2015 Honda Pilot Powertrain (other) Problems

1. The engine assembly failed — Piston 1 suffered catastrophic failure due to VCM-related piston ring wear and oil sludge buildup, generating DTCs P0301–P0304 (engine misfire, cylinders 1–4). Vehicle is completely non-operational. Failed engine is available for inspection in Mableton, GA 30126. 2. Progressive engine misfire created risk of sudden power loss and loss of vehicle control at highway speeds. Complete engine failure in April 2026 left the vehicle fully immobile, posing an immediate collision risk to the driver and surrounding motorists. 3. Yes. In October 2025, I brought the vehicle to AutoNation Honda on Thornton Road, Georgia, presenting symptoms consistent with Honda Service Bulletin 25-060. The dealership examined the vehicle but took no action and offered no warranty coverage, despite SB 25-060 being fully active at that time. 4. Yes. AutoNation Honda (authorized Honda dealer) inspected the vehicle in October 2025 while Service Bulletin 25-060 was fully active. No repair was performed and Honda has denied all warranty claims. No police or insurance inspection has occurred. Vehicle remains unrepaired and available for NHTSA inspection. 5. Yes. The Check Engine Light illuminated with DTCs P0301–P0304 prior to failure, along with engine misfire, rough idle, and reduced performance. These symptoms were present at the October 2025 dealer visit. No corrective action was taken. The engine progressed to catastrophic Piston 1 failure in April 2026.

NHTSA ID

11737134

Incident

Apr 16, 2025

Hello my car has had an ongoing issue that was recalled for the 2009 to 2013 year Honda pilots regarding oil consumption. My car constantly has issues with misfiring due to oil on the spark plugs. This started happening around 90000 miles on my vehicle. After several expensive repairs including having the heads on my engine rebuilt, having the coils replaced and having the cylinder 1 spark plug replaced at least 4 times. My mechanic pointed me to the VCS system in the car which many have complained about causing this issue. When the vehicle exhibits these symptoms it has caused me to lose speed instantly on the highway and the vehicle begins to shake.

NHTSA ID

11502565

Incident

Jun 8, 2022

ENGINE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE/MISFIRING ON HIGHWAY NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT CERTIFIED MECHANIC REPLACED TIMING TENSIONER, TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP ALSO REPLACED VARIABLE TIMING TENSIONER, COIL PACKS, SPARK PLUGS. ISSUE STILL PERSIST WITH ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON BLINKING CLEARING CONSTANTLY ALSO ANTI TRACTION LIGHT. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS IS THERE A RECALL IN PROCESS????

NHTSA ID

11439210

Incident

Jul 30, 2021

3RD TIME IN 12 MONTHS THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BEGINS FLASHING AND THE CAR BEGINS TO LOSE ACCELERATION POWER AND VIBRATES EXCESSIVELY. RECENT ISSUE HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING OFF OF THE FREEWAY AND AT A STOP LIGHT. THE PREVIOUS 2 OCCURRENCES IT IS DETERMINED TO BE AN ENGINE MISFIRE. THE LAST TIME OIL SPOTTED IN SPARK PLUG INDICATING THAT THE PISTON RING IS FAULTY.

NHTSA ID

11298201

Incident

Jan 9, 2020

Mileage

85,000 mi

MY 2015 HONDA PILOT EX-L HESITATES TO ACCELERATE WHEN TURNING. IT MOSTLY HAPPEN WHEN TURNING RIGHT, WHEN I TURN AND TRY TO ACCELERATE THE GAS PEDAL BECOMES NON RESPONSIVE. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE. THERE'S NO ACCELERATION WHILE MERGING INTO TRAFFIC! I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO DEALER IN 3 OCCASION BUT THEY SAID THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE THE ISSUE. I WROTE TO HONDA AMERICA INC. BUT THEY SAID THE SAME THING. THEY CAN'T HELP ME WITH THIS ISSUE. I AM VERY CONCERN ABOUT THESE INTERMITTENT PROBLEM BECAUSE I FEEL VERY UNSAFE DRIVING MY CAR!

NHTSA ID

11220630

Incident

Jan 16, 2019

Mileage

36,000 mi

TRANSMISSION AND DRIVETRAIN VEHICLE IN MOTION FROM START UP. ENGINE/TRANSMISSION SOUNDS AS THOUGH IT SHOULD SHIFT BUT DOES NOT MAKE SMOOTH SHIFT FROM 1 GEAR TO NEXT. VEHICLE HAS VIBRATION AS RESULT OF TRANSMISSION NOT MAKING A SHIFT UP TO NEXT GEAR.

NHTSA ID

11166000

Incident

Dec 23, 2018

WITHIN A FEW SECONDS AND WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE BRAKES SEEM NOT TO ENGAGE, BUT THEN ENGAGE, THE ENGINE REVS UP. THE ENGINE STAYS IDLED UP UNTIL THE BRAKES ARE RELEASED. TWO OCCURENCES HAPPENED IN ONE DAY AND DOESN'T DUPLICATE FOR THE DEALERSHIP. TWO WEEKS PASS AND ANOTHER OCCURRENCE HAPPENED. THE INCIDENTS OCCUR WHILE ALREADY ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE. THE CAR SKIDDED LIKE THE WHEELS WERE LOCKED. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS WHEN I WAS STOPPED TO ENTER A PARKING GARAGE. THE SECOND OCCURRENCE HAPPENED ON THE SAME DAY AND I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN GOING ANY MORE THAN 25 MILES PER HOUR WHEN I APPLIED BRAKE, THE VEHICLE FISHTAILED A LITTLE BIT AND EVENTUALLY STOPPED. THE THIRD OCCURRENCE HAPPENED YESTERDAY JANUARY 7TH WHILE GOING ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR AND ATTEMPTING TO SLOW DOWN IN HEAVY TRAFFIC.THE VEHICLE BEHAVED AS THOUGH IT WASN'T GOING TO STOP BUT EVENTUALLY STOPPED( APPLYING BRAKE BUT NO REDUCTION IN SPEED) AND THE ENGINE REVVED UP WHILE MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. EACH OCCURRENCE OF THE ENGINE REVVING UP HAPPENED WHILE EITHER STOPPED OR ATTEMPTING TO STOP.

NHTSA ID

11165861

Incident

Dec 13, 2018

Mileage

56,200 mi

AT ABOUT 55000 MILES MY PILOT STARTED JERKING/HESITATING AT ALL SPEEDS, ANY ROAD, USUALLY AFTER SHIFTING GEARS BOTH UP AND DOWN. NOW I BOUGHT IT IN FEBRUARY 2017 CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED SO ALL RECOMMENDED SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. SO, I TOOK IT IN FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE DEALER IN DUBLIN OH SAID THE TRANSMISSION FLUID NEEDED TO BE TRIPLE FLUSHED FLUSHED 3 TIMES!!! SINCE I NEEDED A VEHICLE TO DRIVE TO WORK, I COULDN'T ARGUE AND GOT THE SERVICE DONE. AFTER READING OF OTHER LANGUAGES WITH SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THE JERKING/STUTTER/HESITATION I DECIDED TO FILE THIS COMPLAINT. THE RESULTS OF THE TRANNY FLUSH WERE GOOD HOWEVER I CAN STILL FEEL A VERY FAINT ALMOST UNNOTICEABLE HESITATION THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.

NHTSA ID

11122875

Incident

Dec 28, 2017

Mileage

55,000 mi

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASE, NOTICE CAR SHUDDERING AND SHAKING AT 35-50MPH AND THEN EVEN HIGHER SPEED LIMITS. WENT TO PURCHASING DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY TOLD ME THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH VCM SYSTEM. TOOK CAR FOR THREE SUBSEQUENT REPAIRS OVER NEXT YEAR TO ANOTHER HONDA DEALER. EVEN AFTER DOWNLOADING NEW PCM AND VCM / TORQUE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE PROVIDED BY HONDA, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. HONDA STATES THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS FIX, BUT CORPORATE NOW STATES THAT THIS DEFECT IS WITHIN ACCEPTABLE OPERATING STANDARDS. ON SOME DAYS THE SHUDDERING SEEMS UNSAFE AND COULD POSE A RISK, I SUSPECT, TO DRIVER AND PASSENGER SAFETY. HAVE FOLLOWED ALL LEMON LAW GUIDANCE FROM STATE OF GEORGIA AND HONDA CONTINUES TO PRODUCE LIES AND FALSE STATEMENTS TO COVER UP A PROBLEM WHICH HAS EVEN BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT BY EDMUNDS.COM. CORPORATE REP MET ME AT DEALERSHIP TO EVALUATE PROBLEM. HE ACKNOWLEDGE PROBLEMS DURING A TEST DRIVE; STATED THAT SOME CARS JUST DON'T MAKE IT OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE PERFECT, AND THAT MY VEHICLE IS ONE OF THOSE VEHICLES. HONDA CORPORATE ALSO STATES THAT THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP IS IN CONCURRENCE WITH THEIR ASSESSMENT, AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT BASED ON DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM AND WITH THEIR SERVICE TECHNICIANS WHO HAVE WORKED ON MY VEHICLE. HONDA SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HOW THEY ARE IGNORING AN OPERATING PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE; EXPANDING ACCEPTABLE TOLERANCE LIMITS IN ORDER TO CALL THIS VEHICLE NORMAL AND SAFE.

NHTSA ID

10862902

Incident

Jun 1, 2015

Mileage

25 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 HONDA PILOT. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH AND ACTIVATING THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT HEATER, THE GEAR SHIFTER WAS ENCOUNTERED AND SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT PLACED THE GEAR SHIFTER BACK INTO DRIVE AND WAS ABLE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 46,000.

NHTSA ID

10846177

Incident

Oct 12, 2015

Mileage

46,000 mi

I PURCHASED A NEW TOP OF THE LINE HONDA PILOT EX-L BACK IN 2005. MY WIFE DROVE IT FOR NINE YEARS AND TOOK IMPECCABLE CARE OF IT. I STARTED DRIVING IT A YEAR AGO WHEN WE LEASED A 2013 CR-V FOR HER. A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, I WAS MAKING THE THREE MILE JOURNEY TO WORK WHEN I NOTICED THAT MY HEAT WAS NO LONGER WORKING. AFTER WORK, THE CAR HAD SOME TRANSMISSION SLIP WHEN LEAVING THE PARKING LOT. I STOPPED HOME BRIEFLY TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO TAKE IT TO THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER. WE ALWAYS HAD IT SERVICED THERE ( MOSTLY OIL CHANGES, A SET OF BRAKE PADS, ETC. AS IT ONLY HAD 84,000 MI. ON IT). ON THE WAY TO THE DEALER, WHO WAS FIVE MILES AWAY, THE TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING MORE AND MORE. THEN, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO MASSIVELY OVERHEAT. I'M GLAD I WAS NOT ON A BUSY HIGHWAY OR IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. LONG STORY SHORT, AFTER THE TECHNICIAN EVALUATED IT, I HAD A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE DUE TO THE TRANSMISSION FLUID MIXING WITH THE ANTIFREEZE. I NEEDED A HEAD GASKET FOR THE MOTOR DUE TO THE HEAT, A NEW RADIATOR THAT HAD AN INTERNAL DESIGN FAILURE, AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AS WELL. A VEHICLE DOES NOT REQUIRE A MIXTURE OF ANTIFREEZE AND TRANSMISSION FLUID ANYWHERE, NOR AT ANY TIME IN THE HISTORY OF AUTOMOBILES. THE REPAIR WOULD HAVE COST NEARLY WHAT THE VALUE OF THE CAR WAS. I CALLED HONDA MOTOR CORP. AND WAS OFFERED NO HELP. THE VALUE OF THE CAR WAS ROUGHLY 10,000.00. I CHOSE NOT TO PROCEED WITH THE REPAIR, AS I FELT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A FOOLISH DECISION. AFTER MY FAMILY HAS OWNED A HALF-DOZEN HONDA VEHICLES, WE WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE. I FEEL THAT HONDA OWES ME THE VALUE OF THE CAR DUE TO THEIR OVERLY ENGINEERED RADIATOR. WE SUGGESTED THAT THEY PUT THE VALUE OF THE PILOT AGAINST THE LEASE BALANCE ON THE CRV, THEY DENIED THAT SUGGESTION. THE MOMENT THE HEAT WENT OUT, I HAD NO IDEA THAT MY CAR WAS ALREADY A TOTAL LOSS. CAN YOU SAY RECALL?????????? *TR

NHTSA ID

10702326

Incident

Mar 5, 2015

Mileage

84,000 mi