Honda Pilot reliability by year
59 recall campaigns and 7,926 owner complaints across 22 model years. Best year to buy: 2025. Year to avoid: 2005.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 12 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 22 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 169, more than the 59 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Pilot aggregated across 22 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Honda Pilot?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2025 Honda Pilot scores 6.6/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2026 range. 194 complaints on file, 4 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Honda Pilot year should I avoid?
The 2005 Honda Pilot scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 679 owner complaints with NHTSA, 15 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2005 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Honda Pilot should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2019 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 85 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 15,500–71,000 mi); 2013 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 47 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 4,500–51,000 mi); 2005 (avoid — the brakes — brakes: 73 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 60,000–115,900 mi); 2020 (high-risk ownership — engine: 50 complaints, classified severe); 2016 (high-risk ownership — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine); 2012 (high-risk ownership — reliability score 4.2/10 — below the segment average). The cleaner years on the data are 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Honda Pilot are tracked?
22 model years (2005 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 59 distinct recall campaigns and 7,926 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 169 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Honda Pilot?
electrical is the most-reported category — 1,651 complaints across 21 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.