2022 Honda Pilot Powertrain (other) Problems

My 2022 Honda Pilot Black Edition (VIN [XXX], 62,900 miles) has multiple intermittent safety‑critical failures involving the transmission, acceleration, adaptive cruise control, and HVAC blower. These issues occur without warning and without diagnostic trouble codes. Transmission/Acceleration Failure: Most recent incident was XXX on Highway 71 during heavy traffic. The vehicle twice experienced rapid deceleration with no ability to reach a safety stop. RPM dropped below 1000, then spiked to 6,000–8,000 while the vehicle continued to lose speed. Acceleration returned only after several seconds. This also occurs during highway merging and uphill acceleration. Additionally, when disengaging cruise control and immediately pressing the accelerator, the vehicle loses speed, RPM drops abnormally low, then spikes before power returns. Adaptive Cruise Control/Honda Sensing Failure: On XXX the vehicle rapidly decelerated when a semi‑truck was beside me, despite no vehicle ahead. The week prior, while driving several states away, setting cruise at 70 mph caused sudden deceleration and cruise resetting itself to ~54 mph. These events resemble phantom braking and radar mis‑targeting. HVAC Blower Failure: During a long multi‑state trip the week prior, the AC blower (speed 3–4) intermittently stopped blowing for several seconds, then resumed at the same speed with no change to the display. These failures affect powertrain, forward collision avoidance, vehicle speed control, electrical systems, and cabin equipment. The dealership (Roush Honda, Westerville OH) cannot replicate the issues and reports no stored codes. These defects pose significant safety risks. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11754084

Incident

Jul 30, 2026

A safety concern with some Honda Pilot models involves a potential transmission defect that can cause the vehicle to hesitate or fail to accelerate when the driver presses the accelerator. This unexpected loss of power can create hazardous situations, particularly when merging into traffic, crossing intersections, or attempting to avoid obstacles. Drivers have reported delayed engagement and inconsistent acceleration, raising concerns about the reliability and safety of the vehicle's transmission system.

NHTSA ID

11748602

Incident

Jun 27, 2026

Upon accelerating from a stop, or at various speeds, the vehicle experiences a significant loss of motive power(pulling backwards) followed by an abrupt lunge forward. This hesitation occurs unpredictably and makes entering traffic or intersections extremely hazardous. This feels like a fuel delivery or transmission engagement failure. The last incident occurred on or around the afternoon of March 23. My vehicle has been examined at the dealership on multiple occasions for this same issue and each time I have been told that they are unable to replicate the issue and can not help me further unless they are able to replicate the issue.

NHTSA ID

11732420

Incident

Mar 23, 2026

Vehicle: 2022 Honda Pilot Elite AWD Mileage at first occurrence: ~30,000 miles Current mileage at worsening/repeatability of issue: ~48,000 miles My 2022 Honda Pilot Elite experiences a loss of propulsion during cold starts, most commonly after using remote start. The issue occurs when the vehicle is cold, shifted into Drive, and remains stationary for approximately 10–15 seconds. Under these conditions, the vehicle displays the message “Stop driving when safe. Transmission problem. See manual,” disengages the transmission, and shifts itself into Neutral. The vehicle will not move until it is shut off and restarted. This condition has occurred multiple times and is repeatable under the same circumstances. There are no other warning lights present, and restarting the vehicle temporarily restores normal operation. I reported this issue to my Honda dealer. The dealer contacted Honda North America technical support, who stated they are aware of this exact issue and the specific sequence of events that causes it. Honda advised that they do not consider this behavior a defect and declined to provide any repair guidance or corrective action. This condition results in an unexpected loss of drive capability and could pose a safety risk if it occurs in traffic or at an intersection. The issue can occur during normal vehicle operation and does not involve misuse of the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11717181

Incident

Feb 10, 2026

While driving my car braked, would not drive and a warning for transmission presented on warning board. The vehicle would not shift into park, reverse, neutral, or drive. I could not move it from impeding traffic. It nice I factory reset the vehicle was fine again.

NHTSA ID

11691062

Incident

Oct 2, 2025

Case 11655023 Hello, I need your help. I spoke with Honda and was told they would buy back my truck and someone would contact me. Mrs. Briana called and said I had to keep taking the truck to the mechanic as many times as needed. I explained I had already taken it 8–9 times, but she said it didn’t matter and that I should take it to another dealer. I had already gone to the Mission Valley dealership, showed the mechanic photos and videos, and he agreed something was wrong. I left the truck for 3–4 days, but they only changed the start button. I asked about the brakes, which were making noise, and was told it was “normal.” I insisted on getting them fixed, but they said if parts weren’t broken, Honda wouldn’t replace them. I spoke to the manager, who drove the truck with me and said they would adjust the brakes and fix the faulty fuel sensor. I brought it back on Wednesday, received a service receipt, but when I tried to leave, the truck wouldn’t start. I showed the manager a video of the issue, and he said they would fix it. I returned on Wednesday, left the truck again, and on Thursday a worker called saying the truck had no issues. I reminded them the manager had promised repairs, and they said he would call me. On Friday, I was told the truck had “bad luck,” nothing was wrong, and I should pick it up — or go to another Honda if I wasn’t satisfied.

NHTSA ID

11664940

Incident

Jun 4, 2025

So this started as a loss of power when traveling down the highway, i would push down on the accelerator to pass and loss of power for at least 2 to 5 seconds. Now it is happening more frequent with normal driving. I believe this to be a safety problem.

NHTSA ID

11659471

Incident

May 7, 2025

About five weeks ago I decided I was going to take my kids to the park. Well, when we got there our vehicle wouldn’t go out of park and was stuck with a check engine light on and an emission light on. So, we had to tow it to Honda and they didn’t have a loaner vehicle for us while they were diagnosing the vehicle so we were without a vehicle for three days and then was called by Honda to come get the car that they cleared the check engine light and it’s drivable. Was told we would need a new transmission if the car check engine light comes on again. So, of course the light comes back on the next day. I don’t believe it needs a new transmission. No signs that it does. So I called the dealership and they wouldn’t answer , all departments went to voice mail. So, I called Honda corporate, and they wouldn’t answer next day thw dealership calls me asking me when I can bring the car back up there. So I brought it up there and got into a loaner this time for three weeks now. Was told last week our car is good to go and I can come pick it up and once I got there the check engine light and emission light was still on so they lied to us The corporate office won’t approve a good will transmission because of documentations that they should already have but don’t. And Duval Honda told us to bring the loaner back or they are gonna report it as an unauthorized use of the vehicle which we prolly put me in jail so I asked the gm at Duval Honda if he can at least extend it till the in of the week so we can figure something out since we have jobs and kids and no way of any transportation that he is gonna put us on the streets far as walking and he could careless and told us to get a rental car and if we don’t turn the car in then he will report it. So now we are car less. This car is a lease and we never missed a car payment and we had a car before this one which was a lease and never missed a payment as well. We are forced to walk while we still make car payments.

NHTSA ID

11655864

Incident

Mar 17, 2025

On several occasions the Pilot lost power and decreased speed at an alarming rate while I was accelerating to merge on to the interstate creating serious safety problems. The transmission completely died while I was stopped on the roadside 1200 miles from home in a remote area. It took 2 weeks for the local dealer to acquire and install a new transmission.

NHTSA ID

11644488

Incident

Dec 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2022 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds and depressing the brake pedal, there was an abnormally loud squeaking sound coming from the brake pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where a software update was performed; however, the failure persisted. The dealer stated that dust had caused the brake pedal to squeak and the failure persisted after the repair was performed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

NHTSA ID

11602294

Incident

Dec 1, 2022

Mileage

18,000 mi

On July 8 2024 at approximately 0720 CST I was driving my vehicle on the freeway when I lost ALL acceleration and the car would NOT go above 70MPH. The car continued to decelerate while on the freeway in traffic. The RPM range was 7-8 while it was decelerating and then it went back to "normal" a few minutes later. I then continued my travel to work and about 5 miles away from my work it did it again ON THE FREEWAY. I was able to limp into the Honda Burleson Service Center and there were 3 warning lights on at this point. These warning lights are Brake System Warning Light, Road Departure Mitigation System Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control System Problem.

NHTSA ID

11600143

Incident

Jul 8, 2024

Since we purchased our 2022 Honda Pilot three months ago, two VERY important things have happened to me and I am still wondering WHY the Honda engineers did not catch these things. Or if they did, why did they allow it to make it to production??? I cannot say if the NHTSA would consider this a malfunction but it should definitely be considered a dangerous function especially to an unaware driver. Our vehicle is available for inspection if you want me to show you what I mean. I am taking this vehicle to the dealer this Saturday to be inspected for these reasons. Problem #1: If you need to do a 3-point turn in the middle of the road above a certain speed and you need to do it fast, forget about it. There seems to be about a 3 to 4 second lag between the time you make the first turn, push the reverse button, and hit the gas to make the Pilot go in to reverse. The same for when you switch to drive to go forward. When there is oncoming traffic, this is some scary shit! Here you are, in the middle of the road trying to go back and the darned vehicle is just sitting there not moving for 3-4 seconds. To make it even scarier, you get to repeat the process over again when trying to go forward all the while cars are coming in your direction. I am like "What the hell is this?" Problem #2: Some rocket scientist decided it was a good idea to put the transmission speed changer (D2, D3) on a piece of plastic that is located just behind the left side of the steering wheel. Great idea! At least until you accidentally grab it while driving down the road at 70 or 80 miles per hour and the transmission decides to go into that gear and make all sorts of terrible noises. This not only scared the shit out of me but also my wife and kids. For an inexperienced driver, I suspect this could cause the driver to do something erratic and in turn cause an accident. So while driving at 70 down the highway, the only way I could figure how to keep from burning up the transmission and get it back i

NHTSA ID

11520388

Incident

Apr 30, 2023

On several occasions, while driving, my vehicle would not accelerate when I pressed the gas pedal. It stalls and then bursts forward. I have noticed that it is more prevalent when I drive off. I have taken my car to the dealer service center, and they said they could not replicate the issue. My vehicle is available for inspection upon your request.

NHTSA ID

11466330

Incident

May 26, 2022

I leased a brand new 2022 Honda Pilot and after two weeks of leasing it developed a severe leaking problem with the transmission. The pilot was taken to a local dealer, the local dealer refused service. It was then taken to the original dealer, and the original dealer replaced the transmission. There was some sort of metallurgical fault or defect with the transmission casing, necessitating replacement of the entire transmission. The vehicle had less than 500 miles when this happened.

NHTSA ID

11461859

Incident

Apr 3, 2022