2021 HONDA PILOT Unknown Or Other Problems
67 NHTSA complaints on file
Unknown Or Other Issues in the 2021 HONDA PILOT
67 unknown or other complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2021 HONDA PILOT. Of these, 1 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 1 resulted in injury.
67
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Unknown Or Other Complaints
The auto-idle feature on this vehicle stalls out the engine on a regular basis, causing risk of accident from surrounding traffic. When breaks applied for red light, stop sign, traffic, etc., the auto-idle feature first engages and powers down the engine, however upon releasing the breaks, the engine stalls out, shifts into neutral, and the battery light comes on. I then have to get it into park and try to restart the vehicle. Sometimes it starts right away, other times it can take a few tries. Meanwhile, cars behind me are honking because I can't get my vehicle to move forward with traffic. Several times I have almost been rear-ended because the car behind me is expecting me to move forward when they see my brake lights turn off. I've talked to my dealer who informed me they completed a auto-idle recall software update in 2023 (recall #23-008) but the...
After I drove for 30 minutes and made a stop in a red light, the car automatically went to neutral position and I wasn't able to turn it back to driving or parking ( the brake locks) and I had to turn the car off for 10 seconds in the middle of the road and put my emergency lights on. After I turn it back on It worked normally.
Honda’s Auto Idle Stop system shuts vehicle off when at a full stop and fails to restart after removing foot from the brake. Instead, when you remove your foot off the brake, the vehicle switches to neutral or park and does not restart despite following on screen instructions to restart (Example: switch to park, put foot on the brake, and press start button). We have to put the hazard lights on and try the steps over and over again until it restarts. This is a major safety issue, especially when at a traffic light or in heavy traffic, where every second counts and you have to worry about someone not noticing that you are stopped or have hazard lights on and plows into you.
Wife was driving car and it stalled when slowing down for a red light. No check engine light or dash warning notices. Car then displayed instructions to restart the car Tried to restart 4 or 5 times. Finally started. We were lucky she was not on a highway driving at highway speeds.
My Honda Pilot experiences a serious safety issue with the Auto Idle Stop feature. When the system engages at a stop (such as a red light), the vehicle sometimes fails to restart, leaving me stalled in traffic. This creates a dangerous situation for myself and other drivers. The problem appears to be related to the Auto Idle Stop system and/or the auxiliary battery. Many other Honda owners are reporting similar issues, which suggests this may be a widespread defect that needs investigation. I just dropped the car at Honda dealership for further inspection
When using Apple CarPlay (wired or wireless), audio intermittently skips and stutters like a skipping CD or static AM radio. This only occurs on CarPlay, not Bluetooth. The skipping can make navigation prompts and hands-free calls unintelligible. Bluetooth audio works fine. Concern: The infotainment/head unit system may be part of the known MOST bus / FAKRA connector issue documented in Honda TSB A20-058 (which covers 2019-21 Pilot/Passport). Although my VIN shows no recalls, the behavior suggests a communication defect in the infotainment system. Safety relevance: This impacts driver attention and safety, since distorted CarPlay audio interferes with navigation directions, voice calls, and Siri prompts. It forces the driver to look down at the phone more frequently, which increases distraction.
Car does not restart after auto start stop is engaged, car stalls at intersections, causing dangerous conditions.
Auto engine idle keeps stalling When I press the brake the engine cuts off idle and when I release the brake engine stall
The USB port of connection for apple CarPlay, yes it is available for inspection. Distraction is caused from disconnection of directions while driving. Meaning directions will disconnect when in use putting others at risk No No Yes, “ to use Apple CarPlay, check the settings on your vehicle and iPhone and connect a compatible iPhone to the USB port”. Although the settings are fine and it is compatible because it connected five seconds ago.
I closed my back door and my back hatchback window shattered outwards. It isn’t winter and nothing hit window. The entire window shattered at same time. Not a crack and then shattered.
Auto start/stop feature turned off the engine at a stoplight. When the light turned green and the brake pedal was released, the engine did not restart. There also appeared to be some sort of electrical malfunction since the start stop button would not turn off the ignition system in an attempt to reset the vehicle. This happened on a light regulated highway with a posted speed limit of 55 mph.
I notice there is an investigation on the Honda Pilot Stop and start shutting off the engine this also happen to my car twice this week and also once prior to this. There are also issue where the radio will restart when the auto stop and start restart. In the report I don't believe the 2021 Honda Pilot was included.
The Auto-Idle-Stop system in my Pilot just shut off my engine and then failed to restart. The engine finally restarted after multiple attempts and finally holding the start button for 5 seconds. This happened in traffic and could have caused an accident.
We've been having a continuous issue and taken it to out Escondido Honda dealership, to the service department. Our service department advisor named Omar had his tech look at it awhiel ago but they couldn't come up with anything. I recently saw the 2 million vehicle recalls on including the Honda Pilot, which we have a 2021 Special Edition. When I put in my VIN it says that there are no recalls as of right now. However, our vehicle is exhibiting the same exact mechanical failure as described in the NHTSA recall. The auto start stop is failing to reengage when trying to start going after the stop light turns green, it completely dies out and won't restart, leaving us stopped and stranded at the stop light or wherever we are at, at that time. We've also had issues that when it does reengage the auto stop/start it sounds like...
On multiple occasions after being stopped at a red light and the engine turns off it failed to restart. After shutting the car completely off and attempting to restart after a few tries it was able to restart however this is an ongoing issue.
I was stopped at a red light and my engine stopped like normal but then when light turned green and i attempted to accelerate the engine never turned back on. I had to put the car in park. Shut down the vehicle and then attempted to start the car again. It took a few time before I was able to start up the vehicle. This has happened multiple times and initially I thought I may have done something but then as it became more frequent, I started paying closer attention to the stop-start of the engine and came to the realization that it is not the way I was operating but more or less an issue with the engine.
While driving the screen with the Speedometer and essential information goes blank for a few seconds.
The auto idle-stop feature in my Honda Pilot prevented from starting the engine again. It is available for inspection upon request. I was at the stop light with the idle-stop feature enabled and when it was time for me to start driving again, the car would not start. The car turned off completely and a lot of the lights including the battery light turned on and a message stating to bring the key fob close to the start button came on. The battery has been changed within a year since I mentioned this problem to the dealership when I brought it in for an oil change. They determined that they had to change the battery. Clearly this did not solve the issue. When this happened today, I was driving on [XXX] which is a highway with a lot of traffic. Since I was unable to move forward, I backed up...
This issue has to do with the Auto Engine Idle Shut Off feature. While the issue does not happen all the time, but when it starts to happen, I have to turn the Auto Engine Idle Shut Off feature off. I have not found a way to reproduce the issue on demand, which is why I have not taken the vehicle into Honda. It would be a waste of time and money. I bought the vehicle used and the battery was new when we bought it. The first time it happened, we were traveling to the beach. We had already driven about 1.5 hours on the interstate without stopping and then we got into a lot of stop and go traffic due to an accident. The Engine would cut off like normal after coming to a complete stop and having my foot on the break. When I took my foot...
While driving at freeway speed the gauge cluster including speedometer, gear selection, and navigation system shut off. The speedometer area was blank and the navigation screen said "network connection lost" No MOST network. It began to come back on a minute or 2 later. The MOST cable recall work has been done.
1) Recall 2020-22 multi-model seat weight sensor safety recall. Called since February 2024 when it was posted. I called the dealership and was told that I will received a postcard by mail. I have been waiting for the postcard and called multiple dealerships multiple times. I have been told that they don't have the parts to fix the issue and be put on the waiting list until further notice. 2)The screen goes off or it goes blurry. 3)The Car charger goes out sometimes too.
as i approached a red light and hit the brake - the car went into auto idle. however this time, the car shut off completely. i was able to turn it back on but then it happened again when i hit the brakes again.
The system that is malfunctioning is the transmission. It is randomly shifting into neutral while at stop lights and while driving down the roads. This is an unsafe problem because the vehicle has to stop and be turned off then restarted before the transmission will allow you to change into drive. Stopping in the road on multiple occasions due to not being able to move to the side, has been causing hazardous conditions and near accidents on several occasions. The problem is random and when taken to the dealer for the issue, they test drove it for a few minutes and said they couldn't see the issue happening. They stated that we should just wait until it is happening more often and then come back. I have done a quick internet search for the issue and it has popped up in many Honda forums and sites. It seems to be...
While stopped at a light the engine completely shut off and put itself into neutral. Nothing worked. Had to press and hold the ignition button for at least 5 seconds to shut down and restart the vehicle.
I think the issue may be the Auto Idle system. Twice the car has shut off when waiting in traffic at a light causing obviously severe panic as the cars behind me honk and I try to get the car to come back on. Then another time, the car just wouldn't turn on. It took about 30 minutes before I could get it turned on. My safety could have been compromised had someone rear-ended me while I was trying to turn the car back on. The dealer can not reproduce the problem. No one else has inspected the vehicle. There were no warning lights etc. prior to the failures.
Twice in the last 6 months this has happened while car was stopped at red light. The auto engine restart system failed, causing the car to shut down. Car had to be placed in park and restarted. Local dealer was unable to detect cause : no codes captured and there were no problems with battery or starter detected.
I'm having issues with the auto stop start. I see there is a known problem for the 2016-2020 Honda pilots. I have a 2021. It's the same issue. I stop at an intersection and the car auto stops the engine. I then tried to go and the car stalled. I had to put in park and restart the car. Since then I have had 2 more incidents where the car almost stalls, the dash errors lights come on but then the car starts and goes without stalling. This has happened 3 times in the last 2 weeks. I have it in the service center today. I wanted to report this issue is still ongoing and seems to affect more than the previously listed vehicles.
Problem Dealer said recall for airbags risk/ seat sensor cannot be fixed due to unable to get parts.
I was stopped at red light on a slight grade. When light turned green I took foot of over brake and car started to drift backwards. I pressed the brake and looked down. Car shifted in neutral on its own. I pushed drive button and it was ok. The auto-start was off. If I had been on a steep hill, I would probably have drifted into car behind me. I took car to Honda dealer and there were no codes logged. They told me they checked with Honda. This happened in April, 2024 and only time this has happened. This is the third issue I have had with this car with no errors logged. The other two were not safety related.
I have 4 car washed for this car so far Ive only had it for a few weeks. Every time I wash it the dome light/rear mirror leaks water and wets the entire cup holder and center console.
This has now happened twice, resulting in my infant getting locked in the car. I unlocked the car open the driver side second door where my car seat is. I buckle in my infant put in my bag and then go to get in the driver side door and the car has locked itself with my key in my bag that I put inside the car with my baby. Either the car should not lock with the key inside of it or there should not be a timed lock system once the car has been opened.
On 3/18/24 I started my car on a routine after school pickup trip but my notification system started blinking with different sensor problems. I took pictures of the display and tried to drive my car and saw at the time it did not affect drivability. I made an appointment with my dealer and brought it in 3/25/24. I started researching if there might be a pattern with other Honda Pilots and did find some discussion boards about 2020/2021 Honda Pilot that had a similar event—sensor problems displaying for no evident triggering event. I brought my car in for the appointment and the advisor said they would run a diagnostic as well as address 2 active recalls on my Pilot and take care of the maintenance. The diagnostic test showed that I have a faulty front multi purpose camera that must be replaced. Ny car has about $70K miles so it...
This is regarding the MOST FAKRA Service Cables Safety Recall which affects the display in my car. It started off with the radio cutting out but has progressed to the display not working which affects the rear camera. I believe this is extremely dangerous. I have taken my car to the Honda dealership in Burlington, Iowa FOUR times and they have not fixed the problem. It's my understanding that they have not replaced the cable harness but have only "checked the connections" and in one instance, one of the maintenance workers told my husband that they simply "hit the dash" and it started working again. This dealership has been very troublesome to work with as they simply say that the screen never malfunctions for them. I don't believe this as I encounter a problem with the display EVERY time I drive it. I contacted the Honda Customer Support almost a...
While I was at a stop sign my car went from drive to neutral on its own. I tried shifting back to drive and it wouldn't work. I put it in park and then it was telling me my car had to be on. I tried pushing the engine start stop button multiple times and finally it started and went back into drive. Autostop was on.
Auto Engine Idle Stop issue. Engine would stop at intersections and not restart, which was a safety risk. I told the dealership this was a known defect affecting many vehicles and they said no, it was just a “bad battery.” They replaced the battery.
Twice now at red light my pilot has not started due to stop start feature. It was stuck in park / neutral . Car wouldn’t restart or go into gear. Almost everyday at least once car is hesitant to start after engine cuts out . Then dash lights like system collision isn’t working. Extremely dangerous was at a light on major interstate road. Last time it happened I. The summer had it checked out and nothing was resolved .
The glass on the window driver side fell out of position and I couldn’t close the glass window. I would have to drive in the cold and rain exposed to the elements and hopefully my window shield in front don’t fog and cause me to have accidents.
Auto start/stop function. The auto start/stop engaged and the vehicles engine stopped while we were at a red light. When the light turned green and I released the brake the starter engaged but very slowly and failed to start the engine. I attempted to start the vehicle again but it needed to be in park, which was taking time engaged. We were blocking other vehicles from making a protected turn during this. On the 3rd attempt to restart the vehicle restarted. This has not been inspected or or reproduced. No warning lamps other than vehicle must be in park to start.
On October 18, 2023, at about 11 am, I was approaching to enter our driveway with my foot on the brake system when all of the sudden the car sped up at a very high speed that I was unable to control. The speed was so forceful that the car crashed unto the house resulting in a lot of damage to our house, all this happened in less than one second. I had a next door neighbor in the car with me and thankfully neither of us was hurt, I like to mention at this point that neither air bag deployed to issue protection to us. Of course the safety of both of us was put at risk. We called the insurance with no luck to send an adjuster to inspect the car and/or damage done to the house, so we had to do everything on our own. The car...
Failure to repair recall in a timely manner.
There was a recall for driver side mirrors. The original mirror was fine but they replaced it with a mirror that is distorted/warped. They replaced it again with another distorted mirror. All the replacement mirrors are faulty. You can not safely drive with them !
With engine idle off… at a stop (intersection, light, etc.) engine suddenly turns off. Dashboard message reads- “put in park to start engine”. At that moment, the transmission shows that it is in neutral. I have to frantically put it in Park and try several times to restart the car. Cars are honking, yelling and pulling up/at me! I have called (when it happens) and taken my car to dealer 4 times. Each time they say they can not replicate and not able to do anything to fix unless they can replicate. Yet, I see there are blog posts about this exact issue for past few years! This happened 3 times last week. As I need to be able to safely transport/care for my 102 year old father, I am concerned and cannot be without transportation.
The IDLE STOP feature sometimes fails to restart the vehicle after stopping at a stoplight or stop sign. The vehicle transmission will go into PARK, with the engine no longer running. This requires the vehicle to be restarted manually in traffic, and shifted to DRIVE. This puts the vehicle and passengers at risk for an accident, as it blocks the normal flow of traffic until manually restarted and shifted. This car is available for inspection upon request. This problem has been inspected by a local Honda dealer. There were no warning lamps prior to the incidents.
The Auto Idle Restart Feature has malfunctioned a number times and cars behind us have almost rear-ended us. With Eco mode on or off, a/c on or off, it doesn't seem to make a difference. When the vehicle has Auto Idle Restart enabled, the vehicle is stopped at a stop light, the engine turns off, and when the user presses the gas and releases the brake, the engine does not turn on. When the brake pedal is released, the brake lights turn off - the vehicles behind us drive forward as they think we are accelerating but our vehicle does not move as the engine does not turn back on properly. We are lucky we have not been rear ended yet. This is very unsafe, especially in very busy intersections.
When the idle stop system is enabled in my vehicle, on 5 separate occasions, my car has stalled. Each situation happened when I was stopped at either a stop sign or traffic light. When I took my foot of the brake to go, the car shut off and took ~30 seconds before I was able to turn the engine back on and go. I took my car to the Honda dealer and they were unable to determine the cause of the problem, and it has happened since that time.
Infotainment panel goes dark for 5-10 minutes while the car is in motion. Attempts to reboots multiple times unsuccessfully and then finally recovers. Network Connection Lost message appears on the Infotainment panel. Intermittent crackling noise in the sound system speakers. Creates a safety issue when vehicle is in motion on a highway and the GPS display on the Infotainment screen disappears right before taking a high-speed exit. The confusion can cause a major accident.
The driver side door doesn’t open when unlocked. You have to hit the lock button multiple times before the door can detach from the driver side panel. And the door doesn’t shut when you close it. Something wrong with the lock.
Sunroof exploded while driving down highway.
The Auto Idle Stop is defective on this vehicle and has resulted in multiple incidents where the vehicle stalls after the break is applied in sitting traffic. I have had near collision experiences that pose a severe safety risk. The car jolts forward after releasing the break at an intersection, and immediately becomes immobile. This has happened in sitting traffic, at intersection and more dangerously, while trying to make a left turn which has left me stranded in the middle of busy intersections at risk of nearly being hit by moving traffic. Honda has done the software update on the vehicle and yet, this continues to happen. Honda needs to be held liable as this will result in injury and/or death to consumers.
Loud, consistent, cracking sound along the base of the windshield along dashboard. Sounded as if the entire windshield would crack and shatter. Happened at least 3 separate instances, seems to be temperature related and on longer car rides. Once during NE winter with heat cranking it began to make the cracking sound. It was terrifying as I was unsure if the windshield would shatter and implode on us. I turned the heat off and opened windows to cool interior of the car. That made the sound stop. The car has not been inspected yet and unsure if they could recreate problem in the shop. Would probably need heat of engine over a long period and internal heat turned all the way up for a long period of time.
Other 2021 HONDA PILOT Problem Areas
Electrical System
98 complaints
Engine
80 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
51 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
43 complaints
Air Bags
28 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
28 complaints
Service Brakes
23 complaints
Power Train
21 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
19 complaints
Visibilitywiper
19 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
18 complaints
Lane Departure Warning
16 complaints
Tires
8 complaints
Back Over Prevention Warnings
7 complaints
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
6 complaints
Seats
6 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
6 complaints
Back Over Prevention
5 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
5 complaints
Engine And Engine Cooling
4 complaints
Suspension
4 complaints
Tiressidewall
4 complaints
Visibility
4 complaints
Exterior Lighting
3 complaints
Steering
3 complaints
Visibilityrearview Mirrorsdevicesexterior
3 complaints
Visibilitysunmoon Roof Assembly
3 complaints
Equipmentelectricalinfotainment
2 complaints
Structurebody
2 complaints
Wheels
2 complaints
Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera
1 complaint
Electrical Systemstarter Assembly
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance
1 complaint
Otheri Am Not Sure
1 complaint
Power Trainautomatic Transmission
1 complaint
Service Brakes Hydraulic
1 complaint
Service Brakes Hydraulicantilocktraction Controlelectronic Limited Slip
1 complaint
Structure
1 complaint
Structureframe And Membersunderbody Shields
1 complaint