Complaint volume
421 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Honda Pilot Complaints
421 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Honda Pilot, grouped by component category.
421 Total complaints
9 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
8 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, fuel system, gasoline, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 9 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 8 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 104 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 57,848 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, fuel system, gasoline, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Honda Pilot?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Honda Pilot
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Honda Pilot complaints?
9 Crash
2 Fire
8 Injury
0 Fatality
18 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Honda Pilot complaint categories?
ENGINE 62
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 53
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 35
POWER TRAIN 31
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 23
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 22
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19
SEAT BELTS 11
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 10
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9
421 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2023 | ENGINE | While driving with auto-idle on, anytime I come to a complete stop and the ide engine engages it fails to restart when I let off of the break.AI message stating accessory mode comes on the screen and the car completely shuts down, requiring me to power off the car completely and push the start button on the car again. It takes a few tries for the car to start. I feel like it is very dangerous for me, my passengers, and all the cars in the vicinity. By my car not moving cars have to merge into other lanes to go around the hazard, which is now my stalled vehicle, or will fail to stop before contact with my stalled vehicle at a green light. This well known and documented issue will cause accidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Vehicle was being driven in a construction zone on the highway when the CMBS (collision mitigation braking system) error message appeared on the dashboard. This is the 2nd occurrence of this issue (1st occurrence also happened while driving through construction zone) When error occurs all advanced safety features (auto-emergency braking, lane keep, etc) become disabled. I believe there is a fundamental design flaw in how Honda's Sensing system handles obstacles such as temporary construction zones. American Honda claims the only way to turn off the light is to pay a diagnostic fee and labor charge. A safety design flaw should not be the responsibility of the vehicle owner to pay to fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | While stopped at an intersection, the vehicle's Auto Start/Stop technology engaged. When driver attempted to drive, the Auto Start/Stop wouldn't disengage, as a result the car would not start. The vehicle prompted the driver to put the car in park and push the ignition button to start the car, however nothing happened, meaning the car would not start. After about 2 minutes, the car was able to start and the driver was able to continue driving. An immobilized vehicle at an intersection put its passengers at risk, including 2 children under the age of 3. Dealer will be notified of this occurrence. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My wife was pulling into the dentist parking lot, made a slow right hand turn to a parking space when the vehicle suddenly and violently accelerated. Depressing and pumping brake had no effect and the car slammed into a tree destroying the right front of the vehicle. She assured me that she did not depress the accelerator. She is a very safe driver, never received a ticket nor involved in an accident. Research into similar accidents showed multiple cases where this occurred with Honda Pilot vehicles. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ENGINE | Emissions system problem | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When the vehicle is turned off, the lights panel will flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights will come on. The car alarm will go off at random. On average 7-10/per day. I’ve taken the vehicle to the dealer and there appears to be a back order of the part needed to fix the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Good afternoon, I would like to bring an issue to your attention and file a complaint on Honda Motor Company. Last week, I scheduled an appointment in the Service Department at Russell and Smith Honda to diagnose my 2018 Honda Pilot. My vehicle jerks when driving at a low speed. Russell and Smith diagnosis was a transmission oil flush and a system update with "recommendations to replace the battery and spark plugs" ; total charges to fix the problem was roughly $365 additional to the $110 that I paid for the diagnosis. That same day, I picked up my vehicle from Russell and Smith Honda and refused to pay because its a 2018 truck that I shouldn't be dealing with a transmission problem. As I was driving the truck back home, it started to turn off automatically and an engine light alert would turn on. The truck would start working after turning it back on. Two days after, I took it back to Russell and Smith Honda and advised them of the truck shutting down and I was notified to pay another $100 for a diagnosis which I refused to pay since it was recently diagnosed two days ago. This is putting my life at risk on the streets. The employee who assisted me went inside to ask a mechanic on duty and came back to notify me that I do need to pay for another diagnosis to determine whats wrong. I refused to pay and left the dealership. I called Honda Motor Company on 4/10/23 to advise them of the problem and they created a case #13752705 to further investigate and I advised them if not I will report it to NHTSA. Honda Motor Company requested a copy of the diagnosis and when I called them for an update, the case worker assigned to my case Samir stated they agreed to pay for the transmission flush and system update and they have notified Russell and Smith Honda. The next day I called Russell and Smith Honda to advise them that I will drop off the truck according to Honda Motor Company and they said I need to pay for the recommendations listed on the diagnosis first. Faulty vehic | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Emissions light comes on due to a faulty Fuel Injector and Catalytic Converter. This continues to show up in multiple forums when it comes to this problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving 55 miles per hour on a highway when I intended to press the hazard button to illuminate my hazard lights, but instead accidently pressed the ignition button. When I pressed the ignition button the car turned off while going 55 miles per hour. I lost all power including steering. I was able to muscle the car off an exit ramp and put it in neutral to press the brake and restart the vehicle while moving on the ramp. This could have been a catastophic event for me and my daughter and others driving along with us one the highway. I have not tried to reproduce this event as it would put me in an unsafe situation. The vehicle has not been inspected. I plan to do this next week at the dealership. No warning from the vehicle occurred when the event occurred. No warning lamps or messages or symptoms. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Vehicle auto start/stop feature actually shuts the car off (at times) and requires me to put the car in part and go through the car startup process. This causes issues when you’re at a green light. I have taken the car to Honda and so far they’ve performed a software update, replaced the starter, and tuned the valves. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Our 2018 Honda Pilot Touring has had auto idle stop issues from the moment we purchased this vehicle. We have addressed this safety concern with multiple Honda service centers and were repeatedly told this is how the car was designed. The auto idle stop function stalls every time the vehicle is stopped at an intersection and fails to automatically restart the engine as expected. Instead of the engine starting up again after take foot off the brake and press the gas pedal, the car stalls completely and have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. Sometimes have to try several times before car restarts. This has been a major safety concern for our family and Honda refuses to fix it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, followed by an emissions message. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the fuel injector kit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again and the front catalytic converter was replaced, but the failure reoccurred. The fuel sensors were also replaced, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 169,187. | Crash: No Fire: No | 169,187 |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While traveling at highway speed there was what sounded like an explosion and first thought was it was a blown tire, but upon stopping to inspect it was discovered that the sunroof had exploded, leaving a large gaping hole across it. There had been no warning signs and there was no previous known damage to sunroof. I was lucky that the sun shade had been closed at the time or there would have been the real risk of the interior passenger compartment being peppered with flying glass shards, posing a danger to all 6 occupants, including 4 minor children, and especially to the front passenger and driver sitting directly underneath the sunroof who would have been at greater risk of injury with the very real possibility of the driver losing control of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Powertrain: The transmission has problems engaging, where I have had several near misses due tot he car not moving in the delay of the transmission engaging. This has been going on for some time and the dealer tells me there is nothing wrong, that it is a special transmission and I need to get used to the shifting mode. I have 36,300 miles and have complained several times over the past five years, this is a real safety issue since the car will not move and when it dose it lunges forcefully. Idle shut-off: the engine shuts off and will not restart, it has also shut-off on the freeway at random times. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ENGINE | On several occasions so far, when stopped with the idle stop system engaged, the brake depressed and at a full stop, the engine shut down, as expected, but failed to restart once the brake pedal was released. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while approaching a stop, the contact attempted to accelerate however, there was a delay in responding. The contact stated that after a while the vehicle accelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who admitted knowledge of similar failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 10,000. The consumer stated the vehicle now has 52k and still exhibits the 2-3 second hesitation when depressing the accelerator. The contact stated the vehicle has started to roll backwards on a hill. The vehicle has just less than 60k miles and has always been serviced by a dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The engine light appreared with this note on my dashboard, emission system problem. My Pilot is a 2018 with 41K miles. The engine light appeared 2/12/2023. I took it to my local auto mechanic but they couldn't fix the issue without performing a deep diagnostic testing that last 2 to 3 hours long and it would cost more than $500 including the parts to repair it. The mechanic suggested to take my car to the Honda dealer as this is common issue with this vechicle. I'm reading online from owners from vechiclehistory.com with this same issue and the owners all have the same issue. Honda needs to recall these Pilots and repair the issue at Honda's expense. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Extreme vibration from the high pressure fuel line due to premature failure of the high pressure fuel pump. Was told that I need to replace everything going to the high pressure fuel pump when I replace the pump because of the risk of fire. Honda is aware of this issue as they have issued a 16-013 service bulletin and has passed the cost of a design flaw down to the consumer knowing the line could rupture and catch the vehicle on fire. Honda says oops well it's over 60k miles and your past the warranty. The vibration from acceleration is so loud and the fuel line shakes freely back and forth within 3 inch span of movement. It won't let me upload a video. There are 1000s of cars with the issue in the forums and it should be a recall due to the possibility of fuel line rupture. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Unknown. I was using cruise control maintaining approx 60mph. The car in front of me started to slow and I tapped the brake to disengage cruise control. The car lunged forward and the accelerator went towards the floor. I tried to turn the car off and the push button did not respond. As my speed increased I narrowly missed rear ending cars in front of me as I swerved in and out of lanes, with the brake pedal not responding. I drove into the dirt medium of the road on the left and pushed the shift into park and the car eventually slowed to a stop. I was very shook up and sat in this dangerous area until I was calm enough to start the car and see if I could get across the highway to an exit. I tried turning the car off twice before attempting this to see if I could get it to respond. Both times it responded and the light on the dash indicated to put it into Park. I made it across the highway to an exit where I drove around a parking lot for 1/2 hr turning the car on & off to see if it was safe to get it home. I did not touch cruise control again. It was nothing short of a miracle that I didn’t kill anyone on the road or myself. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The car has an automatic engine shut off when the car comes to a complete stop (brake pushed fully). Over the course of a month, the car will stop and start correctly many times, however 5-7 times a month the engine will not come back on...the lights and radio will all be on and the engine will not come on. This requires me to put the car in park, turn the car completely off, restart the car all while the light is green and cars are behind ready to go. The battery is fine. There is an issue with the automatic system. Unfortunately Honda Dealership has not been helpful and is more interested in charging extra money. I have read this is a problem that needs to be addressed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE | When driving and slowing down or stopping at stop to which the auto/off engages, the vehicle turns all the way off. I cannot move the car and have to try several times to power the vehicle down and disengage the auto off function. It has happened several times and I just took it to Gillman Honda where they said it is probably just the battery but my battery has been fine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | Vehicle engine shutdown while at full stop and does not turn on or has difficulties turning back on. This happens sporadically and only happens at stops such as red lights, stop signs, and or stop and go traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | he auto start/stop is not working for my 2018 Honda Pilot Elite. The vehicle does not start in the middle of the traffic when it stops. I've stuck stuck multiple times and now for last 1 year I have to force switch off that feature every time I drive the car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The problem began in May this year and has gotten worse over time. The idle engine stop does not always work properly. After driving for 10-15 minutes in stop and go traffic, when the brake is released, a popping noise or click is heard and the electronics (radio, AC, etc.) go off momentarily. When the idle engine stop is working properly, there is no noise and the radio, etc. are not interrupted. After several additional miles of driving, the noise or click becomes louder and the engine will not restart. I have to put the car in park and restart the engine. This is a safety issue in that my vehicle blocks traffic and given the number of aggressive drivers today, I am concerned someone could react in an inappropriate manner. Now, whenever I begin to hear the noise, I am forced to manually turn off the idle-stop feature. Honda responded to my concern by saying they have no "open campaigns" on the issue and for meeting to see the dealer. In the past the dealer says they have never heard of this problem and said they could not do anything. I saw online there are multiple others with the same problem and the NHTSA has opened an investigation as of June 2022. I am very disappointed that Honda US does not seem to be addressing the problem so I am adding my complaint to the NHTSA investigation. I look forward to hearing what can be done to alleviate the problem. Thank you, Dan | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |