There are 42 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2020 Honda Pilotin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Hi, I have a 2020 Honda Pilot that showed signs of stalling. AutoNation Honda Thornton Road checked (03/07/2026) and reported I need an INJECTOR KIT replaced and SDC GDI -INTAKE THROTTLE BODY FURL INJECTOR SERVICE. All warning lights were on intermittently (on all day then nothing for 2-3 days then on all day the following day.) The vehicle vibrates and feels like it's loosing power. Honda's website stated risk as " If the fuel pump module is inoperative, the engine may not start or can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash or injury. " I have two small kids (18 month and 5 year old) that I commute to and from school every day. Honda's website shows the same issue for Honda Pilots 2016-2021 however, my VIN does not qualify me for the recall. Instead I received an estimate for said repairs for 3,345.06. Please! I am asking you to intervein as it is unfair to single out some vehicle owner even though they are having the same issue as others. Thanks in advance.
The contact's husband owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 55 MPH, the Emissions warning light illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.
Currently showing DTC P219B (O2 Sensor Signal Biased/Stuck Lean – Bank 2 Sensor 1) along with P0430 . For prior years thru 2019, Honda has issued Service Bulletins 19-072 and 20-100 covering DTCs P030x, P219A, and P219B, which may involve PCM software updates, a Cylinder A/F Test, and potential injector replacement. However, they have not issued bulletins for 2020. My car only has 58,000 miles.
There was a snap like sound under my hood while driving. Shortly after, the check engine light engaged and the vehicle lost all ability to accelerate. This happened while merging onto a fairly busy road, with rolling hills. If there were vehicles around there would have been potential for an accident. If this happened on the freeway in a middle lane, the vehicle would not have been able to successfully exit without causing extreme danger to the passengers and other vehicles. The vehicle stopped on the side of the road. When the ignition was briefly reengaged, there were rolling error codes, including vehicle stability, all wheel drive failure, etc. The engine was noticeably knocking. The vehicle was towed and inspected by an independent mechanic. The 3rd cylinder in the engine will no longer hold compression. I now need to get the vehicle to an engine specialist for further inspection and repair.
Auto start/stop problems with car. When at a stop, car shifts into neutral and cannot get back into Drive. Sometimes I cant turn off car. And when I do it's the only way to get car back into drive. Absolutely dangerous especially with kids in the car. Has happened on several occasions dating back so when car had only 50,000mi. Has had transmission replaced at 60,000mi. Still have engine idle issues till now.
When I am driving my car and stop at a stop light sometimes the car will fail to start up. It goes into neutral and then will take at least a minute to restart which is very dangerous. Its something with the start/stop feature and I had this problem two years ago and after many times dropping off my car at the Honda dealership and them telling me nothing is wrong with the car I finally said there had been a service bulletin on the start/stop system and they finally fixed it. Now two years later the same thing is happening. It is very dangerous as it happened when I was at a stop light getting off the highway and a car was coming from the highway and it took a couple minutes to restart and I almost got hit. Honda refuses address the issue and says there is nothing wrong. In fact they told me I needed to replace the mechanism with the park, neutral drive which I did for $1100 and then picked it up and the same thing happened again then they said it was the battery which was less than a year old so I replaced that and again same problem. This happens at least twice a week. This is dangerous!
I have a 2020 Honda Pilot (VIN [XXX] ) and have experienced RPM fluctuations when trying to maintain speed. I'm concerned these issues may be related to ODI investigation PE25008 and further use of my vehicle without having it inspected may result in a crash, fire and/or complete engine failure. The engine has not operated smoothly for months, and my mechanic has not been able to figure out why. It feels like the engine is struggling to maintain a steady RPM, leading to bouncing or surging in power. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine auto off at an intersection. Would not restart. Burned up starter. Towed to Honda dealership. Rod bearing spun causing catastrophic damage to engine. Honda Care Extended warranty is covering at least part of the cost to replace either the shortblock, or possibly replace entire engine. No decision on which just yet.
The bearings went out on cylinder number 5. The engine is torn down at the present time at the dealership. There was no warning. It is our understanding that other 3.5 l engines have had this happen. Our vehicle just wasn’t included in this recall. I think the recall needs expanded.
Vehicle auto start / stop system intermittently will not restart the engine after turning off at a stop.
Engine stall while at stop light. This happens probably 1 every 50 times
my car shut off at red light and wont restart .Even though i had it repaired under the recall.
Rough Shifting at lower speeds when accelerating and deceleration. Very hard jerk while driving with family in the car. Hard jerk happened occasionally and produces no codes. Dealer and mechanic say they can't do anything without codes.
My 2020 Honda Pilot has 53k miles on it. I have have the vehicle for 8ths and 8k miles. The vehicle engine light suddenly began flashing and the vehicle began running rough. A loud knocking sound was coming from the engine when accelerating. The vehicle was taken to a Honda dealer and analyzed. The testing showed that the camshaft and cylinder #2 rod bearing was damaged to the point of the engine needing replacement. Upon research of the problem and damage found by the dealer, it matches a major issue found on many Honda's and Accura's. A manufacturing defect in the crankshaft leads to excessive wear and failure of the connecting rod bearings. This problem can cause the engine to suddenly seize or fail. Honda is currently refusing to cover the repair cost because the VIN of my vehicle isn't on the recall list.
Our 2020 Honda Pilot has 96,000 miles on it. We were traveling on the interstate and the engine light came on and an immediate grinding and knocking sound was heard. We pulled over on an exit ramp. We called AAA and had the vehicle towed 35 miles to the nearest city. The vehicle was determined to have a connecting rod bearing failure that required the engine to be replaced. I understand there is a potential recall for this issue for Honda vehicles, that includes the 2020 Honda Pilot. I wanted to provide this information to support the NHTSA's findings that there are issues with this engine that should not occur.
[XXX]: While driving on [XXX] in Pennsylvania, my check engine light illuminated in a tight construction zone with jersey barriers & speed limit of 55 mph during inclement weather. I chose to remain behind a tractor trailer driving under the speed limit for the remainder of the construction zone approximately 1 mile. Once out of the construction zone, I attempted to pass the truck in front of me; however, when I moved into the passing lane, my vehicle would not accelerate to pass the truck placing myself and my 2 children in danger on [XXX] in inclement weather. Fortunately, I was able to safely return to the travel lane & then exited at the next exit which was about 2 miles away. I proceeded to a pull off right after the exit ramp & called my spouse. When he arrived, we decided to attempt to drive the vehicle home an alternate route; however, while driving about 2-3 miles the check engine light remained on & I was not able to accelerate beyond 35 mph. We decided to pull into our HS parking lot where I shut off my car for about 5 minutes. When the vehicle was restarted, the check engine light was no longer on, so we drove around the parking lot & the vehicle appeared to be operating normally allowing acceleration to occur, so we attempted to return home. While driving about 3 miles, the check engine light once again displayed as well as a series of other warnings. The vehicle began to shake and various noises were produced from the front end of the vehicle including what sounded like metal on metal grinding. ASAP, I proceeded to a parking lot to ensure safety for myself & children to stop the car and have it towed to a local mechanic, then to a Honda Dealership. After initial diagnostics, we were informed our engine failed & needed replaced due to what they suspected was a connecting rod bearing issue. Our engine is currently being replaced, but we informed them we wanted the defective engine held to be available for inspection for this investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
We were driving down [XXX] in Columbus, Ohio and the cars started to lose power and felt a explosion or slip, right after all the dash board warning lights came on and oil light stating no oil, as I pulled over you could see tire width of oil 1/2 mile down the interstate and showing where I pulled and engine has seized up, I turned engine off , all lights stayed on and dash board, and engine was smoking bad, I got out until help arrived. husband opened hood and oil was everywhere, and car would not start. It was towed to Honda Dublin, Ohio and they inspected. Stated the engine had a hole in it and rod bearing had overheated and shot out of the block destroying the engine. WHY ARE THERE NO RECALLS. THIS CAR IS A 2020 UNDER $100K NOTHING WAS WITH IT AND STILL OWE $18K YET CAN'T BE DRIVEN. HAS THERE BEEN ANY SOLUTIONS? [XXX] if anyone else has experienced this please email me on what the end result was please. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine developed a knocking, then started to sputter and ultimately stalled. No codes showed. Sent to dealership, they said I need a new engine, but could not tell me why. Again No codes drove car for 1 day, engine completely failed.
Approaching a 4 way intersection and traffic lights. I applied my brakes to stop as the light turned red. With my right foot on the brake and the engine stopped while waiting for light to change. When the light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and started to press the gas pedal to continue traveling out of the intersection. The engine did not restart and I looked at the dash and saw my indicators were on and the transmission had gone into neutral mode. I tried repeatedly to get the car to engage into drive mode with no success. A 18 wheeler behind me started to lay on his horn to get me to move. I tried to get my transmission to engage in drive again, then park but nothing happened. I had no control. I next put my hazard lights on. The only thing I could think to do in this situation was to try to shut off the car by pressing the start/stop button. All the cabin lights and indicators went dark. I then prayed as the vehicles behind me and around me blared their horns and tried to get around me. Thank God, when I pressed the start button I heard he engine start and my indicator lights came on and I was in park. I pressed the drive mode and was finally able to get out of the busy intersection. I continued on my way without any other problems.
The vehicle had an engine bearing rod failure but was not included in the 23V-751 recall. The repair is covered under warranty but because there is no recall, I have to pay for car rental myself and the repair could take weeks to months.
Showing 1–20 of 42 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026