Complaint volume
116 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
2023 Honda Pilot Complaints
116 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Honda Pilot, grouped by component category.
116 Total complaints
2 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
2 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 seat belts, unknown or other, electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 2 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 2 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 15 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 23,926 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to seat belts, unknown or other, electrical system?
- 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 2023 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.
2023 Honda Pilot
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Honda Pilot complaints?
2 Crash
0 Fire
2 Injury
0 Fatality
0 Towed
0 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Honda Pilot complaint categories?
SEAT BELTS 17
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 14
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13
STEERING 10
ENGINE 6
VISIBILITY 6
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
SERVICE BRAKES 5
STRUCTURE 4
VISIBILITY/WIPER 4
116 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | ENGINE | Car has been serviced at same dealership I purchased from. All service up to date, Gas type shell gas brand used 95% of the time. (Noticed November 2025)issue a month after recommended transmission flush and an engine oil change. Rough idling (especially when temp below 60⁰) and almost like a miss fire when driving. No check engine light, and dealership had vehicle for two days but claimed unable to replicate issue suggested these engines are prone to carbon buildup. But recommended I switch to premium gas. SUV drives rough and then randomly reverts to normal smooth driving, also seems to struggle when switching gears, spoke to other owners of same type and a pattern of previous years owners mentioned potential issue with VCM. Major issue: Rattling during start up and driving ( sometimes goes away randomly) Car struggles with gear switching. Engine/transmission hesitation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | SEAT BELTS,SEATS | The seat belt alarm keeps going off as if the seat belt is not buckled even though it is buckled. The first issue was when I had the car less than a yr. The middle row right side had this problem and the dealer replaced the seatbelt. Now at 38k miles, the middle row middle seat started to have the same issue. Also, the middle row on the right side would occasionally alarm as well but not as constant (this was the same seatbelt that was replaced initially). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | STRUCTURE | The driver seatbelt was soaking wet after a rainstorm. The vehicle does not have a sunroof. Upon further inspection the airbag and its electronics were also soaked in water. It has never been in an accident or had any work done to it. There is a factory installed roof rack(Sport model). I am concerned for the safety in the function of the airbag and seatbelt tensioner in the event of an accident after being soaked in water an unknown amount of times. Secondary, possibly related issue. The rear drivers side door will randomly not unlock/open from the exterior(have to reach through and use the interior handle). Posing a safety issue in the event of child removal in an emergency. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | STEERING | The car is making a knocking sound while driving at low speeds (ex. Pulling into the garage, reversing into a parking spot) while turning the wheel. The 2023 Pilot is currently at the dealership being inspected. I have come across many other posts, with video, confirming this exact sound with the same assessment - all pointing to the steering rack (although some fixes only being temporary so the part itself might be defective). This is a newer lease and I am not convinced it is safe to drive in with this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2026 | SEAT BELTS | Rear seat belt indicator and alarm go off continuously when the seat is occupied and when the passenger is buckled by the seat belt. While the passenger is buckled, anytime they shift it causes the indicator light to come on and the alarm to sound. This defeats the purpose of having the indicator. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | Other/I am not sure | The car seat snug lock feature in the forward facing position does NOT create a snug fit and becomes loose over time. BOTH of my turn2me seats do this. Purchased on the same day. We recently forward faced my daughter due to maxing out the rear facing limits. We have installed with the seat belt due to being over the limit for the latch. With the seat belt, when installed per the manual, it comes loose almost immediately after install. I noticed the seat starts to wiggle within a couple days and being over the “one inch rule”. I will submit videos of me installing per manual and how it comes undone with the slightest pull on the belt. This is what happens after a couple days of use. I’m a cpst and have discussed with numerous cpst about this seat. This is a “known issue” and nothing we have tried will keep it secure. Extremely unsafe to be using this seat and it needs to be recalled due to this not being the first complaint. I have also made a report with graco with no response yet. It will not let me upload videos to the report but if someone reaches out, I can email them in. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | SEAT BELTS | Rear/third-row seatbelt warning activates repeatedly even when passenger is properly buckled. Issue has been present shortly after vehicle purchase. Dealer refuses inspection without charging diagnostic fee. Safety system is unreliable and distracting while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | SEAT BELTS | Multiple false "unbuckled seatbelt warning" regarding the rear seat belt being unbuckled when it was not. Alarm sounds and lights up warning on drivers display board. This alarmed the driver during movement on multiple occasions, causing unnecessary distraction. Driver sometimes ignores the signal because of the frequency of the false alarm and missed an actual moment where teenager was unbuckled. This is very dangerous. Please look into this please. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A few moments after I purchased my 2023 Honda Pilot I noticed that I began getting car sick while driving. I purchased the car at night and it was a long drive home, so I figured it was due to dehydration or something else. During the day however, I noticed it again. Upon careful inspection I noticed the entire windshield had a distortion, it appeared as if one was looking through a pair of eyeglasses that had a very strong prescription. I am in the process of creating an incident with Honda and have already contacted my local dealership, who was not very helpful in this matter. I am still driving this vehicle as well as my wife because we have no other choice but I do feel that this situation poses a safety hazard for us and our family, as the windshield is a distraction and can cause the driver to lose focus on objects while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | El carro tiene fallas con el sistema eléctrico de frenos y no arranca. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | SERVICE BRAKES | While driving on U.S Highway 521 in South Carolina, the vehicle experienced SUDDEN, UNEXPECTED BRAKING AND VIOLENT SHAKING even though there were no cars or obstacles directly in front of me. The sensation was so strong it felt as if the car had been rear-ended, but there was no impact. The issue has happened MULTIPLE TIMES since I purchased the vehicle new in 2023. Each time, traffic was flowing normally, and no immediate hazard was present. The closest car in front of me was several car lenghts away, yet the PILOT suddenly braked on its own. The problem appears to be linked to the COLLISION MITIGATION BRAKING SYSTEM or related driver-assist sensors, which seem to be misreading conditions and triggering false emergency braking. This defect creates a serious SAFETY HAZARD. The abrupt, forceful braking puts me and my family at risk of being rear-ended by following vehicles. It has also caused panic and near-miss incidents in traffic. I am filling this complaint to ensure it is formally documented and investigated as SAFETY DEFECT. This is a serious risk to DRIVER AND PASSENGERS and could lead to accidents. I am requesting NHTSA to investigate whether this defect affects other HONDA PILOT vehicles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STEERING | My 2023 Honda Pilot has had persistent issues with the steering system since it was purchased new. The problems manifest as knocking noises in the steering column, although no warning lights appear. The Honda dealer has replaced the steering rack three times. A rattling noise is now occurring in the steering column, and the dealer is advising replacement of the steering column. The dealer was in contact with Honda engineering each time to solicit advice and obtain approval for the repairs. The replaced parts are not available for inspection, and only the Honda dealer has inspected the vehicle. I am concerned for my safety. I am afraid that the steering will fail while I am driving at highway speeds and cause an accident. I contacted Honda corporate, and they essentially told me there is nothing they can do because the vehicle is considered “fixed” after each repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2025 | STEERING | When trying to drive my vehicle i noticed the steering wheel became hard to turn. I was able to get a tow truck to drop my vehicle off at the dealership to get it looked at. The dealership is telling me that it is due to a steering problem needing a rack and pinion part. This vehicle is a 2023 Honda Pilot which was just purchased by me in April. There hasnt been any issue until now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While parked, I heard a pop. Later on there was a crack in the windshield around the camera. Nothing impacted the windshield this looks definitely like a stress fracture but the dealership was not helpful. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The back glass suddenly shattered. No cause was discovered. It was not vandalism. There was no prior damage to the back glass. We were seated in the front seats. Normally, we would have had our grandchildren in the back seats closest to the glass. I looked it up on the Internet and found out that this occurrence is fairly common among Honda makes. I took pictures of the damage and filed a claim with my insurance company. No warning occurred before the glass shattered. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | SEAT BELTS | For the middle row, right passenger seat, the seat belt alert (visual and audio alert) goes off even when the passenger is properly buckled in. It is intermittent. This is a safety issue as the alert keeps beeping throughout the journey. The beeping can be very distracting when driving due to the noise, and also as it raises concern of safety. My workaround is not to use that seat (an inconvenience), or use the seat without a seatbelt buckled in (safety). Dealership dismissed it as a non-issue as they could not replicate it because the issue is intermittent. The vehicle is out of the bumper-to-bumper warranty thus discovery and fixing the issue (if there is any) will be out of my pocket. I have seen others mention this issue so it is not isolated to my car but rather to this model and year. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Twice in the past week the collision mitigation braking system engaged without reason and the vehicle suddenly braked while I was driving | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Dear [NHTSA or Honda Customer Service], I am submitting this complaint to raise a serious safety concern regarding the automatic engine shutoff feature in my 2023 Honda Pilot EX-L. While parked and talking to the dealer, I left my vehicle running with the air conditioning on and my older children in the back seat. Despite the key being inside the car and the engine running, the vehicle shut off automatically after approximately 30 minutes, disabling the air conditioning without any clear warning. This happened in the desert heat, creating an extremely dangerous situation for my children, who were sitting in a vehicle that quickly began to overheat. At no point were we warned by the dealer, the vehicle itself, or any documentation that this idle shutoff would activate even when occupants are inside the car. This is an unacceptable and unsafe default behavior. While I understand the intention behind the feature may be related to fuel or emissions concerns, it should never override the need for cabin cooling when passengers—especially children—are present. This feature should: •Include more prominent audible and visual warnings •Be easily disabled or extended by the driver •Be reconsidered entirely when rear seat occupancy is detected I urge the NHTSA and/or Honda to take this issue seriously and issue a recall, software update, or safety bulletin to allow owners to override or disable this idle shutoff function under safe, supervised circumstances. This is a family vehicle, and no feature should put occupants at risk of heat-related injury. Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 7/25/2025 i was driving my wife’s pilot between 55 and 60 mph when the vehicle alerted me to several warnings and the braking system stuck at the top of the pedal not allowing the vehicle to slow in a construction zone. I was able to limp the vehicle home but the vehicle was extremely difficult to slow at red lights. The vehicle was towed from residence after sitting and the tow truck driver said the vehicle was not showing any warning signs. The dealership in paducah test drove the vehicle and did not see anything wrong with it. They subsequently checked and there was a diagnostic for brake booster failure. The vehicle has 41,000 miles on it. In addition it went to the dealership at 9,981 miles for electronic parking brake sticking and the ike dealership said there was nothing wrong. There are other reports of woners on youtube who have had this failure or similar with one member having to ditch the vehicle. I almost wrecked and hit a vehicle that slowed in front of me. The system thew error codes to include failure in electronic steering, transmission, hill descent, electronic braking, and others. I recorded the errors on the dash. This vehicle has also thrown airbag error with only a few thousand miles. The vehicle has side panels that have fallen off and and seals on the panoramic sunroof that have failed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2023 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while shifted into reverse, there was an abnormal popping and cracking sound coming from the driver’s side roof. The failure became worse over time. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the struts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that there were improper welds underneath the third-row seats on the cross member, and that the cross member needed to be properly welded. The vehicle was taken to a body shop and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 18,000 |
| Jul 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Vehicle when entering traffic hesitates for 2 to 3 seconds and then surges forward real fast. No warning lights or or messages. Very scary and dangerous . feels like you do not have control of vehicle....This has happened only twice since I have owned the vehicle. I purchased the vehicle new from a dealer... | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Vision is severely impaired by optical distortion in the windshield, directly in the driver's field of vision. It is also noticeable from anywhere inside or outside of the vehicle. Some areas magnify the view so it looks as though the road is coming up towards the driver. Other areas warp the view horizontally or vertically. It is unsafe because it changes the way the road and other vehicles appear to the driver. The driver feels as though they are wearing strong prescription glasses. Causes dizziness and disorientation to the driver. Visible rippling/warping of the glass of the windshield. One photo is attached showing warped letters through the windshield. (Video is easier to see the other types of warping from inside the vehicle.) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2025 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | I wanted to share a very scary incident that occurred while I was slowly creeping into a parking space in a parking garage. With my foot over the brake, as there were children in the area from a car that had parked to the right of mine, my car suddenly surged forward at a high rate of speed. It ultimately crashed into the 3-foot safety wall with tension wires of the parking garage. Clearly there is an issue with the propulsion system that accelerated my car forward. It's unknown to me if there was also an electrical issue involved in this propulsion failure. The car is available for inspection. The Honda dealer examined the vehicle but was unable to reproduce the issue, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the car, no codes stored of any relation to this incident, and that it was safe to drive. Additionally, I would like to mention that there was no warning lamps lit up on my dashboard before the incident and none appeared after the crash. My insurance was notified, and they deemed the car undrivable. The insurance representative is scheduled to inspect the car tomorrow. This is the first time my car accelerated on its own at a high rate of speed. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | ENGINE | All listed problems act sporadically. Dangerously Defected 2023 Honda Pilot. Numerous problems with vehicle over several months. Kept taking it back to Charlie's Honda and was told they could not reproduce the problems I was stating. The Vehicle will bog, hesitate and jerk while driving. Charlie finds nothing wrong. Actually all items that are functioning incorrectly, Charlie's tell me they cannot repair anything when they can not reproduce the problem. They tell me that the 10 gears are so close that they skip? Sorry, that's ridiculous! Finally I called previous Owners, (Which Charlie's Honda refused to give me until I had to show them the Chapter 10 S1475 I had with me.) [XXX] from Herman, ME. Ph # [XXX]. They told me to tell you to please call them because they are very upset. After several times taking the Honda back to Charlie’s with no repairs done they went to get a different vehicle at Charlie's Toyota and the Toyota Manager told them that the Honda Pilot was a very dangerous vehicle and will not be put out on the Lot for resale. The [XXX] stated that they almost crashed while taking a left at an intersection with their children in the vehicle because it almost came to a complete stop. This serious problem is doing it to me now and this is why I’m taking this action. The [XXX] left the Pilot at Charlie's Honda for several days but Charlie's said they could not reproduce the problem. Just a few of numerous defects stated below and reported to Charlie's Honda but received no repairs, just excuses : The Airbag says off when a 175 lb person sitting in the front passenger seat. Rear camera does not register an object. I was told it didn't work because it was 1 inch from rear side camera and it was too narrow. nothing done. Speed said I was doing 85mph. I was doing 40 mph. mechanic said he sees them register 100 mph. nothing done. The tech screen goes black. Cannot shut radio off. After trying 3 times. Much more to report! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 55 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2025 | BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING | Continued from previous submitted complaint: Driver window will not stop when trying to stop it forcibly with hand. I was told that the window will not stop until the window is almost closed at the top. Hope a 4 year old's arm isn't in it. Front passenger window will raise 1/4 of the way up, then fall back down and rock on it's cradle. I took a video of it happening but Charlie's Honda, Augusta, Maine did not want to see it. The Key Fob is a nightmare. It tells me it won’t lock because key is in vehicle. The key is in my pocket as I walk away. It also tells me that “No Key Detected” I’m sitting in the driver’s seat with the vehicle’s engine physically running. Rear Hatch will not open when physically pushing release button. Much more reported but Charlie's Honda has an excuse ready at all times. I bought this Pilot on 10/02/2023 and have nothing but problems with it up to date 6/20/2025. Previous owners kept it for 4 months then traded because they felt very unsafe in it. Which I didn't know this info until 6-15-2025 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |