2017 Honda Pilot
The Verdict
The 2017 Honda Pilot has 934 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are engine (576 complaints) and body (146 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 5/100, it earns a "Total Klunk" rating. If you're shopping for a Honda Pilot, consider the 2015 model year which has 88% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2015 has 88% fewer complaints
View the 2015 Honda Pilot dashboard →
Klunk Score: Total Klunk
Among the most complained-about vehicle years on record. Strongly consider alternatives.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Get notified if a recall hits this car.
We email you when NHTSA issues a new recall on the 2017 Honda Pilot. No spam, no marketing.
Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
| Year | Body | Brakes | Electrical | Engine | Transmission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 183 | 26 | 248 | 77 | 211 |
| 2004 | 184 | 19 | 138 | 67 | 135 |
| 2005 | 165 | 122 | 165 | 94 | 130 |
| 2006 | 99 | 32 | 90 | 37 | 10 |
| 2007 | 78 | 19 | 79 | 25 | 10 |
| 2008 | 53 | 6 | 44 | 20 | 10 |
| 2009 | 44 | 13 | 31 | 39 | 7 |
| 2010 | 34 | 8 | 37 | 28 | 3 |
| 2011 | 114 | 37 | 80 | 44 | 16 |
| 2012 | 45 | 25 | 34 | 55 | 12 |
| 2013 | 91 | 38 | 27 | 90 | 25 |
| 2014 | 51 | 8 | 16 | 36 | 5 |
| 2015 | 43 | 11 | 22 | 29 | 4 |
| 2016 | 276 | 20 | 353 | 948 | 119 |
| 2017 | 146 | 20 | 111 | 576 | 81 |
| 2018 | 94 | 5 | 32 | 252 | 48 |
| 2019 | 235 | 33 | 177 | 399 | 64 |
| 2020 | 133 | 21 | 164 | 144 | 28 |
| 2021 | 172 | 25 | 111 | 124 | 14 |
| 2022 | 70 | 16 | 29 | 42 | 11 |
| 2023 | 88 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 5 |
| 2024 | 72 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 6 |
| 2025 | 102 | 30 | 27 | 40 | 18 |
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Compare Against
See how the 2017 Honda Pilot stacks up against rivals.
Complaints
We just purchased last month a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite. We have had issues with the auto start/stop function. Once at a drive through and once at a stoplight. After letting off break, it failed to restart and had to put it in park and restart. This is a dangerous situation being stalled in the road at a busy intersection. I haven't got it in the shop yet, but planning it next week.
This is has the same issues as the other fuel pump recalls for Honda pilots but it says my vin is not covered. My pilot is experiencing all of the same exact same issues in the recall
The ''Low Oil Pressure'' light came on with limited driving function. It's been verified by an independent automotive repair that it has a rod knock that's similar to the rod bearing failures from the 2016 Honda Pilots that warranted a recall.
Vehicle just stopped working. It won’t turn on. Engine stopped working without any notice of a problem.
On [XXX] at approximately [XXX] with my car being at 136,390 miles I was at a stoplight and my engine idle engaged, but when I took my foot off the break, it would not reengage. It shifted to neutral. It took me several tries to get my car to start back up. This is the second time this has happened to me since owning this vehicle. I purchased it brand new and 2017 from the Honda dealership in Richland Washington. After the first time it happened, there was a bulletin that went out for a software update. I took this in and had it done. Obviously that did nothing. This is not only very frustrating but very dangerous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
P0369 Camshaft sensor, plate, pulley etc broken and need to be replaced Sep 30 2026
The vehicle is not starting after coming to a complete stop with the auto start stop feature at a red light or stop sign. After releasing the brake pedal, the engine does not start up again, which leads me to having to turn off the car and turn it back on manually, which could take up to a minute. The Honda dealer has already updated the vehicle replaced the starter and adjusted the valves two months ago and the issue is still persisting.
My car starting making ticking noises. The engine oikd light briefly came on while I was driving with my family. It started to get worse so I took it to my mechanic. They discovered that it was a rod bearing failure.
While driving with ACC active, I engaged LKAS. After approximately 30-40 seconds, ACC and LKAS disengaged and all sensor warning lights illuminated and sensors as well as ACC and LKAS would no longer work. Warning lights and error messages on instrument cluster continue to show since this happened. Vehicle starts and runs normally otherwise. Battery tested and is healthy. OBD II shows no codes. New windshield was installed in July 2026 by Safelite.
Was traveling in moderately heavy highway traffic at 65 mph (actual speed limit) and vehicle suddenly started slowing down and hesitating. The narrow shoulder made it unsafe to stop but was able to continue at 45 mph or so and pulled off at first exit. There were numerous trouble lights on the dash. Car towed to Honda dealership and they found trouble code P0369. They found front camshaft sensor to be ground down in the center, as it had been damaged by the cam sprocket. The camshaft had excessive end play causing the cam to walk. New camshaft, thrust cover, sprocket, and related gaskets required. There were no symptoms for the issue before it happened. Honda has a 'Technical Line Summary Article' that says issue is caused by thrust cover manufacturing problem, specifically "we’ve found that the camshaft thrust cover surface roughness is out of spec."
While driving car it made some noise from engine area and only would drive about 35 mph. The car then shut off and had to coast off highway into parking lot. Luckily it didn't stop in middle of 4 lane highway. Car would not crank and had it towed to Honda dealer. Upon inspection from Walker Jones Honda dealer the following diagnosis. Verified motor locked up. Dropped the oil pan and inspected. Found bearing material in the oil caused by bearing slippage. Pictures were taken. There was no warnings or lights when this event occurred. The car has been taken care of and regular oil changes made through the Honda dealership. We are having to pay to get the engine replaced. The car has 103,965 miles on it.
Random complete engine failure while driving due to connecting rod bearings. Mechanic diagnosed and shows damage. Car will not start or run at all.
Started the car Check engine lights and all the other lights came on: tire pressure, ABS,ACC, break, emergency break, collision mitigation system problem, road departure mitigation,VSA. Turned off the car, the lights and check engine lights went away and a few days later while driving car did that again and then it engine decline in speed and died on highway.
2017 Honda Pilot 3.5 L V6 170,000 miles has mechanical "knock" noise corresponding to engine RPM at start, idle, and acceleration. Knock comes from engine block and can be heard from top and bottom of the engine bay, louder from underneath, clearly coming from the rear bank of cylinders. Possibly connecting rod bearing failure. General routine maintenance and oil changes have been completed consistently. If the connecting rod bearing were to fail while running, metal fragments would damage and seize the engine. If this would occur while driving, vehicle would unexpectedly lose engine power, crippling other systems like power steering, electrical, and possibly controlled braking. This could result in a serious or even fatal collision. Me and my children rely on this car for our transportation needs and no longer trust its reliability. I'll have the dealership inspect the engine components according the the 2023 recall campaign, even though my specific VIN, model, or year are not included.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost automotive power. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and restarted the vehicle as a temporary fix. The message "Emission System Failure" was displayed. An appointment was scheduled with the local dealer to inspect the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 70,264.
This follows the hood repair recall done in 2022. This repair wasn’t done correctly
I recently purchased this car from a Nissan dealership a week after we purchased it the emissions system problem light came on took it back they replaced a catalytic converter it was ok for a couple weeks and all of a sudden it showed up again my vin doesn’t show any open recalls but I have a feeling this is a part of the recall that affects the certain years of affected vehicles
I own a 2017 Honda Pilot equipped with the 9-speed automatic transmission. I am reporting what I believe may be transmission/torque-converter failure and a potential safety concern. The vehicle began experiencing shuddering, jerking, and hesitation. There is significant RPM fluctuation and harsh shifting. The problem occurs on highway speeds, accelerating or shifting lanes, 40–60 mph. During these episodes, the acceleration stalls and is accident prone. 8 months ago, I brought the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealer because of these symptoms, they couldn't get the code. 3 months ago, I went again for same issues, the dealer diagnosed a damaged air-intake hose and I paid for replacement. However, immediately driving off the lot, the original symptoms continued after the repair. I returned the vehicle to the Honda dealership because the problem persisted. The dealership has now diagnosed transmission failure and has estimated the repair at approximately 10,000. American Honda has offered approximately 60% goodwill assistance toward the repair, leaving me responsible for approximately 4,000. I am concerned because there are numerous reports involving transmission and torque-converter problems in 2017 Honda Pilots. Honda has issued technical service information concerning transmission and torque-converter conditions in this model year, including information involving the 9-speed automatic transmission. I am also aware of other NHTSA complaints involving premature 9-speed transmission and torque-converter failure in 2017 Honda Pilots. My vehicle has previously required other Honda-recognized repairs, including fuel-injector/emissions-related repairs that Honda covered. I am submitting this complaint because a transmission or torque-converter malfunction that causes hesitation, harsh or unexpected shifting, loss of acceleration, or loss of motive power can create a serious safety risk, particularly while entering or traveling on a highway or crossing traffic.
The car is having issues with the idle stop. It started taking longer to restart after a stop and now it turns completely off. It happened today in a traffic light in a big intersection.
The engine started throwing emissions codes and running rough about 6 mo ago but it was very sporadic and always cleared on their own. However on 8/23 my husband was driving it, all the lights started coming on and it froze up and died while he was driving it. We had taken it to the shop where they confirmed that the whole engine was dead that its a known problem with these years pilots and would require a new engine.
934 total