Complaint volume
388 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
2021 Honda Pilot Complaints
388 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Honda Pilot, grouped by component category.
388 Total complaints
12 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
7 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 unknown or other, electrical system, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 12 crash reports, 1 fire report, 7 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 41 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 34,816 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, engine?
- 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 2021 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.
2021 Honda Pilot
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Honda Pilot complaints?
12 Crash
1 Fire
7 Injury
0 Fatality
12 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Honda Pilot complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 38
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 35
ENGINE 30
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 27
AIR BAGS 22
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 19
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 16
VISIBILITY/WIPER 16
TIRES 13
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11
388 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Auto braking applies randomly cause brakes to lock up happens when driving in any conditions. This problem has already caused a minor accident with my vehicle due to brakes locking up and no throttle | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | New car battery and car died while waiting at a light. The vehicle idle/stop system kicked in but car was not able to restart. While lights were still available on dashboard, the emergency hazards would not show nor could I put the car in neutral. The dealer looked at this problem twice, first time stating this can just happen and this time they said the new battery was perhaps faulty and replaced the battery. Very dangerous situation as the car just died at the light and cars had no way of knowing the car was disabled as the hazards would not work. Had an emergency jumper pack and was able to move the car to get out of road before it died again- no option to push car as I could not put car in neutral. This is the 3rd time this issue with the battery dying has happened and dealer cannot supply an answer except to swap out the battery. Less than 1.5 years old and <26K miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN,EQUIPMENT | Unresponsive dash control screen. Hands free Bluetooth disconnects. Popping sound through speakers. CarPlay option disappears. Am/Fm radio muffles while error message states no audio available. Restarting car fixes these issues for short while. Turning off radio while engine is on does not work. Gear hunting in transmission 2,3,4 fourth gear. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Forward Collision Warning system has many times flashed the large ‘BRAKE’ and loud beeping warning when collision was not imminent. It never actually applied the brakes but worries us that it could slam on the brakes unnecessarily and cause an accident by getting rear ended or causeing the car to lose control and skid cross lanes. Most of the time this happens on an undivided road, sometimes on a curve, when the car may think the oncoming traffic may be coming at us. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ENGINE | Vehicle failed to restart after stopping at a stop light while auto stop feature was on (defaults on). Vehicle was only 18 months old since purchase. Battery completely dead, only started after tow truck applied jumper for a long time. Had to be in busy six lane intersection for almost an hour. Car could not be shifted out of park into neutral to tow because push button transmission controls rely on battery power. Car is AWD. Vehicle is used mainly for 4 mile commute, often in stop and go traffic, to work and errands within that radius. I suspect the auto start feature drained the battery. The feature stops the engine anytime you come to a stop. It doesn’t seem to take into account how often it stops or how long the engine has been able to run and charge the battery. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | I will be filing a issue with our 21 Honda Ridgeline too as the same problem has occurred in both vehicles with the same engine and transmission. This has happened a total of 3 different times. When I drive the Pilot for a long time (over 4 hours)on the expressway and then pull off on a ramp and turn left the vehicle will go into safe mode. The engine light will start flashing and you can not drive over 30 mph. The engine runs rough and idles hard. I have contacted Honda and the dealership I purchased it from. Honda has acknowledged this is a problem and has occurred multiples with many different vehicles. The dealership I work with has acknowledged the same thing as they have several vehicles that have been brought in with this problem. I have waited several months for Honda to come up with a solution, so far they have not. This is a safety concern because what would happen if this same situation came up when I'm pulling my trailer or on the expressway at higher speeds. This could cause an accident. This first started on my Pilot in December of 2021. It has happened several times since then. Every time there is no code the computer keeps, even though each time the engine light is flashing. What I have been told is the computer thinks the engine has backfired and goes into safe mode, but Honda doesn't know why it does this. If you turn the vehicle off and restart it, the problem goes away. When the dealership has run a diagnosis off the computer, there are no codes the computer throws. Even though the check engine light is flashing when this occurs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | On June 4, 2022, our 2021 Pilot was parked on the driveway with no one around it. It has been parked there for 2 days and the last time it was driven was on June 2. I was walking on the driveway towards our mailbox when all of a sudden the rear window exploded outward. Almost all of the glass were on the driveway and there were hardly any glass inside the vehicle. I called Honda Customer Service and I was told that I had to bring it to a dealer to see if it was a manufacturer's defect. However, the dealer would not be able to look at the car in a timely manner. I called my insurance and they covered the replacement glass yesterday. I researched the internet there were several similar incidents involving the rear window of Honda Pilots bursting/exploding. I am reporting this since this could be a potential driving hazard and a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ENGINE | Engine shuts off when you are at a red light and you press the foot brake pedal hard. When you release the brake the engine starts. In my case the engine shut off and when I released the brake the engine did not start had to put transmission in park and then did a restart. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | The car's automatic engine shut-off feature when stopped at a red light failed to reengaged after removing foot from break the car shut down and the transmission button shifted into neutral and displayed a message that you must put your foot on the brake and shift the car to Park. The battery indicator light was flashing and everything turned off in the car. After doing this the car told me I must put my foot on the break and restart the car. It then allowed me to shift back into drive. The dealer was not able to recreate the issue, and no other things showed the issue other than the battery indicator lamp flashing on and off until the car was back in drive. The light I lost all power at was on a road with a 55 MPH speed limit. When the light turned green and the car lost all power there was another vehicle approaching, but I was not able to get the car moving fast enough to get out of the way. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The cars automatic emergency breaking system malfunctions and randomly activates and applies the brakes while driving. This specific incident has occurred three times when entering the highway on ramp the "BRAKE" message is displayed in the car and the brakes have been applied as I've attempted to get up to speed entering the highway. There were no cars in front of the vehicle at the time the emergency breaking system applied the breaks. In addition, the braking system has applied when changing lanes on the highway with no vehicles or objects in front of the car and several times on curvy roads. I've taken it back to the Honda dealer and they have stated that no codes were stored and were not able to recreate the problem. However, the service advisor also informed me that they could not reset or make any changes as "there is pending litigation and investigations with the NTSB" I was charged $109 for a 'diagnosic fee' for a car that is still under the manufacturers waranty and told to watch for a recall at some point because their is nothing they are able to do to fix the problem because of the pending litigation/investigation. The incident happened two more times on my drive home from the dealership. There is no warning lamps that have come on or other symptoms that can be isolated, other than the "BRAKE" message appearing and the automatic breaking being applied. This is incredibly dangerous when the car drastically is slowed down for no reason on roads that have 45 + MPH speed limits. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving above 20 MPH, the driver's side mirror was vibrating and causing a visibility issue. The failure had been reoccurring since the vehicle was purchased. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was due to the adhesive used to secure the mirror. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. In June 2021 consumer bought a new Honda Pilot. From the time consumer drove it off the lot, she noticed that the driver's side mirror shook on rough roads and at highway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Automatic braking system is engaging when there is nothing in front of or near the vehicle. When driving on the highway it will engage, flash BRAKE on the front dash, and engage the brakes and slow WAY down while doing 60+ mph. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | There have been multiple instances where the Automatic Braking system has engaged preventing me as the operator from making adjustments. I have almost been in 2 collisions due to this feature. The automatic braking system prevents me from making a correction and will automatically lock up the brakes and steering. Both times I have almost been rear ended due to this feature. There has been an instance where the braking feature engaged where there was no car in from of me but a car coming from the other lane and my Honda Pilot engaged the automatic braking system. Luckily there was no car behind me. This feature while could be useful is not in my opinion a safety feature but a safety hazard due to these multiple instances. This feature should be permanently disabled upon start up. Multiple times when I start the car I don't realize it is engaged until something happens. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | There have been several times the automatic braking assist has completely stopped the car. This has caused vehicles behind me to break hard almost causing accidents. I now disengage the automatic breaking assist when I use the car. I saw there were incidents with other Honda vehicles that didn't include the 2021 Honda Pilot which I believe should be included. I have witnesses of the car breaking to a complete stop several times. Please investigate before more accidents happen with injuries. Thank you for your hard work involved. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Automatic braking system is engaging when there is nothing in front of or near the vehicle. When driving on the highway it will engage, flash BRAKE on the front dash, and engage the brakes and slow WAY down while doing 60+ mph. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My car has had the automatic emergency braking system kick in randomly at least 6 times since I bought it. No cars in front of me, nothing on the shoulder next to me. Twice when a car was in opposite direction lane but nowhere near the center line. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | automatic brakes happened a couple time on highway for no reason. happened most in carpool lane and curve freeways | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Our Pilot is brand new - we started noticing popping and cracking sounds from the dashboard. It is pretty loud. We thought it was possibly the radio but it continues with the radio off. We thought it was the dashboard contracting/expanding but it happens in all weather. It has become increasing loud and consistent and now any sounds from the stereo, regardless of input, skip and glitch and we turn it off and the popping and cracking sound continues seemingly from the speakers. We took it to the dealership for repair but they said they can't repair it. This is not acceptable for a new car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The entire rear windshield compeltely failed on us. Last night (02/06/21) when we we turned on our NEW 2021 Pilot and started exiting the garage, the rear windshield forcefully exploded! The ENTIRE windshield shattered to pieces. It seemed like someone shot at our windshield but no one was outside. The windshield was never cracked before either, it was a new car! There were kids in the back and it was a HUGE SAFTEY HAZARD. The glass pieces were everywhere. This couldve happened on the road as well but thankfully we were in the garage. This is totally unacceptable for a new car and surely there was a defect in the tampered glass developed hy Honda in the first place. We have done a previous service with Honda and Honda told us all is good. Honda must answer for this since this was a very dangerous situation and traumatizing for my kids. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Driver side vehicle outside rear view mirror has separated from its' underlying mounting plate, while still being attached by a heating wire connected to the back surface of the mirror. Therefore it has been vibrating such that rearward visibility has been severely compromised and places both us and others at risk. It has now separated to the point that it is pulling out the wire and without tape will hang off it's housing. We have brought this issue to the attention of Hertrich Honda of Easton Md. as well as Honda. We are told by the dealer that this is a common issue on the Pilot and other models and that Honda has not provided a fix for the problem. In fact we are told by the dealer that there are no replacement components or mirrors available to fix the problem. Honda indicates that they are not aware of the problem. We have been addressing this problem with the dealer for over five months with no resolution. At this time the passenger side mirror is also vibrating severely but to our knowledge has not separated completely from the housing. We believe that this situation is very dangerous and seem not to be making progress in finding an acceptable resolution. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | AIR BAGS | Airbag light came ON at 45,000 miles approximately. Took the vehicle to dealership paid for a diagnosis just to be told that it is out of warranty that if I want it fixed had to pay out of pocket $531.69 for SRS unit, plus $1398.98 for a Seat Frame, plus $980.75 for Labor. I just got very surprised that the airbags (a safety feature) is part of the limited warranty. Since when the airbags apparently get worn out with mileage??? It is a safety concern. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The problem is the driver's outside rearview mirror. The mirror shakes so much that it is useless at highway speed, you cannot focus on vehicles coming up on your left hand side. The dealer and Honda are aware of the problem since the beginning of 2021. That being said both allowed me to purchase the 2021 Honda Pilot in June 2021. I have been in contact with the dealer over 6 times to see if a fix has been made available? I also filed a complaint with Honda in July 2021 and got no date for a fix. I have avoided an accident on three occasions, my daughter once and my wife has had close calls. How can a dealer and Honda sell me a vehicle with a known defect and not be able to fix it? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | Brake grinding noise when rotors get hot | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | TIRES | Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tire size 245/50 R 20 102H has a crack on the sidewall, which caused sudden air loss. I can see there are recalls for Pilot tires. I think this tire should be reviewed as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | EQUIPMENT | The Information board goes out frequently and does not stay connected with phone. It started with the appleplay and the bluetooth dropping my phone and saying there was nothing connected. Then it would not connect at all. My infoboard behind the steering wheel then started to go on and off. There was one time that I was driving and the entire system went out and I had no idea where to turn and how fast I was going. The heating on the steering wheel does not work and does not warm up or just warms to the 1 I have called and taken my car in 2 times. They said this last time that it was fixed. It does not recognize my phone again and starting to drop calls. There is also loud static when you do get access to bluetooth or the sound goes muffled. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |