Complaint volume
426 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
426 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Honda Pilot, grouped by component category.
426 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 63
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 53
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 35
POWER TRAIN 32
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 23
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 23
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19
SEAT BELTS 11
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 10
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 9
426 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | When stopped in traffic the car will switch to neutral by itself. It will turn off and will have to be restarted. This has happened about 12 times since last July. After the first time it happened I brought the car to the dealership. They were not able to replicate the issue and it has continued since then with greater frequency. (2x last week in 3 days) This has happened when in econ mode, regular mode, right after a tune up, no pattern detected. Sometimes before it happens there would be a spluttering sound of the engine, sometimes a clicking sound, sometimes a collision warning sign flashes right before it happens, sometimes no warning- the car just shuts off and needs to be restarted. When the car is idling there are frequent reminders about pressing the break to shut off the engine. Googling this issue shows other people have the same problem with their 2018 Honda Pilots and other models as well. I believe these incidents are related to ODI Investigation PE 22-005 just opened on 06/03/22. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The engine had failed to restart multiple times on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light and in the middle of an intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. I am very concerned for the safety of myself and occupants because the inability of the vehicle to restart and move forward to clear through the intersection creates a very high risk for a potential collision that could be life threatening. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealer, manufacturer or any appropriate organization. There have been no warning signs alerting me to a potential problem. I started to experience the problems commencing last month (May 2022). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | The engine automatic idle stop malfunctions on a regular basis. At idle, the engine will stop and is supposed to re-start automatically and on average once per week the engine will not re-start. The car will need to be put into park and then manually restarted. This usually occurs while at a traffic signal and leaves us stuck blocking traffic. It has occurred countless times in the three years we have owned the vehicle. We have taken it back to Honda multiple times to complain but they have never been able to find a problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | I just read about the auto stop / start difficulties applicable to my vehicle and reportedly corroborated by Honda. I may have twice experienced the same or similar failure. Fortunately, both of my experiences were in my driveway. Safety was a concern in that I could not start the car, and it was blocking my other vehicles. I am unsure of the date, but I think that both were last summer. My recollection is somewhat vague as these were a while ago, and I was able to rectify. In both cases, I pulled into the driveway. I am guessing that the auto stop turned off the engine when I came to a stop. I most likely only pressed the engine start/stop button and put on the emergency brake after coming to a stop. I usually do not press the park button as it unnecessarily restarts the engine. In both cases, tried to restart the car a few minutes later, but it would not start. I don’t know whether or not the car locked. I use the automatic lock feature but may have had a door or the tailgate opened. I don’t know whether or not I used my key fob at all in trying to restart, or whether or not I moved the key fob near the start button. I remember the car seeming like the battery was dead. In one of the cases, I definitely used jumper cables from another car. In the other, I may have used a charger. The article did say that a jump was required to restart in some cases. At some point, the car just came alive. In the case of the jumper cables from another car, I moved the car out of the way (rolled up several yards) and shut it off and then restarted. The car restarted strongly, and the car acted like nothing ever happened. It almost seemed like a security lockout had occurred. Until there is a fix, I would like to know is what sequence is needed to restart if I have this problem again? Can you please help me with this? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Car shuts off and does not turn back on properly when stopping while driving. It does not happen all of the time, but when stopping at light/stop sign the car will turn off like it is supposed to but fails to start back up. When it fails to start it will not start back up, because the car is not in park, so the push button will not work until you hit the park button. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | The engine failed to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light on three separate occasions with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Stopped at a traffic light and car didn’t restart. Battery completely drained and left my wife stuck in a main busy road. Auto start feature is causing this to happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | My car shuts off all the time. I called Honda last year to let them know because I was concerned there had been a recall. I took it to the dealership. They did some transmission work. One time it shut off when I was going 60mph on the Highway. It will also shut off when I’m actively breaking and not to a complete stop yet. I’m very concerned for my safety. Again, I reported this to Honda customer service and they told me there was nothing they could do. This has been going on for over two years. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving on highway in a stop and go traffic with "auto idle" on. The engine was completely shut down when at a complete stop and the vehicle was stalled in the middle of a highway with all kinds dash flashes. I was unable to press the brake and "start" button to restart car or put car in neutral to move the car. Had local Honda dealer's tech on line for about 10 minutes to help restart the car with no success. Contacted insurance company requested a road service. About 55 minutes later the tow truck come and the tow truck drive successfully start the car. Feel unsafe to drive the car and towed the car to local Honda dealer and they could not find any error code in system and failed to repeat the situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | My vehicle was stopped at a red light in a busy turning lane. When I pressed on the brakes to stop the vehicle the "idle-stop" automatically came on. As my vehicle was idling, I waited for the light to turn green to go. Once I pressed on the gas to go my vehicle went haywire. I couldn't drive forward or put the vehicle in any park mode. Every light started flickering on the dash, MY HAZARDS WOULDN'T COME ON, the car wouldn't start and every time I tried attempting to turn on the car it continued to do the same. I was stalled at a very busy intersection with no hazard lights with two kids, this was frightening. My husband had to restart the vehicle with a battery pack. After getting the car checked, there were no signs of any battery issues or any other problems, the car seemed perfectly fine. Now we have to completely turn off the "idle-stop" before driving or the car will stall, shut off and go haywire. We have to constantly restart the vehicle with a battery pack in order to continue driving. I asked several people and apparently this is a huge issue and problem for many with no help from Honda dealerships to fix it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car has been put in PARKING on its own and won't allow me to put it back in DRIVE or REVERSE. I can't turn it off when this happens (I pressed the START/STOP PUSH button, and nothing happens) and the steering WHEEL locked up and the brakes too. This has happened to me on two occasions: one time when I stopped in a red light. When the light changed to GREEN and I released the brake to move, the car went into PARKING and locked up itself, NOTE: when I stopped in the red light the car went into AUTO idle engine mode (April 19 2022). My safety was put in risk because it happened in a busy road. On another occasion it happened when I was entered the garage slowly and I pressed the brake to completely stop, the car went into AUTO idle engine mode and then changed its own to PARKING (April 7). The car just like "turned off" although everything seems ON without warning messages. I couldn't start it until a few minutes later. After this event happened the "CRUISE CONTROL" and "LANE KEEPING Assist" features stopped working. I went to a place, and they checked the battery and the battery is not the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Driver Side Window malfunctioned. Honda has attempted to repair 5 times but it continues to malfunction after working for 2-3 days max. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V932000 (Structure, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue but informed the contact to have the vehicle shipped by barge to a dealer in Honolulu for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, she depressed the brake pedal and noticed that her vehicle was not slowing down. The contact stated that as she was approaching another vehicle, she looked to make sure she was indeed depressing the brake pedal, however it would not allow her to press down and seemed to be accelerating faster than 40 MPH. The contact stated that her vehicle then caused her to crash into the rear of another vehicle, however, the vehicle still seemed to be accelerating, even though it had crashed. The contact stated that she attempted to power the vehicle off, however, the vehicle powered itself back on. The contact stated that she powered it off 3 times before the vehicle would remain off. The contact stated that the airbags did deploy and there were no injuries reported. The contact stated a police report was filed. The contact stated she then had her vehicle towed to a tow yard where it was deemed a total loss. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 50,000 |
| Feb 2022 | STRUCTURE,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the hood was vibrating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V932000 (Structure, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who stated the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Just saw the article concerning the automatic braking in Honda CR-V's and Accords. Since purchasing my 2018 Pilot, in September 2018, this has occurred multiple times. While driving "Brake" will flash on my dash screen and a momentary braking action, along with a shimmy in the steering wheel will occur. I have never had a complete stop happen. I went to my local Honda dealers in Modesto and Stockton, CA. Spoke to their service personnel and they both had no idea what might cause this to happen. I then called Honda customer service and they hadn't heard of this problem. After it happened a few more times I called them again. I voiced my concerns of it happening and causing me to be involved in an accident. Laura, the rep I spoke to, gave me a case number (09698440) to reference should I call again. She could provide no explanation for this happening. This does not happen on a regular basis. I can go for long periods of time and nothing will happen. Then it can happen multiple times in a week. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | Engine misfires randomly causing car to go into limp mode. Car was unable to go pass 40 mph on while trying to merge highway. It was very dangerous and scary as cars came very close to my bumper. Honda is aware of an injector issue and has extended the warranty, but this should be a safety recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The auto engine idle "feature" automatically shuts the engine off when the car comes to a stop. This "feature" is supposed to improve gas mileage, however, I believe it is very dangerous. This "feature" has caused my vehicle to stall numerous times in stop and go traffic, requiring me to completely stop the vehicle, place it in park, and then restart the vehicle. This sequence has created several scary and dangerous situations where I was completely stopped on a busy freeway. This "feature' WILL cause accidents if it has not already caused them. This feature currently cannot be permanently disabled. It must be disabled manually every time I drive the car. I have also contacted Honda directly to notify them of this defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | The Auto-Idle feature will unexpectedly over-engage while coming to a stop and the entire vehicle will shut off. I am unable to shift, steer, etc. It will also completely shut the engine down when at a complete stop. To be clear, this is not the normal auto-idle. When the full engine disengage happens, the entire vehicle loses power and the dash flashes. The vehicle states, "put into P". Once in "P" for park, the vehicle still will not restart. It is as if the vehicle has to "reset" itself. It has taken upwards of 4 minutes for the vehicle to restart. This has happened on a highway during construction traffic, approaching a stop sign, slowing at a red light on multiple occasions. I have almost been rear-ended as a result on mutiple occasions. I am not even able to put the vehicle in Neutral to move it to a safe spot. Honda informed me that I "just need to disengage this feature each and every time I start the vehicle" . That is not the solution. This feature should be permanently disabled by Honda. Immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the keyless control module unit would shut off. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the keyless control module unit to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,372. | Crash: No Fire: No | 60,372 |
| Jan 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | To Whom It May Concern: I writing in regards to a possible defect with my 2018 Honda Pilot. It is having internal electrical issues stated by the dealership and needs a keyless control module unit replaced. However, my car has been in the dealership since November 15, 2021 due to Honda not being able to get the part needed to repair. American Honda has failed to remedy the defect in my vehicle within a reasonable time period. Can someone please assist me on how I rectify this situation. Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | SEATS | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V221000 (Seats) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts are not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The adaptive cruise control doesnt pick up a vehicle in my lane but a vehicle to either side of me and brakes hard. Also the automatic emergency braking will pick up vehicles in the opposite lane going past me and brake hard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that there was no windshield washer fluid coming from the nozzle while attempting to clean the windshield. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle with the windshield washer fluid warning light illuminated. While attempting to replenish the washer fluid reservoir the windshield washer fluid was spilling. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where he was informed that the windshield washer motor system needed to be replaced; however, the parts to repair the system were on backorder. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |