2018 Honda Pilot problems & reliability
433 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda Pilot, alongside 7 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.
8 complaints report injuries (11 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2018 Honda Pilot vehicles were involved in 37 fatal crashes with 14 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 | 154 | 36% |
| Electrical System | 85 | 20% |
| Power Train | 78 | 18% |
| Unknown OR Other | 72 | 17% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 62 | 14% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 62 | 14% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 23 | 5% |
| Structure | 17 | 4% |
| Seat Belts | 12 | 3% |
| Service Brakes | 10 | 2% |
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 51,000 miles (middle 50% between 19,688 and 87,111 miles), based on 100 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“If the auto engine shut off is activated the engine shuts off randomly and it does not restart the engine. The battery needs to be unplugged to reset the electrical system. This happens daily.”
Electrical System · filed Aug 3, 2026
“-the transmission too hot message came up on my dashboard. yes it is available for inspection upon request -we could not continue to drive to our destination -they could not find any issue when i brought it to Honda Service center, they did recommend ATF cooler which i had it installed -there are no other warning…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Aug 3, 2026
“We were driving from [XXX], to [XXX], on XXX. That morning we'd taken the Honda Pilot in to Xpresso Lube and got an oil change and all fluids checked out. Eight hours into the drive we heard a little clanking and started to pull off the freeway. As we did so, a Low Oil Pressure light came on for a few seconds and then…”
Engine · filed Aug 3, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Engine failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE25008 · opened Aug 20, 2025 · open
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engineering Analysis EA25004 · opened Mar 26, 2025 · open
- Engine failure
Recall Query RQ24013 · opened Nov 8, 2024 · closed Aug 20, 2025
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 · opened Jun 3, 2022 · closed Mar 26, 2025
Technical service bulletins
140 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda Pilot. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and engaging idle stop, the vehicle may not restart automatically due to excessive cylinder pressure and/or low cranking torque. Typically, the…
A23-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 7, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the torque converter lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the torque converter lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2025
Service Bulletin - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through a crack in the…
A23-078 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 18, 2025
Dealer Message - Torque converters may not have been manufactured to proper specifications. As a result, the torque converter lock-up clutch cannot provide adequate holding force due to pressure bleeding down through a…
AEBM04182025901 · Other · issued Apr 18, 2025
Service Bulletin - The AWD warning light is on potentially due to water intrusion into the rear differential pump motor connector area that corrodes the terminals.
A24-048 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2024
Service Bulletin - MIL flashes and vehicle will not accelerate, low power. After cycling the ignition, the symptom does not return with no stored DTCs. This issue is more common in regions with cold weather…
A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 20, 2024
Service Bulletin - The MIL flashes and vehicle will not accelerate, low power. After cycling the ignition, the symptom does not return with no stored DTCs. This issue is more common in regions with cold weather…
A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 19, 2024
Service Bulletin - The A/C does not blow cold air, and the lower corner of the condenser around the receiver/dryer cap is stained due to a poor O-ring compression against the receiver/dryer barrel wall.
A18-080 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 19, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2023 Passports, 2016-2022 Pilots, & 2017-2023 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the front passengerâ s power window inop from…
ATI&04082024905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 8, 2024
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 2018 Honda Pilot has 7 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 2018 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 51,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.