2018 Honda Pilot owner complaints

Transmission is jumping between first and second gear randomly.

I have taken this vehicle into the Honda dealership on five separate occasions to report a power transfer problem. I first visited the Honda dealership to report this problem on 9/2024. It hasn't been until my most recent visit on 12/18/25, that a customer service representative told me that my vehicle needed a new torque converter. It is available for inspection upon request. The first occasion when the vehicle caused a safety issue, we were preparing to make a left hand turn and the car jerked, the dash lights flashed, and the vehicle completely turned off. This was in the summer of 2024. We have had many smaller incidents leading up to this first occurrence but they haven't resulted in the vehicle completely shutting off. Most of the power transfer problems occur when we first b

When the idle stop feature is active the vehicle can stop, ceasing all functions, including steering and engine. The entire electrical system does not function, and the vehicle cannot be restarted. In order to restart the vehicle you are required to jumpstart the vehicle. This issue was not common during early ownership of vehicle, but has become more frequent with age. This is a safety issue as the vehicle can become inoperable in busy intersections.

My transmission failed although it was scanned a few weeks earlier indicating no issues with the transmission. I was lucky that the car failed once I stopped and wouldn't shift back into gear however it could have failed while driving. The car was driving fine and was slightly slow to engage, but I believe that was due to the fuel pump recall, which I could not have fixed because of a shortage of parts. My concern is that the transmission would have failed during my trip while driving over the mountains. It would have been really dangerous. There appear to be problems with the transmission in the 2018 Honda Pilots.

Transmission failed suddenly while on the highway. Engine light came on, and could not shift above first gear. Took to the Honda dealership where we purchased the vehicle (purchased new in 2018) and was told transmission failed and needed to be replaced. This is a 2018 Honda Pilot with only 35,000 miles on it with all routine maintenance done.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-65 MPH, the vehicle jerked, and the message "Transmission Systems Failure" was displayed on the instrument panel. In addition, the transmission downshifted unexpectedly, and a short while later shifted to normal drive and operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the torque converter clutch had failed; DTC: P0741. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had become progressively worse and occurred more frequently. The contact related the failure to TSB: 23-078; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Vehicle auto locked with keys in car and could not unlock. Fortunately, car was in my garage and did not create a safety issue. However, had this occurred in the summer with a small child or pet inside, it could have been an extreme safety hazard, possibly leading to fatal consequences. This vehicle is never supposed to lock with keys in the car.

I have called about this recall at least three times. I brought it in to be serviced and told them that I felt like something was wrong with the car and that it did not feel like it was driving right like it wasn't getting power and sluggish. They assured me that my car would be given thew replacement part soon it's been over a year. I drive with my daughter on the highway 4 times a week. Two days before Christmas my car broke down. I was driving and it started to not shift properly and would stutter when I stepped on the gas to accelerate. The check transmission and emissions system sensors came on and I just barely made it into my parking lot at my apartment. It has several system warnings coming up and was not shifting right. It is now in the shop and they can't look at it for severa

Vehicle engine shutdown while at full stop and does not turn on or has difficulties turning back on. This happens sporadically and only happens at stops such as red lights, stop signs, and or stop and go traffic.

he auto start/stop is not working for my 2018 Honda Pilot Elite. The vehicle does not start in the middle of the traffic when it stops. I've stuck stuck multiple times and now for last 1 year I have to force switch off that feature every time I drive the car.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the engine warning light Illuminated. The contact stated that there was a knocking sound coming from the engine while parking the vehicle at work. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 170,000.

I was driving on the highway, and the sensor stating the transmission is too hot popped up on the dashboard. This is an issue I have brought to Honda's attention on a few other occasions over the past three years, as this light has shown up before, but only when the outside temperatures had exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and I was driving at speeds of 55mph or more. I'd been told that since there was no active re-call, there was nothing they could do each time I reached out to Honda. Shortly after the light showed on the dashboard, I lost the ability to accelerate. I was pushing the gas pedal down, the RPM's were increasing, but my speed was decreasing. At that point, I decided it was best to exit at the upcoming Oasis, and before I could start to merge right, I heard a loud "pop" noise

Removed and replaced connecting rod bearings after engine knock noted and confirmed at Honda dealership during unrelated maintenance work. The mechanic noted wear and scoring on the connecting rod bearings and the engine knock went away after replacement. This could've resulted in catastrophic engine failure and loss of control while driving if unaddressed. This VIN was not covered under NHTSA recall 23V-751 related to connecting rod bearing failure but was in the same year / model groups. Request that the recall be widened to include a bigger range of vehicles.

The problem began in May this year and has gotten worse over time. The idle engine stop does not always work properly. After driving for 10-15 minutes in stop and go traffic, when the brake is released, a popping noise or click is heard and the electronics (radio, AC, etc.) go off momentarily. When the idle engine stop is working properly, there is no noise and the radio, etc. are not interrupted. After several additional miles of driving, the noise or click becomes louder and the engine will not restart. I have to put the car in park and restart the engine. This is a safety issue in that my vehicle blocks traffic and given the number of aggressive drivers today, I am concerned someone could react in an inappropriate manner. Now, whenever I begin to hear the noise, I am forced to ma

When stopping at a traffic light the engine auto stop/start engages, but then the engine will not power back on when I release the brake. I have to completely restart the engine, causing a safety concern with other vehicles behind me. This has been ongoing for the last 6 months or so, and it seems to be getting worse. Sometimes the car will turn off mid intersection and we will be stuck there for 10-30 seconds while I try to get the car back on and going again. It is a very dangerous hazard and Honda denies there being an issue. After reading online it seems that many people are having a similar problem.

The back-up camera / navigation / infotainment screen is intermittently off. Without this screen one cannot get a camera view directly behind the car to back up, park, or see the rear position of the vehicle for loading and unloading. After visiting the dealership with an estimate of $2000 to $3000 for replacement, the message was clear they did not want to replace this part at a reasonable cost. On about 11/01/2023, this problem was taken to our dealership and it did re-occur at the dealership but does remain about 50% intermittent since the middle of 2023. When doing on-line searches, this must be a repeat problem for other Honda Pilot owners. Other manufacturers have implemented recalls for this same problem but not Honda to my knowledge. This vehicle now has about 60,000 mil

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000(Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

My fianc was driving to my doctor to follow up surgery, two blocks from 2 blocks from the house we approached to traffic light was on red and she was applying the brakes when we were just about at light suddenly the car accelerated girlfriend had her foot on the brake but the car kept going we strike a car and hit a parked car bad accident, 3 people got hurt.every time I watch the video I am more convinced that something when wrong with car systems this happens on kennedy boulevard and audobon st on 12/11/2020 around 11:05 am sunny clear day. I have a video.*dt

Driver side mirror has been vibrating since my purchase of the vehicle. Today the mirror glass has separated from the mirror housing while driving causing me to lose the ability to use this mirror. There is an open recall for the 2020-2021 production years of this vehicle for this same issue which should be extended to the include the 2016-2019 range as well.