Complaint volume
403 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
403 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Honda Pilot, grouped by component category.
403 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 42 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 36,320 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 40
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37
ENGINE 33
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 29
AIR BAGS 22
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 20
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 16
VISIBILITY/WIPER 16
TIRES 13
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 11
403 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I have been harassed and yelled at when driving my Black edition car. People are finding it offensive name and if I would have known this I would not have purchased. I have even got threats of harm due to the name in Atlanta. I can not even drive my car when I am going to certain parts of my job due to the fear that I have from the name and yells that I get. | 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 |
| 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 |
| Oct 2021 | POWER TRAIN | This vehicle has a pushbutton transmission "gear selector". It is IMPOSSIBLE per the owner's manual, and further confirmed by the dealership, to PLACE THIS VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL without the engine running. This is an unacceptable safety hazard. If the vehicle stops running in busy traffic or in an intersection, or otherwise in a zone such that imminent danger of collision is necessarily introduced, it is impossible to push the vehicle out of danger, off to the side of the road. Further it cannot be towed without necessary imparting damage to the drive train. Honda requires the owner to BUY A SPECIAL TOOL, Lock Release 07AAA-TZ3A100 which requires removal of underhood components to place the transmission in neutral, and it (apparently) cannot be maintained there without an extra person available to hold the tool against spring return pressure. This whole affair is simply UNBELIEVABLE. As I write this, there is NO INCIDENT, as the vehicle is relatively new to us. But I'm 61 years old, and have had to place inoperative cars in neutral to get them out of harms way, at least a dozen times in my life. Note that this shortcoming manifests itself as simply as whenever the vehicle runs out of gas. This cannot be allowed to happen. Are there no adults left in the building designing these cars? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | SUSPENSION,ENGINE | Twice in the past 4 weeks, while driving, the car switches into Neutral. The car dash still says it is in Drive and the gear buttons still show “D/S” highlighted. However, the car is rev-ing the engine as if it is in neutral and the car is only rolling instead of driving. It lasts for about 10 seconds and then resumes working normally. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | At about 8600 miles between speeds of 38 -60 miles per hour, I began to notice and experience a tremendous wind noise coming from both driver and passenger windows. The vehicle has been to (2) two separate Honda dealerships on (4) four different times to address this issue, but the problem remains and or has not been fixed in spite of all the repairs made by the dealerships. I was advised by the dealerships that this is how Honda manufactured the vehicle and that there was nothing else the dealerships could do to fix the problem. Driving the vehicle is now problematic because of the wind noise, as it appears my windows are down, even though they are not. There is a safety concern because I do not know whether a panel, garnish or windshield might come apart, tear away and potentially create a hazardous condition for myself, passengers or even the other motorists. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | TIRES | Purchased vehicle in August 2021. Discovered that driver side rear tire was completely flat while parked in my driveway. Noticeable gash in sidewall of tire Continental Crosscontact LX A376 D3K9 2321; 245/50R20 102H. Dealership had no explanation for the gash and since no recalls, had to pay nearly $300 for a new tire on a vehicle that was driven 2 months since purchased. My other tires are 2321, 2421, 2421, and the new tire is 4720. I saw there were two recalls for Pilot tires in the recent past and these tires should be reviewed as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Driving down interstate. Sunny day 75 degrees. Moonroof exploded. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 - 30 MPH, a loud bang noise was heard. The contact stated that the sunroof glass had exploded, and glass shards came inside of the vehicle and landed on the contact's hair and clothing. There was no impact on the sunroof that could have caused it to shatter. The contact did not sustain any injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer informed the contact that a stone must have hit the sunroof and referred the contact to file a claim with the insurance company. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,000 |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, he noticed that several warning lights illuminated and remained illuminated. The contact continued driving to his residence. The following day the warning lights disappeared. Several months later the failure recurred. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic related the failure to an unknown electrical failure and performed a software update to fix the vehicle. the contact stated that the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,000 |
| Sep 2021 | TIRES | Tire size 245/50R20102H Cross Contact LX Sport on Honda Pilot 2021. Vehicle was purchased in late June 2021, tire side wall exploded on 8/5/21. There was no pot hole, etc. Just exploded with about a 5 inch gash in the sidewall. There are recalls all around the date my tires were manufactured, however, somehow there is no warranty on mine?? I have a receipt where I paid a Honda Dealership $341.82 for the repair. I did not repair the rim, but it is also slightly damaged. When the explosion happened, I almost hit another car in the lane beside me. I had to really hold onto the wheel to keep it in my lane. I am VERY concerned for my safety and my kid's safety as I now have to ride on the same tires with similar dates of the recalls. I saw where there was a recall of these tires in Nov 2020, and then again in Feb 2021 where thousands more were affected....except nothing about mine. Strange. Attempts at dealing with the dealership or Continental have not worked at all. There were no reports filed, no attempts to even look at the situation. If my tire did the same thing as the recall, then there should be a recall on that tire as well. But how do you start a recall?? You would think if another tire was affected, they would want to know and care. My DOT dates are 0721, 0721, 0621, and 3420 is my new tire for some strange reason. South Carolina does not keep track of DOT dates, so how do I know that my tire before was not affected? I do not even know the date of the repaired one. They told me at the dealership after the fact, that they do no keep records on DOT numbers. Then, how do they keep track of the recall using my VIN number if they don't keep track of it. I am VERY concerned that this is being overlooked by Honda and Continental. I saw they even did a news piece on it. How much does it take? I have all receipts etc, however it will not upload as I have an iPhone and it does not accept HEIC pics . | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ENGINE | Incident occurred 9/28/21 4:20 - 4:30 pm PST while driving in the 3rd lane of southbound 880 Highway about 1 mile before the the exit of 16th Ave & Embarcadero in the city of Oakland. The speed that the vehicle was moving at the time of the incident was between 50 to 55 MPH. The vehicle has more than half a tank of gas and the battery has never been discharged. Also all the required vehicle inspections and services has been performed by the same service center of San Leandro Honda since acquiring the vehicle on 2/10/21 from San Leandro Honda. There are 3 occupants in the vehicle; my wife, our 5 year old child and myself (driver). Our 2021 Honda Pilot EX-L with only 9,209 miles without any accident records started to show different kinds of warning signs lighting up on the dashboard, then followed by steering and engine failure. I immediately turn on the hazard lights and pointed the vehicle towards the right shoulder of the freeway. Thank goodness that at the time of the incident the traffic is heavier and moving slower. Also other motorists are accommodating enough to let us get to the shoulder without any accidents. If it was lighter traffic at the time it could have been devasted for us. Tow truck driver Manuel Escalante that works through FSP in partnership with CHP helped us get out of the shoulder of the 880 freeway onto a safer location in the city street to await further towing assistant from my roadside service with Honda. After getting towed by another tow truck driver to San Leandro Honda on 9/28/21, my vehicle still remain there. The service department haven't provided any detail report to why the engine seized from working while we were driving in the freeway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |