2017 HONDA PILOT Engine Problems

418 NHTSA complaints on file

Check any vehicle history by VIN - Free vehicle history report

All Engine Complaints — Page 3

#11624628 |
Complete engine failure about 2 weeks ago
#11622091 |
On October 24th I was parked at a rest area and started the engine on my 2017 Honda Pilot. When I did I heard a knocking in the engine and the oil light came on. I immediately shut the engine off and checked the oil. I contacted a wrecker and had it towed to the nearest Honda Dealership. I was advised that it’s probably a faulty Rod bearing. I did research and found out there was a recall on the 2016, 2018, 2019 pilots but skipped my year except the 2016 Ridgeline. I contacted Honda Corporate and they stated I had to get a physical inspection done at the Honda dealer again and it might or might not be covered. I did not get a definitive answer. I don’t understand when the 2016 and 2018 have a recall for an issue that occurred on my car, but my car is...
#11621708 |
Our vehicle developed an engine knock 1 week after purchase. The mileage on the vehicle is 110,914. We took the vehicle to a certified Honda dealership which has had all maintenance at Honda’s recommended service intervals complete for the entirety of the vehicles life. The problem was reproduced at the dealership and upon further investigation, the tech found connecting rod bearings and main bearing failure. I received an estimate for repairs in total of over $15,400. American Honda is aware of this issue and has remedied it through work found in safety recall 23V-751. Our specific 2017 model doesn’t fall under the recall, but it has the same symptoms detailed in the recall. American Honda has been contacted for inquiry and vehicle is currently at the dealer awaiting further response.
#11620998 |
Transmission dies at 128,00 miles
#11619121 |
1. While driving on the highway at approximately 70 MPH, the engine’s crankshaft and connecting rod bearings suffered premature wear, leading to a catastrophic engine seizure. The engine failed while the vehicle was in motion, leaving us in a highly dangerous situation. The odometer reading at failure was 60,764 miles. 2. This mechanical failure put my children’s lives and mine at significant risk. When the engine seized, the vehicle rapidly decelerated without warning, which could have easily resulted in a high-speed collision and potentially fatal consequences. By sheer luck, I was able to navigate across lanes of traffic and pull the car onto the shoulder without incident, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. 3. I authorized a full engine tear-down to pursue goodwill assistance from Honda of America, but despite the clear mechanical failure, my request was ultimately denied. The root cause of the failure was the shredding of the connecting...
#11618670 |
Vehicle fails to restart after the auto engine idle stops the car. Looks like this is a known issue but the dealer I bought this car from isn't doing anything to fix it.
#11618047 |
While the vehicle was being driven, the engine suffered catastrophic failure putting the driver and nearby motorists lives at risk. Vehicle was taken to Honda dealership for inspection, and it was found that there was a large hole in the bottom of the engine block with one of the pistons poking through the hole.
#11615995 |
I am the original owner and have regularly maintained my vehicle. Current miles is around 69k, now needs a new engine. Early engine failure, something about a rod. This is the same problem the 2016, 2018, and 2019 Pilots have been recalled for. Original quote from dealer (Norm Reeves Honda in Vista, CA) to repair was over $10k. I have gotten an offer from Honda America to repair it for $1982 now, but the value may be as low as $11,500 after I pay to repair it. About 2 weeks ago I had a Carmax offer for $19,000. Not sure why the value of the car would drop almost $8,000 after I pay to repair it. I see many people online reporting early engine failure on their 2017 Honda Pilots, too. After we shared on Instagram that we were stranded 700 miles from home (and had to pay for a...
#11613628 |
After driving for over 30 minutes, mixed highway and road, at a stop light, the autostart failed, engine turned off, and went into neutral, w/ a warning the autostart failed. Put into park and restart engine. Cars honking, got the car started after 30 seconds or so. Did not immediately go into park when pushed!
#11610363 |
I was sitting at a red light with my foot on the brake. The Auto Engine Idle Shut Off system was engaged. When the light turned green, I lifted my foot off the brake to start moving an the engine wouldn't turn back on. Instead, the vehicle automatically kicked itself into neutral and displayed a message on the screen telling me that I had to put the car in park when the engine was off. It so happened that a police car was a couple of cars back from me. So I put the car in park, turned on my emergency blinkers, and went to tell the policeman what happened. When I went to show him, I turned the engine on and it started up like normal. It sounds like the Honda Pilot Auto Engine Idle Shut Off is a dangerous and defective feature that can leave a person getting...
#11608622 |
Our 2017 Honda Pilot (VIN# [XXX] ) was affected by Honda's recall to correct the vehicle stalling out at a stop, and having difficulty re-starting the engine. We had the recommended action performed at our dealer to update the engine software, which appeared to adjust the idle upwards. Since then, our vehicle has stalled less than before, but continues to have the same problem. In July 2024, our Honda Pilot stalled at a stop sign near Paris, KY and would not re-start for about 1 minute - we had traffic behind us which was upset that we couldn't quickly re-start the vehicle. I informed the service rep at Gary Smith Honda that we had a recurrence of the problem and was told that if the vehicle was failing intermittently that the dealer could not troubleshoot the problem until the vehicle failed at a regular interval. Today, [XXX], the vehicle stalled...
#11607984 |
Engine spun connecting rod bearing on Cylinder 1 just as described in TSB 23-097. Car shutoff going highway speeds on the interstate. The car is currently at the honda dealer getting an engine replacement. Honda OEM certified powertrain warranty will only put a used engine with potentially the same issue in the vehicle Check engine light, and transmission problem lights all came on. Engine initially reported a misfire and transmission complained of not enough torque coming from the engine.
#11604890 |
The auto idle stop feature restart did not work properly and instead the car froze in stop and go traffic on a freeway. Not only did the restart, not work properly in addition the car's electronics froze with multiple error messages on the dashboard coming up. I had to turn the car off by pressing the engine start/stop button, waiting and then restarting it like normal.
#11603211 |
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a pinging noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine rod bearings were failing and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
#11601539 |
Emissions system error
#11594057 |
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.
#11589577 |
Rod bearing failure, engine replacement required. Recall for 2016, 2018, 2019 Pilots for same issue.
#11587442 |
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...
#11585779 |
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.
#11585343 |
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.
#11579934 |
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.
#11579966 |
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.
#11575941 |
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...
#11572699 |
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.
#11572840 |
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)
#11571749 |
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)
#11571412 |
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...
#11570572 |
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.
#11569719 |
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.
#11565949 | 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...
#11565603 |
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.
#11564082 |
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.
#11561328 |
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.
#11560335 |
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
#11558740 |
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.
#11558833 |
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.
#11557415 |
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.
#11556732 |
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.
#11554160 |
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...
#11552510 | Fire
Shortly after entering the freeway, the dask lights began to flicker and car started stuttering. Drive for another mile or slow looking to pull over. By that time smoke coming from rhe engine. Once we pulled over, engine area smoking a lot to where smoke coming into car. All of us git out and saw flames coming from engine area. Our pilot was on fire. Firefighters able to put out, but car was a total loss
#11551830 |
The transmission completely broke/ went out. Honda knows this is a recurrent issue with these vehicles. The fuel injectors had already been replaced on this vehicle at 40,000 miles before Honda was admitting a defect. They are well aware there are transmission issues for the Honda Pilot but are not taking responsibility costing car owners thousands. We were left on the side of the road, needing to use insurance to cover towing. Rather than dealing with labor we sold the car at a great loss of money. This is hear say but the towing complaint reports they are towing Honda Pilots consistently these days. Honda should be held responsible.
#11550137 |
I am getting the 'Emissions System Failure" notification on the dashboard. It comes at random times and sometimes it goes away. I am not sure what the problem is as the vehicle is well maintained and there is no other issue. I read that it is in the recall list of 2019 vehicle so I guess this is the same issue for 2017 as well.
#11547637 |
Car auto shuts offs and completely shut off and need to put the car in park and pray it restarts. Dangerous ... One day someone will slam into me when i am trying to start it and I hope i am not killed. I picked one date, but it happens weekly.
#11546948 |
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? In the past few months (My 23 to current Sept 23) the idle stop system would occasionally not restart when gas was applied. This mostly occurred when stopped for a traffic light and I would have to go through a complete restart procedure taking a good amount of time. and causing the folks behind me a great deal of unhappiness. I believe this a significant safety issue because it causes people to drive unsafely in dense traffic environments. The system is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? This caused the folks behind me a great deal of unhappiness. I believe this is a significant safety issue because it causes people to react hurriedly and drive unsafely in dense traffic environments. Has the problem been reproduced or...
#11544685 |
The auto start/stop will intermittently fail to restart the engine from a stop after releasing foot the brake pedal. 2017 model year. In 2022 (4 year old vehicle) the auto start/stop failed to restart on three separate occasions from a stop at traffic lights over the course of one winter month. All electronics in the vehicle shut off while dash needles oscillate rapidly. It takes several attempts to restart the vehicle from park. Replaced only the battery with new AC Delco Group 48 AGM CCA 760 on my own. Problem did not reoccur until 18 months later in the summer of 2023 with the same exact symptoms but occurring more frequently now. The battery is 18 months old, the vehicle is now 6 years old. It has failed to restart seven times in the last 2 summer months. Have not taken it to the dealer or mechanic for repair yet....
#11542530 |
En algunos modelos Pilot 2016-2017, Ridgeline 2017 y Odyssey 2018, la luz indicadora de fallas (MIL) puede encenderse si uno de los siguientes códigos de diagnóstico de problemas (DTC) se almacena: P0420 (Eficiencia del sistema catalizador del banco trasero por debajo del umbral [banco 1]) P0430 (Eficiencia del sistema catalizador del banco delantero por debajo del umbral [banco 21) P0300-P0306 (falla de sincronización)
#11542375 |
The idle function shuts the car down while driving. At random stops the car turns off causing us to restart the car. It has created a very dangerous scenario for the family at intersections. The Honda dealer did not address the issue.
#11540856 |
Honda pilot with start stop system will shut off the engine when possible. In some cases the car will shut off and. Or restart and flash various warnings on the dashboard. Only way to fix is wait some time and shut off car and restart. This is dangerous as this happens randomly when highways and local roads. And it takes time to get the car restarted and the engine restarted in those cases. I went to the Honda dealer to get a recall around start stop, the dealer said this would fix the issue, but this issue is still happening. There are no other issues with the car.
#11539529 |
auto start/stop completely shuts car off and forces you to put car in P and hit the start button. creates a dangerous situation at intersections.
#11539327 |
Car has died twice when coming to a stop at red lights. seems to be related to the auto stop/start engine setup. Car turns itself off but cannot start right back up again. Every red light flashes but will not easily restart. hundreds of complaints regarding this on the NHTSA website. The NHTSA needs to investigate this, cars being stuck in traffic is a safety issue. since its affecting cars years off the line, it must be some component that is failing prematurely. All of these are extreme safety issues as the car is stuck in traffic, or at light and has to be completely shut off, wait and then restart. Last time took a good 3-4 minutes to get it started again.

Other 2017 HONDA PILOT Problem Areas

Electrical System 239 complaints Unknown Or Other 123 complaints Fuelpropulsion System 111 complaints Power Train 107 complaints Vehicle Speed Control 27 complaints Service Brakes 24 complaints Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings 15 complaints Seat Belts 14 complaints Exterior Lighting 10 complaints Fuel System Gasoline 10 complaints Structurebody 10 complaints Visibilitywiper 10 complaints Engine And Engine Cooling 9 complaints Electronic Stability Control Esc 8 complaints Steering 7 complaints Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking 6 complaints Suspension 6 complaints Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control 5 complaints Lane Departure Warning 5 complaints Electrical Systeminstrument Panelspeedometerodometer 4 complaints Latcheslockslinkages 4 complaints Structure 4 complaints Air Bags 3 complaints Back Over Prevention Warnings 3 complaints Lane Departure Assist 3 complaints Seats 3 complaints Visibilitysunmoon Roof Assembly 3 complaints Fuel System Gasolinedeliveryfuel Pump 2 complaints Child Seatharnesscrotch Strap 1 complaint Electrical System Instrument Clusterpanel 1 complaint Electrical System12v24v48v Battery 1 complaint Electrical Systemalternatorgeneratorregulator 1 complaint Electrical Systembody Control Modulebcm 1 complaint Electrical Systemignition 1 complaint Electrical Systemstarter Assembly 1 complaint Electrical Systemwiringfuses And Circuit Breakers 1 complaint Fuel System Gasolinefuel Injection System 1 complaint Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection 1 complaint Lane Departure Lane Keep Steering Assist 1 complaint Latcheslockslinkagesdoorslock 1 complaint Power Trainautomatic Transmission 1 complaint Power Trainautomatic Transmissiontorque Converter 1 complaint Service Brakes Hydraulicantilocktraction Controlelectronic Limited Slipabs Warning Light 1 complaint Structurebodyhood 1 complaint Traction Control System 1 complaint Visibilitywindshield 1 complaint Wheels 1 complaint
Check any vehicle history by VIN - Free vehicle history report