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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Dear Sir/Madam, My Vehicle stalls and stutters suddenly when driving. It does not accelerate the way it should. Engine light is on. I called Honda Customer Service and even though it says "Fuel Pump recall" on my vehicle they say they don't know when parts are going to be available. Their responses were very evasive. They said it was a placeholder and were not willing to help me. They don't have any concrete responses to my questions. I asked them when will the fuel pump parts be available for dealers to fix the recall and they asked me to check back in February. I got a letter in December stating that after Jan 2nd they will help with this issue. Now they are saying Feb. My vehicle maybe unsafe to drive and if the engine seizes or is ruined because of the delay in fixing this recall, I would be at a total loss. Please help me. Thanks so much! [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission is jumping between first and second gear randomly. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I noticed when driving between 10-30 miles per hour the pilot will stall in between 2 rpm and 3 rpm jumping up and back down, shortly after I received an emission problem alert and the car started driving very strange pulling forward then losing power. Noticed that this is a common problem in Pilots and it is very concerning. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ENGINE | While driving at interstate speeds, without any warning that there was an issue, engine began to run very rough and all warning indicators on the display were active, car slowed and had to pull off onto the road shoulder, very lucky the traffic was lite and was already in the right traffic lane, was able to pull onto the road shoulder quickly. Under heavy traffic and a multiple lane interstate, this type failure would probably resulted in a serious accident involving other cars and personal injury. Engine would restart but was running very rough, all system warning indicators were active on the display. Drove 1/2 mile to safe location at the next exit, parked the vehicle and called Honda for a tow to our local dealership. They indicated the problem was excessive wear to the camshaft. Parts were ordered and repairs are in progress. Drivetrain was still under an extended warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission does not transmit consistent power to the wheels to ensure the car moves forward at consistent speed. This intermittent transmission of power to the tires causes a safety concern when driving, especially during a rainfall with stop and go traffic or when joining roads. The car is unresponsive or very slow to respond when moving forward from a stop position. Any attempt to force the car to move results in a lunge or aggressive acceleration which usually causes the tires to screech. The unnatural acceleration results in forward motion not consistent with the flow of traffic. This issue is further compounded when there is rainfall with a little slop. Any forward motion results in the tires screeching forcing the driver to take his/her foot off the accelerator. This results in a stop and go situation which is confusing to other drivers especially when joining a road. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Engine stalls from a stop to accelerating It has happened several times and nearly caused an accident at an intersection The transmission shifts rough The mechanic can’t find the problem but it’s been ongoing since I purchased the vehicle new | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | As of 11/21/23, our honda pilot has approx 75,000 miles, we purchased it new so we are the only owners. A few weeks ago, the vehicle while driving about 45 mph, completely shut off, all lights on the dash cam on and the transmission became disengaged. We were able to shut it off for a few minutes, and drive it about 1/2 mile to the local Acura dealership. The car did not operate normally though, it would only go about 20-30 mph, before the transmission disengaged for a few seconds, then re-engage and continue driving. Acura said it was a producing a bad cam-shaft sensor code, they reset it, but said if it happened again, they would need to open up the engine to inspect the cam-shaft. Two days later, the exact same thing happened, we returned it to the same Acura dealership, where they said the cam shaft, and abunch of other parts needed replacement, at a cost of about $2,500. We had no choice since the car was immobilized. Now, the week of 11/20/2023, a recall regarding the rod bearings was issues, which cause the exact same immobilization issues we experienced, which is very dangerous as a driver. Upon research online, the cam shaft sensor and faulty cam shaft is more common than I expected, and I believe should be investigated before someone is seriously injured. To add, our specific pilot is not showing the engine rod recall, but we have experienced issue with the vehicle in regards to the auto start/stop feature and the car not restarting, as well as cruise control issues where the car will go into neutral at 70+ mph when cruise control is activated. We will probably not have this vehicle much longer because of the issues we have had in the first 75K miles, and the continued safety issues that plague this model. More needs to be done for the safety of it's drivers and passengers. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ENGINE | I was on I-44 west of St Louis and between two trailer trucks and the 2018 Pilot started to shake violently and lose power going down that big hill before Lewis road after that it quit and after a 1/2 mile it did it again and shook so bad you thought front wheels were coming off.I took it directly to Napleton Honda in St Peters Mo and naturally they drove the car 6 miles and found nothing wrong. This was on April 22,2022. It did it again on October 31,2023 and at after dark it vibrated again and lost power and we coasted off the highway. I finally got it started and we went home frightened again. We figured no use to take to dealership because they charged 200 dollars to test drive and send us on our way.Please help us we have an unsafe car to drive and they claim it is not a 2018 Pilot under the recall, they are sending letters out to people affected on January 4,2023. Is a person supposed to get killed before they acknowledge they have a bigger problem than what they claim.The second incident happened on October 31,2023 at 54136 miles, the first incident was April 22, 2022 at 41337 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ENGINE | While driving at highway speed, the engine stopped. The car coasted to a stop on the side of the freeway. I attempted to restart the car, but the engine would not turnover. The vehicle was towed to a Honda dealership, there the dealer attempted to rotate the engine at the pulley and the engine would not budge. The mechanic did verify that the engine had adequate oil. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I had brought my vehicle to the dealership to perform the repair for the auto-restart recall issue. I was told this would fix the issue. Several weeks later, my husband and I were driving the car. I stopped at a red light. When the light changed and I lifted my foot off the brake, the vehicle would not restart. I repeatedly tried applying the brakes and shifting into neutral, then shifting into park, but neither would work. I tried turning the car off by pushing the start button, but that would not work either. I immediately placed my hazard lights on, but vehicles were already approaching our car rapidly on this six-lane road. I began blowing my horn to try to alert them, that we were stopped despite the green light. Several vehicles almost slammed into the back of us, since the speed limit on this major road was 50 mph and vehicles did not expect a car to be stopped with a green light. Fortunately, no cars actually hit us. When I brought my vehicle back to the dealership, I was advised this was related to the prior recall, but that the more lengthy, expensive fix was considered a "warranty extension" and not a recall, so it would only be performed after the vehicle continued to have problems after the initial, cheaper, easier recall was performed, but the car still had a problem not restarting. I was shocked that Honda would allow its customers to continue to drive a vehicle that that know can place them in danger. The repair for the "warranty extension" was completed on this vehicle, however, we have another Honda vehicle that falls under this same "warranty extension"/recall issue. Honda refuses to perform the "warranty extension" portion of the repair on that vehicle, until it actually occurs, thus placing my family in danger again! I called Honda and was told they did not care that this placed my family at continued risk and that I should contact NHTSA if I still had concerns. They refused to tell me how often the problem occurs after the recall fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ENGINE | The engine failed to restart after the auto idle function engaged at a stop light at a busy intersection. The car shut down, including turning off the tv screens and the a/c etc. and the dash instructed us to put the car in park (it had switched itself into neutral at that point). Once we put it in park it said to push the breaks and start the car. It started back up and we were finally able to move. We were at a busy intersection and it was very scary for us because we did not know what was happening. I’ve seen small signs of this before and it’s prompted me to turn off the function, but I don’t Always remember to do that. It’s a know issue and needs to be addressed. Most people do not know how to report it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | Vehicle stalls when trying to go after stop when auto start is engaged. Auto start must be manually disengaged and sometimes I forget to press the button. When the engine stalls, people behind me get angry and start making aggressive maneuvers to get around me. Normally I can restart the engine after 15 to 30 seconds but it feels longer than that when I have a long line of cars behind me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Purchased and next day warning light came on for transmission problem. Took it to Honda and was told it was the torque converter. This part is on back order due to multiple installs on other Honda’s. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped, the Auto START/STOP activated, the vehicle shutoff but failed to promptly restart while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 90,000 |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | P0741 Torque Converter Clutch Circuit Performance or stuck off. This is one of hundreds of Honda's between the years 2016-2019 that have this same issue, which renders the car undriveable as the torque converter cannot transfer fluid to the transmission from the engine. Honda is aware of this issue, though because torque converters are on "back order" they have not made any attempts to rectify this. Rather, they are waiting for individuals cars to break down and then providing with repairs. Not only is this dangerous, it's unethical. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Fuel pump issues. The 2019 Honda pilot fuel pump has been recalled. The 2018 has same issue. I should not be having this type of problem on such a new vehicle . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | When I came to a stop sign the car died and would not start for several minutes, causing traffic to back up and a dangerous situation at a busy 4 way stop. This has happened on multiple occasions when the auto stop feature is not disabled. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The wave radar came on during out travel. We traveled in south Dakota on through construction when the light came on. Now I went to the dealership to get an oil change and ask them about the error. I was informed the the wave radar part had been over worked and need to be replaced. Cost $1268.70. We never got in a collision. The part should not fail for being used causing the error message. I also belive it is a huge safety concern because I dont know if the collision system will work. The second issue we are having with the vehicle is that we turned it in for the recall for the idle stop function. It continues to turn off our vehicle at stoplights and on stops on s hill. I dont feel safe operating this vehicle with me and my family. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sun visors on both driver’s side and passenger side are unusually difficult to pull down. It got to the point that you needed two hands to pull it down. The stiffness progressively got worse over the last year. In the last six months the visor does not return to flush with the ceiling, impeding clear view thru the windshield. Taller drivers needed to move the visor to the side position in order to view clearly out of the windshield. Dealer mentioned that it’s not the first Honda vehicle with this issue and a quick google search shows evidence of such as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The timing is not working correctly. And have to pay 2500 to repair. I can see that is open safety recall for this par for the same model that I have. But when I enter the VIN say that not have that recall | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | STEERING,SUSPENSION,ENGINE | I have taken my 2018 Honda Pilot several times to the Honda Dealer, and they have failed to fix what appears to be a transmission problem with the vehicle. The transmission is burning transmission fluid. The vehicle makes a grinding sound when you shift gears. The gears feel like they are catching when you change them, The transmission gears shift appears to be delayed, slipping/jerking and pulling. This situation is very dangerous to me, my children, and the public. The Honda dealer appears to be stalling, so the vehicle runs out of the warranty. They do little to fix the problem; they keep charging me money and repeatedly replacing the burnt transmission fluid. This vehicle has a lemon transmission that they need to replace. Please help investigate this common problem that so many people are complaining about, and Honda keeps ignoring or excusing the complaints. They are selling unsafe vehicles. The incident/issue is contimous, they have NOT fix the issue. Please review the attached documents. Please contact me with some that can speaks Spanish or is able to translate. Thanks | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | Since the purchase of my vehicle I have noticed from time to time it will accelerate when I’m pressing on the brakes. Recently, this issue has gotten worse. I have almost drove my car in to our garage doors, or come close to hitting someone in front of my vehicle, because of its unpredictability. There are also issues with a delayed acceleration when accelerating from a stop. I will press on the gas and the car will not move for about 2 or 3 seconds and then accelerate very quickly as I’m pressing the gas all the way down. I believe these problems are related. I’ve taken my vehicle in twice to the dealership with no remedy as they claim they can’t reproduce what I’m talking about. Stop and go traffic is the best way, but not the only way, to reproduce the problems. This is dangerous, in my opinion, and unfortunately I’m stuck with this vehicle that I don’t feel safe in anymore and I don’t want my child, who is learning to drive, to take this vehicle out once she gets her drivers license as I believe an inexperienced driver is in more danger with these issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Failed Torque converter at 80, 000 miles leading to dangerous underperformance | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | I previously reported issue 11360107 which Honda attributed to a bad battery cell and replaced the battery on this vehicle. I followed up with them that I consider auto-idle-stop functionality that doesn't restart despite the battery being capable of restarting to be a safety issue. I re-iterated to them that I "rebooted" the car by holding the car start button down until the Honda logo appeared in the driver display. The car then proceeded to start and I didn't have any issues with the battery being able to start the car before or after that. As stated in that issue, this happened on the access road of a major Texas Freeway while stopped at a stop light. Cars were flying by at 50 mph with my family in the car sitting at a green light. Honda has apparently issued a "fix" for this, but today I experienced a similar issue at the gas station. Today was different b/c my auto-idle-stop was disabled. My Honda dealership had disabled it the second to last time I brought it in for service, but didn't tell me. I had complained to my dealership about this issue in the past, but the feature had been disabled when I received it, without notating the change in any paperwork. I asked about it the last time I had my car at the dealership and they acknowledged that Honda was telling them to disable the auto-idle-stop on vehicles where the owner said something. Today, July 16th, 2023, I experienced the same behavior when I stopped for gas. The car would not restart, the starter would not attempt to star the car. I had driven about 60 miles in this 100 degree weather in Aransas, Texas. After filling up with gas my car wouldn't start, the electronics worked, the radio came on, but the car wouldn't start. I got out of the car while the electronics were on, went to talk to another person in the caravan. I came back and tried again and the car started. The battery was obviously capable of starting the car without jumping. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Regarding the Action Number PE22005 that is still in open investigation, I would like to report having this same issue with a 2018 Honda Pilot Elite that I purchased through a dealer on June 24. I recently had this same issue, where at a stoplight the car went into the engine idle stage, and the engine completely shut off, instructions popped up on the dashboard to put the car in park and restart the car. Hopefully this will be figured out by Honda soon, as this can be a real issue. I had a similar issue, when stopped in the road to turn left, the engine went into idle stage, it restarted when going to turn however there was a huge delay in this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |