CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012-2013 Honda Pilot have a small complaint trend of owners reporting the engine hesitates sometimes when accelerating.

While it's not a widespread trend with the Pilot, it's a little concerning because of the possibly safety ramifications. While it's certainly something to keep in mind, most Pilot owners are not experiencing this problem.

4.1

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,039 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Honda Pilot engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Dec 182013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 10,400 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have a 2012 Honda Pilot- I purchased used with 9K miles. I have put approximately 5K miles on the vehicle and immediately noticed an engine vibration similar to being in the wrong gear in a manual transmission. I took the car into the Honda dealership and asked them to check the transmission- as I initially thought that it was a "hunting" issue with the transmission- the dealer indicated that it was normal. The more I drive the vehicle, the more it appears to be related to the engine and not the transmission. The vibration is very annoying and not normal. Honda needs to step-up and take care of the problem. Too many issues out there with others with same complaints. If Honda does not correct soon it will tell me a lot about the quality status of their brand. This is my 4th Honda and will certainly be my last that if Honda fails to solve the problem. Let's see it Honda- clock is ticking...

- Fishers, IN, USA

problem #12

Dec 232013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 15,000 miles
My vehicle vibrates when I am driving. It does not behave this way all the time. However, when the vehicle vibrates, it seems as though it wants to shut off. This has been happening frequently since I purchased my vehicle. It usually happens when I slow down to make a turn or while I am cruising at highway speed. When this happen, the eco light on my dash goes on and on... the vibration seems like I am driving a manual transmission vehicle, and failed to shift to the appropriate gear. I am not sure if it is the vcm in my vehicle being faulty. I have taken my vehicle to the dealer on 3 separate occasions and they mechanic tells me it is normal. This is not normal. I am afraid my vehicle may stall in traffic and cause accident. The other issue I am having is I occasionally smell a strong gasoline fumes in my vehicle cabin when I am driving. It seems the gasoline fume is entering my vehicle from the engine. Can't tell where it is coming from. Perhaps through the ac vent.

- Clarksburg, MD, USA

problem #11

Nov 292013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 100 miles
I have had issues with a strange engine vibration at various speeds. I emailed Honda 3 times and never received any response. I finally called Honda and was told I have to contact a local dealer. I have brought my vehicle in to Honda 3 times and it has not been fixed. The second time I dropped it off I was told they "did some adjustments", but they did not indicate what they did and it did not fix the problem. The last time I brought it in and took the main mechanic on the freeway to show him the noise. He acknowledged the noise and said that it was vibration from the motor mounts and that the motor mounts are managed electronically so they can not fix it. He told me that I will have to wait until Honda hopefully comes out with a software update that will fix the problem.

- Redwood City, CA, USA

problem #10

May 262012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2012 Honda Pilot touring- vehicle is having vibrations coming from the engine while going in and out of vcm - variable cylinder management system. Happens regularly at various speeds.the vibration/shuttering is both felt and heard. The dealer has said this is normal with this engine and vcm technology. I had a 2005 Pilot without the vcm system and was very happy, I bought this one without a test drive. Had I known this problem existed, I would not have purchased it.

- Greenwood, IN, USA

problem #9

Aug 132013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 24,500 miles
Car is having vibrations coming from the engine while going in and out of vcm - variable cylinder management system. Happens regularly at 70 mph while on cruise control, on flat highway going up a slight hill the vibration starts. This comes and goes, and I could not yet replicate with the dealer. Many people with V6 engines with vcm in it from Honda are complaining about this issue. Looks like it started in the Pilot and is happening with the Odyssey as well. Honda would be forced to look into what is causing this vibration as it appears pretty wide spread.

- Easton, PA, USA

problem #8

Jan 072013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
From a dead stop or slow roll, the engine fails to respond immediately to the accelerator pedal. There is a slight delay from the pressing of the accelerator to the engine responding, creating a very dangerous situation when trying to clear intersections, turning on to a highway, turning from a blind curve and many other situations. I have experienced several near crashes. The vehicle was taken back to the dealership for a computer update but the problem has not been corrected, leaving the vehicle in an unsafe condition.

- Highlands, NC, USA

problem #7

Jun 252013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Intermittent accelerator response delay. Sometimes when you need to accelerate, as when making a left turn in traffic, the response delays and then responds. This is a safety issue. You cannot depend upon response to the accelerator when you may need it. Honda upgraded a program earlier and there was improvement, but the problem still persists.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

problem #6

Jan 102013

Pilot

  • 20,800 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and lost acceleration power. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for a diagnostic testing. The test result did not identify a defect in the vehicle. The dealer changed the main computer but that did not remedy the stalling issue. The failure was reported to the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 20,800.

- Yucaipa, CA, USA

problem #5

May 272013

Pilot

  • 32,000 miles
At various times at slower speeds the vehicle will not accelerate for approximately 3 seconds. This seems to occur when turning or beginning to travel uphill. I took it to dealer and the dealer mechanic could not replicate this occurrence. This happens about every two or 3 days. I believe it is dangerous when traveling through an intersection of merging lanes. There are several posts on a Honda owner's website with others experiencing the same problem but Honda can't find the problem.

- Hattiesburg, MS, USA

problem #4

Dec 192012

Pilot

  • 300 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle started to vibrate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician advised that the vehicle was performing to standards and the vibration was normal for the eco mode. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered to extend the contact's warranty on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 300 and the current mileage was 2,200. Kmj

- Thief River Falls, MN, USA

problem #3

Oct 112011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 571 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine has a fine vibration around 35-45 miles that disappears with either acceleration or deceleration. The vibration can be felt not only by the driver but also the passengers, enough to shake a bobblehead on the console. It seems that it is associated with the transmission as if the transmission is not shifting and stalling. As soon as it shifts or the speed changes it disappears. Another issue is a occasional very hard downshifting by the transmission, hard enough to move everyone in the vehicle. The symptoms were present they day the vehicle was delivered and checked by the dealer and reported no issues. Now the vehicle is about 11,000 miles and still with the same issues.

- Springfield, VA, USA

problem #2

Feb 012012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 100 miles
When accelerating from a low speed, such as entering a parking lot from the roadway or entering a roadway from a parking lot, the engine does not respond to my pressing on the accelerator. After a few seconds, the car lurches forward. This only happens when accelerating from a very low speed, about 10 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice and an accelerator module was replaced, but there has been no change, the problem still exists. The danger is very serious when trying to enter the flow of traffic from a lot or side street. Very often, it takes much too long to reach the speed of the existing traffic. The dealer explained that there is no longer a cable connection between the accelerator pedal and the engine, it is now "fly by wire". there seems to be a disconnect between my pressing the accelerator at a low speed and the engine responding immediately.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #1

Jun 012012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 6,000 miles
This is first summer for my brand new Honda Pilot 2012 LX car and I notice when ac in on and car is not moving there is some kind of moaning very loud noise coming from the engine. I took my car to the dealer from where I purchased this vehicle. I was informed that Honda Motors is aware about this issue in 2012 Pilot. I am very surprise and upset that despite Honda motor is aware about this issue, till the date Honda Motors did not solve this problem. The noise coming is very loud when ac is on and when car is not moving. This noise is very annoying. I am having migraine almost every day because of this very load moaning noise coming from the car. I already contacted Honda but they did not solve this problem as of yet or there is no recall. It is almost been one year Honda Pilot 2012 model came out. Please help urgently. Thanks

- Forest Hills, NY, USA

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