10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,588 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.

2018 Honda Pilot drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Honda Pilot:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2018 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #38

Feb 012023

Pilot

  • miles

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

Transmission is jumping between first and second gear randomly.

- Byron Center, MI, USA

problem #37

Jan 012023

Pilot

  • miles
The transmission does not transmit consistent power to the wheels to ensure the car moves forward at consistent speed. This intermittent transmission of power to the tires causes a safety concern when driving, especially during a rainfall with stop and go traffic or when joining roads. The car is unresponsive or very slow to respond when moving forward from a stop position. Any attempt to force the car to move results in a lunge or aggressive acceleration which usually causes the tires to screech. The unnatural acceleration results in forward motion not consistent with the flow of traffic. This issue is further compounded when there is rainfall with a little slop. Any forward motion results in the tires screeching forcing the driver to take his/her foot off the accelerator. This results in a stop and go situation which is confusing to other drivers especially when joining a road.

- Indian Trail, NC, USA

problem #36

Aug 042023

Pilot

  • miles
Purchased and next day warning light came on for transmission problem. Took it to Honda and was told it was the torque converter. This part is on back order due to multiple installs on other Honda-??s.

- Zephyrhills, FL, USA

problem #35

Dec 192022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Failed Torque converter at 80, 000 miles leading to dangerous underperformance

- Centereach, NY, USA

problem #34

May 192023

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped at an intersection, the vehicle's Auto Start/Stop technology engaged. When driver attempted to drive, the Auto Start/Stop wouldn't disengage, as a result the car would not start. The vehicle prompted the driver to put the car in park and push the ignition button to start the car, however nothing happened, meaning the car would not start. After about 2 minutes, the car was able to start and the driver was able to continue driving. An immobilized vehicle at an intersection put its passengers at risk, including 2 children under the age of 3. Dealer will be notified of this occurrence.

- Williamsville, NY, USA

problem #33

Feb 212023

Pilot

  • miles
Powertrain: The transmission has problems engaging, where I have had several near misses due tot he car not moving in the delay of the transmission engaging. This has been going on for some time and the dealer tells me there is nothing wrong, that it is a special transmission and I need to get used to the shifting mode. I have 36,300 miles and have complained several times over the past five years, this is a real safety issue since the car will not move and when it dose it lunges forcefully. Idle shut-off: the engine shuts off and will not restart, it has also shut-off on the freeway at random times.

- La Habra, CA, USA

problem #32

Apr 012019

Pilot

  • 10,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while approaching a stop, the contact attempted to accelerate however, there was a delay in responding. The contact stated that after a while the vehicle accelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who admitted knowledge of similar failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 10,000.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #31

Dec 202022

Pilot

  • miles
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.

- Johnson City, TN, USA

problem #30

Nov 302022

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
Today my 2018 Pilot EX-L suddenly started displaying these warnings: - Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) Problem - Hill Start Assist Problem - Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) Problem - Power Steering System (EPS) Problem Looking at Honda Pilot Forums, it seems like it is a very common problem and has to do with Fuel Injectors as described by: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10187289-0001.pdf Many people have complained of this issue, here is one such blog of many many more: https://www.piloteers.org/threads/multiple-warning-lights.127665/ This should be a recall and not just an extension of warranty which shifts the burden of proof to the consumer. Please help Honda honor this warranty for my 4 year old pilot with only 47,463 miles on it.

- Tracy, CA, USA

problem #29

Nov 022022

Pilot

  • miles
I was stopped at a red light, the engine cycled down because of the environmentally friendly option. My foot was on the break. The transmission shifted to neutral and turned orange. I could not get it to shift back to Drive. I had to turn the car off and restart it. At that point I was able to put it in drive and move the car. This was very dangerous because I was on a busy highway and could have been rear ended by a driver not noticing the car was stopped and off.

- Mount Vernon, IA, USA

problem #28

Sep 252022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Vehicle will randomly stall after the auto stop-start has kicked in. Car starts then stalls immediately in the middle of an intersection. Shift selector would switch to neutral when this happened requiring the driver to shift into drive even further delaying the ability to get out of traffic. Have since had to replace the shifter switch (PRNDL) to the tune of $750 and have the same random problem. My wife wants to get rid of this car as she afraid to drive it.

- Perrysburg, OH, USA

problem #27

Sep 152022

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions the idle stop feature will engage and upon re-engage it will stall my vehicle. When I place the vehicle in park, press the brake and press the ignition start, nothing happens. Upon multiple attempts to restart the car it will either do nothing or making a chug without restarting. Continuing my attempts to restart the vehicle it will finally restart. During these times I will be stalled at a stop sign or traffic light with impatient drivers going around me. All the dashboard lights come on. I have taken it to the dealership, they stated they couldn-€™t duplicate the problem. This is unsafe for motorists or pedestrians. If this happens while I'm in an intersection or other location with moving traffic it could be very unsafe for myself, other motorists and/or pedestrians.

- Hampstead , MD, USA

problem #26

Sep 162022

Pilot

  • miles
Was in the middle of an intersection and pressed the button to turn off Engine Idle Mode as I have had instances where it was very slow to go when this mode is on and it delays getting out of the way of other drivers. When I pressed the Idle Off button - the car -€œshut down-€ and went into neutral. I could not get it out of neutral. Pressed D, R, P. Multiple times. Didn-€™t work. Had to press the turn off car button twice to turn off car then it finally restarted. I was stranded in the intersection and almost got hit by several cars. Once it started I pulled into a gas station and the radio stopped working. I turned off the car and restarted. Then the engine wasn-€™t shifting properly. Shut off the car again and went to the dealer. Dealer ran diagnostics and couldn-€™t find a problem. Checked the battery and all other items - no issues. Somebody is going to get killed and now I-€™m scared to drive my car.

- Plainfield, IL, USA

problem #25

Sep 112022

Pilot

  • miles
While driving, the transmission would not gear up to any higher gears and could only drive 40mph with 3000+ RPMS. The MIL lights showed "Check Engine, " "Emissions System Problem, " "Transmission System Problem, " and "Blind Spot Info System Problem, " all at once. When pressing the "P" button for Park, it did not always want to engage in Park. The engine would sometime stutter on acceleration. The "P" and "D" for Park and Driver on the MIL would constantly blink. This action placed the driver and occupants at risk of injury because of the stutter and slow speeds on the highway. Also, when the "Park" button did not engage, the car was at risk of rolling into person or property. Currently, service has been scheduled for the dealership to diagnose the issue. There were no warning signs prior to all of these warning lights showing up all at once.

- Rogersville, TN, USA

problem #24

Aug 232022

Pilot

  • miles
This has happened to me about 10 times in this vehicle: I am at a stoplight or stopsign and my "Idle-Stop" system in the Honda shuts down my engine and then when my foot comes off the brake it does not restart like it is supposed to leaving me stranded in the middle of traffic with a non moving vehicle. I think this is extremely dangerous and I am scared this will cause a terrible accident if not fixed. The only way the engine restarts is after about 30 seconds to a minute it finally is able to power back on. Please have Honda issue a recall for this issue.

- Chesterfield, VA, USA

problem #23

Jul 032022

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions over the past month or so, my wife has experienced engine issues associated with what we believe is the Auto Start/Stop function on our 2018 Honda Pilot (Touring Edition). Upon coming to a complete stop, the Auto Stop function disables the engine. Upon releasing the brake, the system is supposed to restart the engine. However, on at least five occasions the engine has not restarted, and it has required her to turn the vehicle off and completely restart it as if starting from cold. This has occurred at stop lights, which obviously could cause safety issues/implications. On at least a couple of the occasions, she had to attempt to restart the vehicle multiple times by applying the brakes and pressing the main start/stop button). I frequently drive the vehicle and always turn off the Auto Start/Stop function. I have never run into these issues whatsoever. The vehicle is scheduled for routine maintenance at a Honda dealership in two days; the vehicle is serviced solely at this same dealership. The issue will be brought to their attention as well.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #22

Jul 052022

Pilot

  • miles
When vehicle comes to a stop, vehicle start/stop feature engages, then vehicle stalls. Vehicle then indicates that it should be shifter into park before it can be re-started. This has happened numerous times. Vehicle was brought into dealer, they are aware an investigation is underway with Honda but had no known solution besides updating the main computer program. They also recommended replacing the batter which tested ok. The fact that the vehicle stalls when you come to a stop is a very big safety concern.

- Grafton, MA, USA

problem #21

Jul 042022

Pilot

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving in stop-and-go traffic, the vehicle would engage the engine STOP/START fuel-saving feature while stopped. The contact stated that whenever she depressed the accelerator pedal the message "Place Vehicle in Park" displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted to start the vehicle using the Push to Start button. The vehicle was restarted but failed to respond after shifting into drive. The vehicle was restarted several times before resuming normal operation. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Hampton, VA, USA

problem #20

Apr 082022

Pilot

  • miles
Transmission kind of jerks when accelerate especially when you do it nice and easy(more like fluctuating up and down) I did some research on line a lot of people having same issues on this year model vehicles

- Duncan, SC, USA

problem #19

Apr 012022

Pilot

  • 52,500 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, however, the brake pedal was not fully depressed; the contact then depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle soon after the failure and resumed normal driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed; however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 52,500.

- Bethel, CT, USA

Read the next 18 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?