NHTSA Complaint #11456609 — 2015 HONDA PILOT

On February 3, 2022, the right front lower control arm bushing was observed to be leaking fluid. This condition was confirmed by a Honda dealer toward the end of the same month. The failed bushing is a defective design that has existed on Pilot vehicles since at least 2009 and persisted in successive models. The fluid-filled elastomeric bushing failure is manifested by loss of fluid which leaves a black streak on the underside of the control arm necessitating an unscheduled maintenance action. Left undetected, the failure would lead to a loss of structural integrity and conceivably a loss of control under consistent hot and dry environmental conditions where polymer degradation is accelerated.The attached files depict the failed bushing as well as a serviceable bushing from the same vehicle.