Honda

Pilot (YF5)

2016-2022 · Midsize SUV ยท 1 engine
Best Engine โŒ Avoid (1.1)
4,638 NHTSA Complaints
21 Recalls
26 Fire Reports
79 Crash Reports
View all 4 generations of the Honda Pilot → ๐Ÿ“‹ Inspection checklist

Engine Reliability Ratings

J35Y6

3.5L 6-cyl / 280 hp
โŒ Avoid (1.1)
4,544 complaints 649.1 per year Gasoline
26 fire reports
View details

Complaint Breakdown

engine
1734
electrical
1497
fuel system
664
transmission
519
other
517

Known Issues

Engine Issues (1,734 complaints)
Typical onset: 58,042โ€“121,319 mi Est. repair: $625โ€“$8,000 (122 reports)
Electrical System Issues (1,497 complaints)
Typical onset: 23,750โ€“76,500 mi Est. repair: $300โ€“$1,540 (79 reports)
Fuel System Issues (664 complaints)
Typical onset: 45,000โ€“105,000 mi Est. repair: $934โ€“$1,947 (52 reports)

3 additional engine variants with fewer than 10 complaints not shown.

Vehicle-Level Issues

These issues affect the Honda Pilot regardless of engine variant.

Engine Issues (1,735 complaints)
engine serious
Electrical System Issues (1,498 complaints)
electrical serious
Fuel System Issues (664 complaints)
fuel_system serious
Transmission Issues (519 complaints)
transmission serious
Safety Systems Issues (482 complaints)
safety_systems serious

Recalls (21)

24V064000Jan 1, 2024serious
Air Bags

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

23V458000Jun 28, 2023serious
Service Brakes

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.

23V858000Dec 17, 2023serious
Fuel System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

23V174000Mar 15, 2023serious
Visibility

Honda (American Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2020-2022 Passport and Odyssey vehicles. The heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, allowing the mirror glass to detach. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

23V431000Jun 14, 2023serious
Back Over Prevention

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

23V751000Nov 12, 2023serious
Engine & Cooling

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.

21V932000Nov 28, 2021serious
Structure

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.

21V215000Mar 24, 2021serious
Fuel System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

21V165000Nov 2, 2021serious
Tires

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Passport and Pilot vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.

20V439000Jul 27, 2020serious
Back Over Prevention

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019-2020 Passport, and 2019-2021 Pilot vehicles. Incorrect instrument panel control module software can cause the instrument panel to not display critical information, such as engine oil pressure, speedometer, and gear selector position until the next ignition cycle. Additionally, it can prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Control and Displays" and 111, "Rearview Mirrors."

20V440000Jul 27, 2020serious
Electrical System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Pilot, 2019-2020 Odyssey and 2019-2020 Passport vehicles. Incorrect central network software programming may cause several errors to occur that can delay or prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."

20V725000Nov 19, 2020serious
Tires

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain 2021 Pilot vehicles equipped with Continental CrossContact LX Sport 245/50R20 102 H tires with DOT serial number A376 D3K9 2920 and mold numbers S-421920 and S-421921. The tires may have been cured for a time beyond the specification limits.

20V067000Jun 1, 2020serious
Equipment

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020 Passport and Pilot vehicles. The certification label may have been printed with ink that can be wiped away with a solvent, removing the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) information.

19V784000Oct 30, 2019serious
Structure

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Pilot and 2019 Passport vehicles. The front frame left and right side upper members may not have been welded completely to the unibody. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 219, "Windshield Zone Intrusion."

19V298000Dec 3, 2019serious
Engine & Cooling

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Acura MDX and Honda Pilot vehicles and 2019 Acura RLX, RLX Sport Hybrid, TLX and Honda Odyssey and Ridgeline vehicles. The timing belt teeth may separate from the belt.

18V848000Nov 27, 2018serious
Structure

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Honda Ridgeline and Pilot vehicles. The mounting holes for the clip that secures the right center pillar trim panel may be larger than intended. In the event of a crash necessitating right side curtain air bag deployment, the clip may not hold the center pillar trim panel in position and it may potentially interfere with the curtain air bag deployment. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection," and 226, "Ejection Mitigation."

18V221000May 3, 2018serious
Seats

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018 Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles and 2018 Acura MDX vehicles. The front driver and passenger powered seats in the Honda vehicles and the driver powered seats in the Acura vehicles may have been assembled with improperly manufactured rivets. In the event of a crash, the rivets can break causing the seats not to be secured to the floor. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

17V219000Mar 29, 2017serious
Fuel System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.

16V417000Sep 5, 2016serious
Fuel System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2015 Acura MDX 2WD and MDX 4WD vehicles, 2016 Acura MDX 4WD vehicles, 2015-2016 Honda Odyssey vehicles, and 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and 4WD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that were manufactured with insufficient welds which may separate and allow fuel to leak out.

15V668000Oct 15, 2015serious
Electrical System

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to September 8, 2015 and 2016 Pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured May 7, 2015 to September 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic stability control systems", number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "Tire pressure monitoring systems".

15V424000Jun 6, 2015serious
Seat Belts

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to June 5, 2015. Due to an assembly issue, the third row seatbelt may be trapped between the rear seat and the rear sideliner.

Alternatives in Midsize SUV

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common 2016-2022 Honda Pilot problems?

The 2016-2022 Honda Pilot has accumulated 4,638 NHTSA complaints. The most frequently reported problem areas are Engine, Electrical System, Fuel System. As with any used vehicle, a pre-purchase inspection and vehicle history report are recommended.

Which Honda Pilot engine is most reliable?

The 2016-2022 Honda Pilot was offered with 4 engine options. Based on NHTSA complaint data, the 3.474057568L 6-cyl has the lowest complaint density and is considered the most reliable choice for buyers.

Is the 2016-2022 Honda Pilot a good used car?

The 2016-2022 Honda Pilot can be a solid used car purchase depending on trim, mileage, and maintenance history. With 4,638 total NHTSA complaints on record, prospective buyers should review the known problem areas and check for open recalls before buying.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2016-2022 Honda Pilot have?

The 2016-2022 Honda Pilot has 4,638 complaints filed with NHTSA as of our latest data pull. Complaint counts reflect owner-reported issues and do not necessarily indicate defects or safety risks on their own.

What recalls affect the 2016-2022 Honda Pilot?

There are 21 NHTSA recalls affecting some 2016-2022 Honda Pilot vehicles. Recall status varies by VIN โ€” check the NHTSA recall database at recalls.nhtsa.dot.gov with your specific VIN to confirm which campaigns apply.

What should I check before buying a used Honda Pilot?

Before buying a used Honda Pilot, verify all open recalls are completed via the NHTSA VIN lookup tool. Pay particular attention to Engine, Electrical System, Fuel System, which are the most commonly reported problem areas. Request maintenance records, have an independent mechanic inspect the vehicle, and run a vehicle history report to check for prior accidents or title issues.

Does the Pilot have NHTSA crash test ratings?

NHTSA has not published crash test ratings for the 2016-2022 Honda Pilot. Not all vehicles are tested each year. For the latest NHTSA safety information, visit nhtsa.gov/ratings.

Data from NHTSA federal complaints database. 4,638 complaints analyzed. Data confidence: high. Last updated: 2026-04-07.

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