2023 Honda Pilot problems & reliability
128 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Honda Pilot, alongside 5 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.
3 complaints report injuries (3 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2023 Honda Pilot vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 0 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Seat Belts | 27 | 21% |
| Electrical System | 26 | 20% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 18 | 14% |
| Unknown OR Other | 18 | 14% |
| Steering | 16 | 13% |
| Service Brakes | 15 | 12% |
| Engine | 11 | 9% |
| Power Train | 9 | 7% |
| Seats | 8 | 6% |
| Structure | 6 | 5% |
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.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Honda has a known issue where their Pilot’s seatbelt sensor stops working. I was the second vehicle this week to bring my car in because the belt dings incessantly even though the seatbelt is secured. This can prevent the airbag from deploying while a passenger is in the seat. I’m being charged for the repair and feel…”
Seat Belts · filed Aug 5, 2026
“My husband was driving our family of 6 to [XXX] from the [XXX] area. We were on the highway in [XXX] when we heard a loud pop and the sunroof had randomly exploded. There's a thin cloth like screen between the glass and the inside of the vehicle. Luckily that screen was not open, otherwise, we would've have been cut…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Aug 1, 2026
“The second row passenger side seat belt continues to give an alert that there is a rider but the belt is not buckled, even though the belt is buckled. The wire running alongside the belt latch can be jiggled to get the alert to stop. Then the alert restarts. Sometimes the alert continues to trigger several times over…”
Seat Belts · filed Jul 30, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Inaccurate Rear Passenger Seat Belt Warning Status
Preliminary Evaluation PE25017 · opened Oct 28, 2025 · open
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engineering Analysis EA25004 · opened Mar 26, 2025 · open
Technical service bulletins
89 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2023 Honda Pilot. The 10 most recent:
Over The Air - This update contains various performance enhancements and UI improvements.
A30149 · Over The Air · issued Feb 10, 2026
Service Bulletin - The seat belt reminder incorrectly indicates that the second-row right passenger seat belt is unfastened even after the passenger has fastened it.
A26-027 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 22, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 Pilots with a customer complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may…
ATI&10232025903 · Other · issued Oct 23, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 Pilots with a customer complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may…
ATI&10172025903 · Other · issued Oct 17, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 Pilots with a customer complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may…
ATI&10032025903 · Other · issued Oct 4, 2025
Service Bulletin - Customers have experienced rattle or vibration noise coming from behind the center display area of the dashboard while defrost is on high fan speed due to vent duct parts moving and contacting each…
A25-075 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 23, 2025
Service Bulletin - When the vehicle is put into reverse, the rear camera may display a black and white image. This could occur intermittently, and can change between color display to a black and white display.
A25-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 13, 2025
"Service Bulletin - Burning oil smell from under hood and/or MIL comes on with DTC P2096 and/or P2270 due to possible porosity in the cylinder head cover bolt hole may cause oil to weep out onto Bank 1 (Rear Cylinder…
A25-006 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 22, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2023-2025 Pilots with a customer complaint of a no auto re-start condition after going into an auto idle stop. The push button ignition may…
ATI&07072025901 · Other · issued Jul 7, 2025
Service Bulletin - Customers are experiencing screeching, squeaking, rubbing, or scraping from the rear wheel area due to rocks are getting caught between the rear brake disk and splash guard.
A24-059 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2025
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 2023 Honda Pilot has 5 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 2023 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.