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What 425 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Honda Pilot

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (425)Crash / fire / injury (13)Engine (150)Fuel system (124)Electrical system (83)Transmission & drivetrain (77)Speed control (23)Body & structure (17)Seat belts (12)Visibility & wipers (11)Brakes (9)Driver assistance (8)

5 of 425 complaints match · Speed control · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Feb 6, 2025AirbagsSpeed controlCrash1 injury

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH during traffic, the vehicle hesitated, jerked, and suddenly accelerated. Multiple unknown warning lights illuminated. As a result, the vehicle rear-ended a U-Haul trailer that was in front, then crashed into a wall and from the impact into the trailer where it came to a stop. None of the air bags deployed. The contact suffered injuries to the head when she impacted the steering wheel, the right leg near the hip, and the right arm. The contact was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the sensors on the vehicle malfunctioned weeks before the crash. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where unknown repairs were completed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The insurance company was contacted and pending results. The failure mileage was 26,000.

NHTSA ODI 11641167

May 17, 2023Speed controlFuel systemCrash1 injury

My wife was pulling into the dentist parking lot, made a slow right hand turn to a parking space when the vehicle suddenly and violently accelerated. Depressing and pumping brake had no effect and the car slammed into a tree destroying the right front of the vehicle. She assured me that she did not depress the accelerator. She is a very safe driver, never received a ticket nor involved in an accident. Research into similar accidents showed multiple cases where this occurred with Honda Pilot vehicles.

NHTSA ODI 11522402

Mar 3, 2022Electrical systemSpeed controlCrash

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, she depressed the brake pedal and noticed that her vehicle was not slowing down. The contact stated that as she was approaching another vehicle, she looked to make sure she was indeed depressing the brake pedal, however it would not allow her to press down and seemed to be accelerating faster than 40 MPH. The contact stated that her vehicle then caused her to crash into the rear of another vehicle, however, the vehicle still seemed to be accelerating, even though it had crashed. The contact stated that she attempted to power the vehicle off, however, the vehicle powered itself back on. The contact stated that she powered it off 3 times before the vehicle would remain off. The contact stated that the airbags did deploy and there were no injuries reported. The contact stated a police report was filed. The contact stated she then had her vehicle towed to a tow yard where it was deemed a total loss. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11455080

Aug 9, 2021Speed controlCrash

"SUA, Sudden Unwanted Acceleration". I was in the process of parking on the 6th floor of a parking ramp in Rochester MN, I had selected my parking slot and drove very slowly half way into my parking slot. As i was stationary about 3 meters from the front wall and getting ready to reverse for a bit in order to better align in between the white lines in my slot and before i shifted gears to reverse and while my foot was still on the brake, the vehicle experience a sudden full-speed acceleration crashing the vehicle against the wall with full force, the dashboard showed a message that the airbag malfunctioned and could not deploy. Had not there been a wall but just rails in front of my parking slot, i am afraid the vehicle would have flown from the sixth floor into the ground. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The vehicle is still under my name but in possession of GEICO, available for inspection, but because it was a total loss i was not able to bring it to the Honda dealership where i bought it. There were no warning signs that this would happen.

NHTSA ODI 11428298

Sep 23, 2020Speed controlCrash

I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE AT MY CHURCH WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. AS I NEARED THE END OF THE SPACE, THE CAR SUDDENLY SURGED FORWARD. IT WENT OVER THE CONCRETE BARRIER AT THE END OF THE SPACE AND CAME TO A STOP WHEN THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE HIT A TREE AND WAS KNOCKED TO A PERPENDICULAR POSITION TO THE AXLE. I BELIEVE THIS IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAUSED THE CAR TO STOP. THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CAR SURGED FORWARD ABOUT 5-6 FEET AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED EVEN THOUGH MY FOOT WAS STILL ON THE BRAKE AND I WAS SLOWLY MOVING INTO THE PARKING SPACE.

NHTSA ODI 11360629

Working with the data? Download all 425 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Honda Pilot verdict →