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 7, 2022
I am the owner of a 2017 Honda Pilot Touring. My car has been dealer maintained. It was most recently in for routine maintenance less than 3 weeks ago. On October 7, 2022 at approximately 2:00pm I was stopped at a major intersection. My Auto Idle Stop engaged and my engine went idle. When the light turned green, I let off the brake my car jumped 2-3 times and went dead. The dashboard showed the car to now be in Neutral and the battery indicator was lit. I quickly attempted to restart the car and/or put the car in Park. Over the course of 30+ seconds, I tried various combinations pushing the Start button or the Park button. There was no response. I attempted to call my husband, he was unavailable, so I tried again and the car started immediatley (while in neutral). I have had numerous instances of the Auto Idle Stop not responding quickly when it should restart. The delay can be up to 4 seconds after lifting my foot or turning the wheel. It has become my habit to turn off Auto Idle Stop when starting the car. I believe 90%+ of my driving is without it due to the unreliability. However the latest incident has me very concerned about driving the car. This along with other transmission/computer issues have been mentioned to my dealer during routine service. Many of those issues were corrected, however an issue with the Auto Idle Stop has not been discovered and I was advised to deactivate it when starting the car. Please keep in mind that the default setting is on. If I forget to deactivate or when someone borrows my car, this becomes a concerning issue. I contacted my Honda dealer and made an appointment to have it looked at again.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 23, 2022
Vehicle idle or auto start /stop is not functioning.. It has happened multiple times incluiding today 09/23/2022, were the vehicle shuts of and it doesnt start.. All this codes and instructions come up to try to turn the vehicle back on... It always happens is a street light and most of the time is a busy intersection with cars honking and the vehicle is off... IT IS VERY UNSAFE... It takes a couple of minutes to start the car on.. My wife has been stranded for 10 minutes in the middle of traffic going by trying to start the car.. I had this issue at 40k miles and took it to the dealership and paid $746.96 to get the Valve adjusted to correct auto start... Now at 73k miles is happening again... It started at 60k.. Today 09/23/2022 im at the dealership and they say the cant find any code THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE...
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 18, 2022
The car sometimes fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or stop sign with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. Furthermore, on two recent occasions the car would not start at all after it was turned off to get gas. One of those times it sat for 40 minutes at the gas pump while waiting for a jump start (it eventually started on its own), and the other it had to be towed to the dealer. After the first incident, we were told there was nothing wrong with the battery and a month later, when the car had to be towed, we were told the battery was completely dead. The concern with the start/stop trouble has been reported to the dealer and we were told there was nothing they could see. There have been no warning lights, lamps or messages. The start/stop problem began approximately a year ago, and we have tried to turn that feature off when driving, due to the problems that occur, since we were told there wasn't a problem that could be seen. On the occasions we forget to take this step, it always struggles at a stoplight or intersection and if not caught in time, the car will stall out, sometimes taking 2-3 tries to restart. The vehicle is currently in the shop, awaiting a battery replacement as we have been told that is what is causing the start/stop issue.
Other or unspecified, Sep 17, 2022
Twice now and it seems to be worse in the summer when the air conditioning is running the auto shut off at a stoplight fails to restart the engine and the car dies at an intersection. This feature is dangerous and very frustrating to the point where I turn this feature off every time I get in the car now. This is happened both to me and to my 16-year-old son. Many times when it tries to reengage it has a hard time starting right back up. This is in addition to the two times it completely died.
Other or unspecified, Sep 15, 2022
The start- stop function will turn the vehicle off at a light, stop sign, or while stopped in traffic. Once the brake is released the vehicle fails to restart. The vehicle is now obstructing traffic and vulnerable to a rear in collision. Took the vehicle to the dealer five times and the were never able to reproduce the problem. The dealer replaced the battery staying out was low thus it was unable to restart the vehicle once it stopped. There had been not warnings when the start-stop was going to fail. It randomly happens in multiple driving conditions, i.e. highway or city driving conditions. For the vehicle to malfunction at random times puts my family and other drivers at risk each time it happens. Currently the Dealer can not find or duplicate the problem. They have been made fully aware of the problem.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 14, 2022
Vehicle failed to restart when stopped at signal light the idle function shut the vehicle down but I had to completely restart the engine rather than it automatically restart as usual. A real traffic hazard
Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 9, 2022
My 2017 Honda Pilot has intermittent issues with the automatic idle feature at stops. It will sometimes stall out completely, requiring me to shift to park and restart the car completely. This feature has never worked properly; therefore, I have to shut the feature off everytime I drive for safety. I have told my dealer about this problem numerous times and they have “not been able to replicate” the problem. They have replaced battery for this reason at least once but it did not fix the problem.
Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Engine, Aug 29, 2022
While driving in the highway , took an exit and slowed down and stop in a traffic and the car ‘s engine stop suddenly and Iam unable to restart it, the brake pad feels stuck and the neutral and drive button does not work, when you turn it on the other electronic still works like the audio and air conditioning but the engine will not turn on . It took us about an hour before the car start working again , causing a long traffic jam in the highway due to we can’t even put the car on neutral for other cars to help us move it on the side, 2 police officers came to the rescue to help us but it didn’t work until we tried again and for some divine intervention the engine start working again. I will have my car check at the honda service in the next few days.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Aug 24, 2022
The auto start/stop on my vehicle doesn't always work. I come to a complete stop, the vehicle turns off and when I pick my foot up off the brake to restart the car sometimes it will stall. There is no warning message or indication whether or not the car is about to stall, it just happens randomly. We cannot consistently replicate the issue. In order to restart the car I have to hit the start button, wait for the car to completely shut off and then turn the car back on creating a huge safety issue especially if I'm in the middle of an intersection waiting to make a left-hand turn. This is an accident waiting to happen. I brought my car to a Honda dealership approximately 6 months ago and brought the issue up to them. They told me they could find no issue with the car, couldn't replicate it and told me they had never heard of it before. It wasn't until I did an online search a few days ago that I realized that I wasn't the only one having this issue. I drive my children in this car and would be willing to allow anyone to inspect my vehicle to try to get to the root of the issue. This is a huge safety issue for what is supposed to be a safe family vehicle.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 23, 2022
we bought April 2021 and 1st issue not even 60 days after purchase, dealer removed warranty without us knowing! We have had problems ever since with warming lights coming on & flashing on multiple occasions, even while traveling @ 50 mph!. Huge safety issue as the vehicle jolts and then looses power and can't pick up speed and go with flow of traffic! Someone will get in an accident because of it and that will be a HUGE liability for honda as you all are ware of these issues and are doing NOTHING to recall them and fix the problem! This is a problem for many honda pilot owners from all the honda forums i have read and research ive been doing! i want the issue resolved as this is NOT a random. I just read that there was a service bulletin in 8/2019 pertaining to this specific car/VIN and it references faulty fuel injectors. i have no way to know if this was completed. i feel i should be able to have the injectors serviced/replaced at NO COST to me as this is a HUGE problem with 2016-2017 pilots and the fact a honda dealer pretty much sold us a LEMON of a car! I want our pilot fixed as it is a problem that Honda has been having with 2016-2017 pilots and Honda should be liable for this! Happened again today and has been happening more frequent in the past few months but have been dealing with it since we bought the vehicle. recent mechanic said the ECM/PCM may be faulty as you cant get a viable code as everytime it happens it throws all kinds of warning lights & codes that are not accurate.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 19, 2022
I have a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite. My car has had issues since I purchased with the stop/start feature and it’s progressively gotten worse. It’s currently failing every day. In 2017, it was the automatic stop not working right. It would intermittently come on/off when at a complete stop. It never quite functioned properly. It’s so bad, that I turn feature off when I start the car. Unfortunately, I can’t have it default to off so if I don’t remember to turn off auto-start every single time, then I have issues. My son was 3 years old when I bought my car. I would be at stops and the car would shut off. Then, it wouldn’t start. It would require me to press brake+gas+start button to reset car. I have come very close to getting into accidents while at stops and have had drivers with road rage come after me since I made them miss the light while my car restarts. I have been in the turn lane with heavy traffic and my car stops in the middle of the intersection. In 2018-2020, it progressively gotten worse. I took to Southeastern Honda to get looked at and was told that’s just how it works. After 2020, the car stops and will not restart at all. It would intermittently happen where I would need to get a jump start to get car running. I took to Space Coast Honda thinking it was my battery or starter. I was told that it tested fine, but still does it. In 2022, my car progressively got worse and requires a jump start. I since purchased a jump starter that is portable. I have to use it every single day. I have narrowed down the symptoms. If I drive 30 minutes and turn car off and immediately back on.. it will not turn over. I have to wait 4 hours and it works. I have measured my stop battery at 11.7 when it doesn’t work. If I wait 4 hours or jump start.. then it requires a 12.6 to start. I researched and found article that is exactly what happens https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2016-2020-honda-pilot-nhtsa-investigation-engine-failures/#ftag=COS-05-10aaa0j
Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 15, 2022
When my auto stop idle engine kicks on, and stalls when I try to depress brake and press gas. It has happened approximately 10 times over the past year and a half, always in an intersection when it’s dangerous. I have taken to the dealership more than once and they have been unable to resolve and recommended I replace my battery which I did which has not made the situation better. I also just filed a complaint with Honda but this is very dangerous and needs attention.
Other or unspecified, Aug 15, 2022
On multiple occasions, while the auto idle was one, I stop at a red light or intersection and when I lift my foot off the brake the vehicle shuts completely off. One time, I called 911 for police officer assistance to alert that I was stranded in the middle of the highway. I was so afraid I was going to be rear ended by fast moving traffic. Just yesterday, while stopped at a red light, a fire engine stopped and 4 fire fighters got out to offer assistance while I sat there stranded alone on this busy highway trying to get my vehicle to start back up. The brakes lock up and the vehicle completely shuts down. Each time I try many times to get my car started and it takes many attempts to crank the vehicle. I asked my service agent about the problem and he was unaware. He said they would have to drive the car to see if it happens with them and there is a diagnostic fee for this. I declined because it does not happen every time and I felt quite sure it would not happen when they were looking for it. This malfunction is sporadic.
Other or unspecified, Aug 15, 2022
The car will completely shut off at a light or stop sign, where there is no lights on no radio nothing . It’s does it all the time . The repair shop said it was my transmission so got it replaced, it just made it worse it does it more often than before, what scare me the most is that it happen to my kids while they was driving and it shut off in middle of a 4 way. They don’t know why it keeps happening. No explanation at all . They need to recall all they ones that are having trouble with them.then sometimes after you park it , it doesn’t want to start .
Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 4, 2022
The auto engine idle stop fails to restart the engine after stopping at stop lights, stop signs, in traffic, etc. Even after repeatedly "working" to turn off the car and turn it back on, it can take up to 2 minutes to effectively turn off the car so it may be restarted. This feels extremely dangerous at stoplights, but especially when caught in stop and go traffic on the highway or on a bridge. Cars go around into the intersection, honk, and when traffic picks up from the stop-and-go situation, cars drive by at high rates of speed while I sit motionless in the middle of the highway. While I more often than not remember to turn off this "feature" when starting the car, there are times that I forget. It has been horrible for my newly licensed driver. The anxiety and stress this has caused has led to learned anxiety while riding in and driving other cars that do not have this "feature." The problem was first reported to my local dealer in 2021. Today I asked the dealer to look at it again, while the SUV was undergoing a fix for the hood recall, and I was informed it would be a $140 diagnostic fee and then whatever the cost would be to "fix" observed problems. The dealer has not documented my complaints about said problem, though they ran diagnostics and indicated that the starter and battery were operating according to spec. They "reset" the system in November, but it did not help with the problem quickly reappearing.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 2, 2022
Per PE 22-005, with Auto Idle Stop enabled, when coming to a stop light, I stopped. When the light turned green, and I let my foot off the brake, the engine would not restart, as if the battery were dead. I put the car in Park, turned it off, turned it back on, and was able to restart the engine. This happened in about March of 2021. Since that time I always disable Auto Idle Stop, as it may create an unsafe traffic condition or accident if this were to happen in traffic. I was going to replace the battery, but have not done so since the occurrence 16 mos. ago, and have had no other issues with the battery in that time.
Other or unspecified, Aug 2, 2022
Today (8/2/22) is the second time this has happened to my vehicle: The engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. My car died, with bare components still working (windows and a few lights came on - battery and oil), but I was in the middle of a busy intersection when this happened, which is also a few feet away from a railroad crossing, which would have endangered the lives if others were behind me if they failed to pay attention to my hazard lights - which they did). My battery was replaced at the Honda dealership in April 2021, so it's less than 2 years old. A jump was required for the vehicle to restart and is now at Germain Honda of Dublin (again) for inspection of the issues.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jul 30, 2022
I was stopped at a red light. The stop idol engaged and the vehicle did not start when I attempted to make my turn. The instrument panel indicated that I should shift to park. I did so and attempted to restart the vehicle but it did not start. After a number of attempts to restart it eventually turned on and I drove straight home. I was in the middle of a major intersection with my son in the car. Car zooming by me as my car was stuck in the turning lane. If a car failing to start as a result of a feature that was integrated by the manufacturer isn’t a safety issue then I don’t know what a safety concern would be classified as according the this institution. Permanently shutting off the feature is not an option as it renegades every time you start the car initially. The car has stalled a few times prior to today’s incident but this is the first time it failed to restart. As I drove home I reengaged the system to see what would happen, if failed to restart again and began the stall every time once the idol stop was engaged. This is unsafe. If I forget to turn off the function of this feature and I am on an expressway what happens if the car fails to restart, my brakes lights may not be pressed as I am thinking I am simply going to drive off and I could get rear ended at 60 miles an hour. This is a safety issue. This is a ticketing time bomb and further delays are putting thousands of lives at risk. I did I not know about the problem until I research the internet to find a solution. Why haven’t we been informed of this problem? Is this institution waiting for the body count to be high enough to warrant a consumer alert? This is a safety issue.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jul 17, 2022
The Auto Start/Stop feature on my 2017 Honda Pilot has had issues for the last 2 year. It started with the engine occasionally "hesitating" to restart after I held the brake pedal down at a stop light. As it started to happen more frequently, I took it to my Honda dealer and they told me that they could not recreate the issue and thus could not diagnose and fix it. Within the last 6 months, the issue has become more and more frequent and severe to the point that I have been worried about the car not restarting and have been manually turning off the Auto Start/Stop feature when I drive the vehicle. It does seem to occur more frequently in hot weather when I running the A/C and there is more of load on the engine and system. On July 16, 2022, I forgot to turn off the Auto Start/Stop feature, and at the first stoplight that I stopped at, the feature turned on, shut off my engine and then failed to restart. I had to put the car in Park and then it took me a few moments to get the car to re-start. The vehicle was very slow to respond, as I was afraid of the car not restarting at all. After a couple of minutes the car did restart. I turned off the Auto Start/Stop feature and did not have any further issues on my drive home. After the failure to restart from the Auto feature, my dashboard told me to put the car in park and restart. I do not recall if any other warning lights appeared, as I was franticly trying to get car restarted in the middle of traffic and cars honking at me. Once the car restarted all warning lights disappeared. Upon returning home that day, I Googled the issue before making an appointment with my dealer again. I became aware of NTHSA's investigation into this issue. From my experience, Honda should recall these vehicles and fix the issue. Someone could have hit me from behind at speed, as it was a green light and not everyone is always fully paying attention, or has poor depth perception.
Other or unspecified, Jul 10, 2022
The engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. This has happened on numerous occasions and sometimes will not even restart manually, causing other vehicles to have to go around and dodge the stalled vehicle in the middle of busy intersections. Honda mechanic can not reproduce the problem when in the shop, leading to no resolution. Problem continues even after having the battery completely replaced and cleaning the fuel injectors.
Other or unspecified, Jul 7, 2022
auto stop/start feature. we have to insure to turn it off when we drive to avoid it not working properly...stops completely and we have restart the car manually and it sometimes seems it doesn't want to restart. if it does work, power to other systems, radio, all blink off then on. we don't trust this feature and thought it was battery issue but shop tested battery and no issues with it. we have been lucky when this has happened, with only one car behind us when it failed to restart in the city at night. my wife was scared. i had to talk her out of the situation on my phone, the other car was patient. this could cause an accident. this has been happening since 2018 and we only avoid by shutting the feature off. honda needs to reimburse us for this worthless and dangerous feature. they also should allow us to turn it off since it is a safety issue
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jun 27, 2022
I moved into the left lane to merge onto another road. I had to come to a stop because a car had was stopped ahead of me. After that car moved, I lifted my foot from the brake and pushed the gas to make my left hand turn. The car didn’t move. A light flashed on the car that said something like “to start engine push brake and push start” I looked down at the gear shifter and noticed it was on N. I tried to hit “drive.” The car flashed the sign again. I put the car in park. I tried to put the car back in drive. The car would not change gears. I put on my hazard lights, turned off the car, and restarted it. The car transitioned from park to drive. There have been many instances where I’m merging onto a roadway or slowing down to turn left where the car hesitates. I will be braking. I lift my foot from the brake to press the gas pedal and nothing happens. The car moves because it’s going downhill, but the gas pedal is not causing the car to move. When the car does finally move, it moves with a huge lurch. There have been times that I'm unable to move my car with the gas pedal while crossing traffic. It's terrifying and Honda says that they are unaware of the problem and unable to replicate it.