2025 Honda Pilot

On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.NHTSA has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

While traveling at approximately 60 MPH, with no vehicles or obstacles nearby in either direction, my 2025 Honda Pilot unexpectedly activated its collision warning system. The red "BRAKE" warning appeared on the dashboard, immediately followed by sudden, forceful automatic braking without any input from the driver. The unexpected deceleration threw me forward, resulting in a headache and mild wrist pain. Fortunately, my children were not in the vehicle, and there were no vehicles traveling behind me at the time. This incident created a serious safety concern, as the sudden braking could have resulted in a collision. The vehicle is scheduled for inspection at a Honda dealership on November 2, 2026. I am requesting that Honda investigate this unintended braking event and determine why the collision mitigation system activated when no apparent hazard was present.

NHTSA ID

11774599

Incident

Oct 29, 2026

My car would rev without increasing speed and would jerk with braking and acceleration. The honda technician diagnosed a transmission problem called a slip flare and the transmission is being replaced under warranty at 28k miles. I do not believe this caused a safety issue because I caught it early but it took the dealership a couple days to reproduce the issue. There were no warning lights or error codes alerting an issue.

NHTSA ID

11772971

Incident

Oct 12, 2026

My 2025 Honda Pilot TrailSport has lost electric power steering assist twice. First failure, about 6,000 miles: the vehicle lost power steering while driving on pavement in normal road use, with no water or off-road driving involved. The Honda dealer replaced the steering rack under warranty. Second failure, about 24,000 miles: a few days after the vehicle was driven through shallow puddles on a trail at Broken Bow Lake, OK (about 5 inches deep, below the wheel rims, about 5 mph), it lost power steering assist while being driven to work on public roads in Lawton, OK. The dealer attributed the failure to water and mud entering the power steering electrical connector/wiring and denied warranty coverage. A Honda field representative upheld the denial and told me to file an insurance claim. This failure is in the same area the dealer worked on during the first rack replacement. The failed parts are at the dealer. The steering system's electrical connections should be sealed against ordinary road splash, especially on the TrailSport, which Honda markets as its most rugged and off-road capable SUV. Here, shallow water led to a loss of steering assist days later, in normal traffic on a public road. Any driver who goes through a flooded street or heavy rain could face the same failure without warning. Loss of assist sharply increases steering effort and could cause a crash. I ask NHTSA to review whether the electric power steering connectors on 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles are adequately protected from water intrusion.

NHTSA ID

11772896

Incident

Oct 2, 2026

There is a constant clicking noise when turning the steering wheel which seems to come from the clock spring. I have verified this same issue on two other 2025 models, and although it does not currently affect vehicle safety, it could potentially do so in the future.

NHTSA ID

11772576

Incident

Oct 20, 2026

My 2025 Honda Pilot Elite has a persistent creaking/rubbing noise from the steering wheel area when turning at low speeds. This has been brought to Richfield Bloomington Honda twice with no resolution. Visit 1 (9/28/2026): Dealer replaced the clock spring under warranty. Noise returned within days. Visit 2 (10/16/2026, 15,158 miles): Dealer compared vehicle to 3 other Pilots, stated they all make the same noise, and closed the repair order as ‘operating as designed’ with no safety concerns found. Honda has not provided a fix. Multiple other 2025 Pilot owners have filed identical NHTSA complaints (ODI #11765610, #11725404, #11750240) with the same outcome — clock spring replaced, noise persists, dealer calls it normal. I believe the root cause is the steering column bearing assembly, not the clock spring. I am requesting NHTSA investigate this as a potential defect.

NHTSA ID

11772511

Incident

Oct 16, 2026

While driving to work my back passenger tire bumped a shallow pothole. After the bump, several warnings came on the screen about ABS, Power Steering, automatic bright headlight control and a couple of others. The power steering was completely out. I turned my car off and restarted my car. This restored the power steering, but there was a lane assist error and one other error. I turned around to head home and the sensors went away as if they were reset. When the vehicle was taken to the dealer it did not display that any alerts had been registered on the car and they were not able to duplicate the problem after driving the car for 50 miles. I took the car back home after getting the tires aligned. 2 weeks later the same thing happened again.

NHTSA ID

11772399

Incident

Oct 7, 2026

While I am driving my vehicle, it suddenly applies the brakes with force and the "BRAKE" dash light appears. This began in Feb 2026 after several months of driving on the same road with no issues. I am at risk of being in a rear end collision if the person behind me is following closely and my car suddenly applies the brakes with force. The dealer cannot reproduce the problem, but it is happening on the same road and they have not tested the vehicle on this road. I do have a video of it happening and the dealership has a copy. We have taken it to the dealership 3 times and I have a lengthy record of each occurrence. The problem seems to be happening more often as time goes on. The dealership keeps telling us they can't find anything wrong - even though they now have the incident on video.

NHTSA ID

11772210

Incident

Oct 19, 2026

The passenger side seat is either missing or the foam material has been displaced. SInce this seat is both heated and cooled this presents a situation where the air ducts may be covered which if the heat is being seated could cause a buildup of heat and a possible melting or fire concern. The auto is still under the 36,000 mile threshold of warranty coverage but the dealer has refused to fix the issue. They gave me a number for Honda Customer Relations. I have a case number which is #XXX. This should trigger a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11771026

Incident

Oct 13, 2026

Service Bulletin - The driver-information interface may display a warning message when a malfunction in the Auto Idle Stop System is detected due to possible insufficient wire length at the Battery Management System (BMS) connector causing the wires to break.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2025 Pilots with customer complaint of Check Engine Light (CEL) on with DTC P0420 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)] and/or P0430 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2]] stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2025 Pilots with customer complaint of Check Engine Light (CEL) on with DTC P0420 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)] and/or P0430 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2]] stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2025 Pilots with customer complaint of Check Engine Light (CEL) on with DTC P0420 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)] and/or P0430 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2]] stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle.

Over The Air - This update contains various performance enhancements and UI improvements.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2025 Pilots with customer complaint of Check Engine Light (CEL) on with DTC P0420 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)] and/or P0430 [Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2]] stored. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle.