RoadVitals

2019 Honda Pilot Exterior lighting Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Exterior lighting reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
9
Latest Sep 3, 2025
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
1%
of 877 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2019 Honda Pilot submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming exterior lighting

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Exterior lighting
Filed Sep 3, 2025

Condensation in headlight assembly impeding forward visibility at night.

NHTSA ID
11684716
Incident
Sep 1, 2025
Exterior lighting
Filed Aug 27, 2024

Headlight seal failure resulting in condensation buildup resulting in obstructing light while driving at night.

NHTSA ID
11611240
Incident
Aug 16, 2024
Exterior lighting
Filed Jun 25, 2024

I was driving late at night and noticed that the headlights were not lighting the road. Upon inspection, I observed excessive amounts of moisture had accumulated on the inside of both headlight assemblies and was refracting the headlight beam resulting in extremely poor visibility placing myself and other drivers at risk for an accident and injury. It is likely that the moisture entered the headlight assemblies while I was driving in a severe thunderstorm the prior day. Much to my surprise, I learned that this is a known issue to Honda. Please see the attachment Service Bulletin number 23-024, titled “Moisture in the Headlights”. Upon review of the technical information from Honda, I learned that the cause of the moisture in the headlight is a broken seal that resulted from improper assembly of the vehicle. Please see the Service Bulletin for a technical explanation of the root cause and corrective action.

NHTSA ID
11596507
Incident
Jun 4, 2024
Exterior lighting
Filed Apr 2, 2024

LED headlight has been collecting condensation, presumed by mechanic to be from improper venting of the headlight. Possibly related to Honda technical service bulletin regarding hood positioning keeping headlights from venting properly. The chronic moisture caused the headlight to fail and stop working while driving at night, without warning. This caused a sudden impairment to visibility, creating a safety risk for those in the vehicle and others in the road.

NHTSA ID
11580581
Incident
Apr 1, 2024
Interior & seatsExterior lighting
Filed Apr 14, 2023

The sensor system for my car are malfunctioning when the car is off. This causes the fuse system to malfunction and power the vehicle without keys being located near the vehicle. The car tries to start as well as the lights flash, dash turns on, and also the horn blares. The fuse system located under the steering wheel sounds like it will spark or blow fuses. The dealer is unable to fix the problem until May because the part is backordered due to many others having the same issue. This has been occurring for months. This issue required the removal of the horn fuse which is a public and personal safety hazard to drive without a functioning horn. The technician with Honda also mentioned I should remove the battery cable every night to prevent the car from draining the battery. The technician himself is also experiencing the same problem with his car.

NHTSA ID
11517070
Incident
Mar 1, 2023
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Oct 28, 2019

SPEEDOMETER AND CONTROL HEAD COMPLETLY BLANK-- DEAD

NHTSA ID
11271630
Incident
Oct 28, 2019
Mileage
6,000 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Oct 6, 2019

1ST PROBLEM...VIDEO DISPLAY WORKED ONLY INTERMITTENTLY. 1ST VISIT, WOLFCHASE HONDA UPDATED SOFTWARE, PROBLEM CONTINUED. 2ND VISIT THEY REPLACED VIDEO UNIT. 2ND PROBLEM...SPEAKERS STARTED MAKING CRACKLING NOISE. WENT ON THEIR SITE TO MAKE APPT AND RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT OT A RECALL NOTICE ABOUT ELECTRICAL ISSUE (OR A FLEET CAMPAIGN NOT SURE WHICH). THEY UPDATED SOFTWARE ON THAT 3RD VISIT. SPEAKER PROBLEM WORSENED AFTER THAT VISIT AND SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY AND VIDEO (STEREO SYSTEM, NAVIGATION ETC) WOULD BLANK OUT WHILE DRIVING. SYSTEM WOULD GENERALLY RESET BUT ONLY AFTER 30 SECONDS OF NON VISIBILITY TO MY SPEED, CRUISE CONTROL STATUS ETC.. TOOK IT BACK FOR 4TH VISIT. THEY STATED THEY FOUND AN ISSUE WITH TAILGATE SENSOR. PICKED IT UP ON FRIDAY OCT 4TH AND IT STARTED MAKING THE CRACKLING NOISE IN THE SPEAKERS AGAIN YESTERDAY, OCT 5TH. LAST TIME, IT EVENTUALLY GOT WORSE UNTIL SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING. PLAN TO MAKE ANOTHER APPT (MY 5TH) THIS WEEK. CRACLKING NOISE OCCURS WHEN STOPPED, WHEN DRIVING, WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF (AFTER BEING ON). VIDEO AND SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY STOP WORKING WHEN DRIVING.

NHTSA ID
11266621
Incident
Oct 2, 2019
Mileage
9,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Jan 4, 2019

THE VEHICLE WAS ADVERTISED WITH 'LED' LOW BEAM LIGHTS. IT HAS HALOGEN.

NHTSA ID
11165293
Incident
Dec 21, 2018
Mileage
115 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Oct 17, 2018

THE HEADLIGHTS ARE TOTALLY INADEQUATE. LOW BEAMS ILLUMINATE ROAD ONLY DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF VEHICLE AND NOT ENOUGH FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD CAUSING AN UNSAFE CONDITION OF “OVER DRIVING” THE HEADLIGHTS.

NHTSA ID
11141105
Incident
Oct 9, 2018
Mileage
50 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .