2012 Honda Pilot problems & reliability
170 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Honda Pilot, alongside 9 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
9 complaints report injuries (19 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2012 Honda Pilot vehicles were involved in 63 fatal crashes with 22 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 35 | 21% |
| Service Brakes | 25 | 15% |
| Electrical System | 22 | 13% |
| Air Bags | 20 | 12% |
| Power Train | 20 | 12% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 17 | 10% |
| Suspension | 14 | 8% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 11 | 6% |
| Steering | 11 | 6% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 10 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 40,000 miles (middle 50% between 17,500 and 78,000 miles), based on 111 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“On April 9, 2026, my daughter came in from school and parked her Honda Pilot at about 5:10PM. At about 7:03PM, my wife and I were sitting outside and heard a loud POP, it sounded like a car backfiring. I went to investigate and saw a little smoke and a small orange glowing piece of something on the ground under the…”
Electrical System · filed Apr 12, 2026
“One day my pilot 2012 suddenly started turning on and off the passenger airbag then out of the blue the airbag system light when on. Scanned it an it reads the passenger weight sensor is not communicating the part is no longer available to purchase and it is in backorder with date of delivery to be determined. Car is…”
Air Bags · filed Mar 16, 2026
“The check transmission light comes and goes. Ive had the transmission flushed with no issues. It pulls codes for the torque converter as its supposedly getting stuck per mechanic or is over heating and throwing the code. It does not drive rough and I believe it is a faulty code that needs to be addressed and updated…”
Power Train · filed Feb 18, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
62 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2012 Honda Pilot. The 10 most recent:
"Service bulletin - American Honda is announcing a powertrain warranty extension as a result of a settlement of a class action captioned, Soto et al.v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-1377-SI (N.D…
A13-082 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 19, 2022
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
A07-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 23, 2021
Dealer Message - The May episode of Tech2Tech is now posted. We've got some valuable information for you, so check it out! This month we're featuring "Replacing That Leaky Front Rocker Arm Oil Control Valve."
APP05122020 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 12, 2020
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-016 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - The front rocker arm oil control valve is leaking.
A20-023 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 5, 2020
Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator for 2010-12 Accord and Other Listed Years and Models (Expires September 30, 2028)
19-003-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 13, 2019
Service Bulletin - American Honda is conducting an inspection of certain vehicles that have previously had the passenger's airbag inflator replaced as part of the Takata Passsenger's Airbag Inflator recall. If you…
A18-115 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 10, 2019
ServiceNews Article - Here's something you really ought to know about: When you play a DVD with 5.1 surround sound (Dolby Digital), you'll hear the dialogue coming from just the front speakers. You won't hear it coming…
A13050F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 26, 2019
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A19-002 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 18, 2019
"Service bulletin - American Honda is announcing a powertrain warranty extension as a result of a settlement of a class action captioned, Soto et al.v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-1377-SI (N.D…
A13-082 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 20, 2018
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2012 Honda Pilot has 9 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2012 Honda Pilot?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 40,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.