What 896 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Honda Pilot

my connecting rod bearing wore are ruined my engine. this is addressed in 23v-751 for 2016, 2018, and 2019 Honda Pilots, but not 2017 for some reason. could you please see why this year is not included on the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11747629

My speedometer display keeps going blank in the instrument cluster. I will be driving and it would go blank, and stay blank in extented periods of time. This is a car not driven much due to this reason. The milage is still 70k. The speedometer gage goes blank and does not turn on.

NHTSA ODI 11747687

My son was driving the car and the engine started knocking and engine shut off.

NHTSA ODI 11747093

Since purchasing this vehicle new, the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system on my 2017 Honda Pilot has intermittently failed during the engine restart sequence after the vehicle comes to a complete stop. When the AIS system shuts the engine off and I release the brake to resume driving, the vehicle intermittently fails to restart properly or does not restart at all, preventing the vehicle from moving as expected. In some instances, warning messages, including a collision mitigation message, has appeared on the dashboard before the car restarts. This condition has occurred repeatedly over several years and has happened at intersections, while stopped in traffic, and while stopped on highways. The inability of the vehicle to restart and move creates a safety risk because the vehicle may remain disabled in active traffic when acceleration is needed. The issue was reported to the selling and servicing Honda dealership (Cambridge, Honda in Cambridge MA) multiple times over several years. In August 2025, the vehicle received Honda's prescribed repair under Service Bulletins 23-008 and 23-009, including replacement of the starter assembly, starter relay, and battery. Despite these repairs, the same condition returned less than one year later and has occurred at least seven additional times. The vehicle stalls and sometimes displays the collision mitigation/crash warning message before restarting. In June 2026, the vehicle was inspected again by the dealership. Technicians were unable to reproduce the condition during testing and declined to perform additional repairs. The defect remains unresolved. The vehicle has already received Honda's recommended AIS repair, yet the same stalling and crash mitigation message continues to occur. The intermittent nature of the defect makes it difficult to reproduce during short dealership evaluations, but it continues to occur during normal operation and presents an ongoing safety concern.

NHTSA ODI 11746194

All of a sudden, the car began to make a ticking noise (it sounded like a playing card was in the spoke of a bicycle). I brought the car home and took it to the Honda dealership in Poway, CA. They diagnosed the car with pitting in the rod bearings in cylinder 4. They told us that this can cause engine failure (do not drive the car) and that the engine needed to be replaced. There were no error messages or warning lights. This could have been extremely dangerous for those around us had the engine failed while my daughter and I were driving, or if the car had stopped suddenly. The three options given were to replace the engine with one with 20,000+ more miles than the original engine, replace the short block and associated gaskets with a new one, or $2500 (as-is) for the car. We replaced the short block and associated gaskets at a cost of approximately $ 8,500. As my husband was doing his research, he found that there had been a recall for the 2016 and 2018-2020 Honda Pilots for the same issue. Please be aware that this has happened to our car too, and it is very dangerous and expensive to repair. Honda should be held responsible for ensuring that all Pilot engines are safe and that the defective rods are replaced free of charge to owners under a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11746063

I have been frequently getting the message on my dash "Keyless Start System Problem" This message appears when starting or stopping the vehicle and while driving. The message does not stay on the dash it eventually disappears.

NHTSA ODI 11745193

We have a 2017 Honda Pilot EXL. It had approximately 163,000 when the engine seized.

NHTSA ODI 11742606

There is a loud metallic knocking sound coming from my engine. I have lack of acceleration power, and the check engine light came on. You are more than welcome to come inspect the car. My safety was placed at risk as my engine can blow up, and/or I lose acceleration while driving and cause an accident. The sound is continuous and will be until the Rod Bearing is fixed so it’s easily reproducible. Yes it’s been looked at by a mechanic.

NHTSA ODI 11742492

My 2017 Honda Pilot Touring has experienced ongoing electrical and battery-related issues for several years and has been in and out of authorized Honda dealerships numerous times. The vehicle has been serviced repeatedly at both Fowler Honda in [XXX], and Pensacola Honda in [XXX]. Due to the inability to diagnose the problem, the issue was escalated by Pensacola Honda to American Honda’s technical line. After extensive diagnostics over two days, the technicians informed me that Honda engineers are aware of an issue but currently do not have a solution, although they are working on one. On XXX, while turning left from [XXX] onto [XXX], I had sufficient time to complete the turn and pressed the accelerator to proceed. However, the accelerator became completely unresponsive and the vehicle would not accelerate. My vehicle was left partially in the intersection while an oncoming vehicle approached. The other driver could have easily struck the driver’s side of my vehicle, creating the risk of a serious or fatal accident. Fortunately, a collision was avoided, but this incident demonstrated a significant safety hazard. In addition to this loss of acceleration, the vehicle has experienced recurring starting problems and electrical malfunctions. Pensacola Honda found that the battery tests normally when removed from the vehicle, but does not function properly when installed. Despite numerous repair attempts and escalation to American Honda, the problem remains unresolved. I believe this defect poses a serious safety risk to myself, my passengers, and others on the road due to the potential for sudden loss of acceleration while driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11742090

On May 23, 2026 I was driving family and friends around San Francisco, CA in my 2017 Honda Pilot (48K miles). We were driving up multiple steep hills, up to a 20% grade in some places with a full car of 7 people. The car handled it well. However, as we neared my home 25 miles away, the car started shaking and the check engine light started flashing. We searched online and the advice was to pull over immediately to prevent the car from overheating and causing permanent, expensive damage. We eventually made it home, shaken, and didn't touch the car for a couple days to let it rest. I learned that there is a warranty extension "Warranty Extension TSB 20-100" for what seems like this exact problem concerning the fuel injectors. The spark plugs have been replaced in the last year, which eliminates that as a potential issue. The next week, I took the car to Honda San Carlos where it's been maintained most of its life. I informed them of the symptoms and that the car is eligible for this warranty extension. They tested it and found nothing. I told them that testing it in the shop or driving it around a few minutes on flat ground with one person is not going to replicate the driving conditions we encountered but they didn't seem to care and I had to pay $250 anyway. I took this to another dealership and the guy said it sounded exactly like an Warranty Extension TSB 20-100 issue. They tested it and also could not find anything. I called Honda Corporate and they will also do nothing. This is clearly a safety issue as this problem will happen again at some point. I have a family and young children and do not want to be stuck on the freeway as a road hazard to ourselves and other drivers. Honda has clearly identified this as a problem yet they won't authorize the repair. They are waiting for this to happen again before they'll fix it, and who knows if this ticking time bomb will occur in a safe place or a dangerous one.

NHTSA ODI 11741799

The paint is peeling on the pearl white color. This is a known issue and it is large sections that could cause a hazard while driving

NHTSA ODI 11741112

Engine Idle at Stop light or Start & Stop at Traffic Stop Light doesn't work. It does stop completely; however, it didn't start after releasing the brake. You have to put the vehicle back in the parking gear, put the brake to restart the engine. This has happened three times in the last week.

NHTSA ODI 11740676

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 60-65 MPH, the check engine light was blinking. The vehicle began to jerk. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with faulty fuel injectors. The injectors were replaced. After further evaluation, it was determined that the engine and knock sensor needed to be replaced Additionally the rod bearing was blown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but declined the repairs. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

NHTSA ODI 11740385

The car began making a knocking noise when it was turned on and began moving. The noise continued every time the car was started until the engine light turned on and began blinking. We pulled the car over immediately. After turning the engine off and letting the car rest, we tried starting the car again and the light was off. Roughly 20 minutes later, the engine light began to blink again, followed by all the lights on the dashboard blinking. We had the car towed to a local Honda dealer. After being inspected, the dealer said the car needed new fuel injectors and an "Engine rebuild/replace: the engine rod knocking during start up and shutdown, drained oil sample and found excessive mental particles suspended in oil."

NHTSA ODI 11740486

While driving on the highway at approx 60mph my car completely lost power. I had no warning lights on the dashboard and the only warning I got was an alarm sound right as all the power to the vehicle cut off. I had to use my e-brake to help me stop and coast to the brake down lane. I couldn't get my car completely off the highway lane and had no way of getting out of the vehicle. I was towed off the highway and contacted my dealership. Prior to this the car was idling a little rough in the morning.

NHTSA ODI 11740028

The engine failed. The car stopped completely with no warning. The same issue that other models are being recalled for turned out to be the problem with this engine. We had to have the engine replaced

NHTSA ODI 11738705

The connecting rod bearing went out in the engine of our 2017 Honda Pilot. The car stalled and then died. It cost us $10,000 to fix it and it only had around 130,000 miles on it. Our Honda dealer told us to hold onto our receipt because this is happening a lot with Honda Pilots and there will eventually be a recall on this. This was so unsafe and we were fortunate that our teen son was only going 5-10 miles on a gravel road when this happened.

NHTSA ODI 11738422

Driving to work on the highway and the Honda pilot suddenly slowed and stopped accelerating, started riding rough and making a loud whistling blowing noise. Check engine light was suddenly flashing. I was able to pull over into a lane split zone before being hit by all the traffic going around and bumping horns at me. I was terrified but thankful to be alive. I want in a good spot though, cars and big trucks were still speeding by pretty close to me. I started inside and called AAA. I tried turning on the car but it just made a fast tapping noise. AAA worked to safely get me out and tow the car to the mechanic my wife and I chose. The mechanic ran a diagnostic report that says p0306 misfire in cylinder 6, and tear in inlet air boot. They said there is an engine problem that they don't service. We towed it to the Honda dealership. Late the next day the mechanic at Honda says we have an engine problem that is not due to the codes on the diagnostic report and is not covered under warranty and costs $7000 for labor and with a rebuilt engine, about 11k to $15k total. He says the engine was seized. He said it initially had no power, then they jumped and put a battery and the engine just made a thud sound. He said he could not generate another diagnostic report because he couldn't get the engine to turn on. We told him we saw that the engine problem was a known issue and that Honda was extending warrantees to 150k and 10yr and could he see if we were haven't that same problem. He said that problem was minor and only covered a few new parts, not the whole engine. I asked why was pep boys able to get a diagnostic and he could not. He said he doesn't know why the engine seized between pep boys and being checked at Honda. He said maybe the previous mechanic did something wrong. Now we have no car and have already purchased a 3rd Honda not even knowing we were driving around a death trap. The Honda dealership that sold us the accord didn't even warn us. We could have died.

NHTSA ODI 11737735

We have had a number of issues and several recalls associated with our 2017 Honda Pilot which has less than 78,000 miles on it. The issue I am writing about today involves the recent failure of the high-pressure fuel pump which I believe is related to the prior failure of the low-pressure fuel pump. In 2023, there was a recall of the low-pressure fuel pump for our 2017 Honda Pilot. The repair for our low-pressure fuel pump was delayed for 14 months because Honda did not have enough parts to cover all recalled vehicles. Therefore, we had to wait for over a year to get the low-pressure fuel pump replaced. Last week, our high-pressure fuel pump failed due to "internal failure" per the dealer. It is common knowledge that damage or failure of a low-pressure fuel pump can directly cause damage or failure of a high-pressure fuel pump because the high-pressure fuel pump relies on consistent, pressurized supply of fuel from the low-pressure fuel pump for lubrication and cooling. I believe the failure of the low-pressure fuel pumped coupled with the delay replacement of the low-pressure fuel caused the failure of the high-pressure fuel pump. Based on shared experiences online from other Honda Pilot owners, it seems like a lot of people are suffering similar issues. The high-pressure fuel pump is not currently under recall and, therefore, vehicle owners have to pay for the replacement of this part. I believe the failures of the high-pressure fuel pump and the connection to the failures of the recalled low-pressure fuel pumps should be investigated. Thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11737938

Engine through rod at 100000 miles had to replace full engine

NHTSA ODI 11737618

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while the vehicle was at a red light, the vehicle stalled; the contact restarted the vehicle for the vehicle to return to normal operation. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to get a diagnosis however, the failure cause was unidentifiable. The contact did research and was made aware of an unknown NHTSA Campaign Number however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11737269

On Thursday May 7th, while driving the 2017 Honda Pilot Elite it lost power and all the dash lights started to come on. Once we limped it to our home, and the code information was obtained, it revealed number 3-cylinder misfire. After replacing all the spark plugs, I started the car to make sure all the codes were cleared and heard a "knocking noise". After further investigation noted the following, I found the following information via a Google search, is there a recall for 2017 Honda Pilot knocking noise. Found that NHTSA is doing a major investigation on the 2017 Honda Pilot for a connecting rod and knocking noise. Honda did a recall in 2023 for the year model 2016, 2018-2019. This is the same engine that was in the recall for doing the same thing. NHTSA is currently investigating a potential recall of 1.4 million Honda and Acura vehicles, including 2017 Honda Pilots, over engine failures linked to connecting rod bearing defects that can cause knocking, stalling, or complete engine failure. credit Autoblog+2. Scope of the Investigation Models affected: 2016–2020 Honda Pilot, 2017–2019 Honda Ridgeline, 2018–2020 Honda Odyssey, 2018–2020 Acura TLX and MDX Honda-Tech+1. Engine type: Honda’s 3.5‑liter J35Y V6, which has been under scrutiny for rod bearing wear leading to catastrophic engine damage Honda-Tech+1. Failure symptoms: Knocking noises, sudden stalling, loss of power, and in some cases, fires or crashes Autoblog+2. Reports: Over 400 incidents of engine failure, with at least four involving crashes or fires; Honda has logged more than 2,500 warranty claims for the iss The oil had been changed at the correct intervals, no oil is leaking from the car, the timing chain and water pump were replaced at 100,000 miles with no issues. No metallic shavings are noted on the oil dip stick, and it has 50% oil life remaining as of 05-09-2026. I have it scheduled for a diagnostic service with Flow Honda in Winston Salem, NC tomorrow, May 12th at 0800.

NHTSA ODI 11737093

Engine gave out rods knocking noise. Wife was driving on freeway. Exited and towed car home car runs but makes lots on noise and barely drives many lights light up on dash

NHTSA ODI 11736457

Premature and unexpected internal engine failure. Single owner with 82k miles - Rod bearing came apart and spread metal shavings everywhere in the engine causing irreversible damage. Honda dealer confirmed engine failure. Our safety was at risk with the potential of unexpected engine failure while driving with a loud knock from the engine potentially leaving all passengers in dangerous situations without power to respond. Dealer has provided documentation of internal engine failure and suggested we stop driving it immediately. No warning lamps at all, only knocking sound while engine running.

NHTSA ODI 11736540

This is a follow up to my previous complaint. 11729106. I brought my Honda Pilot to my local dealer. They confirmed there is a problem with the keyless start system on my Honda. I ended up paying around $1000 to have it repaired. I have great concern that this could have caused a fatality. I park my car in the garage at home, and the car started by itself. I have pets and children.

NHTSA ODI 11736232