general problems of the 2020 Honda Pilot - part 1

The infotainment center goes out, the screen reads "network communication lost" "most net off". This occurs while using the rearview camera, causing a safety issue. This is a known Honda issue, bulletin 20-049, 20-058, a19-030b. Replacement of fakra connectors, most bus wiring harness (parts 39817-tjb-aco housing or 39165-tg7 cords) or the entire floor harness. . Vehicle has 79,000 miles.

The auto shut off has been not working properly and the vehicle wont restart after it shuts off. My wife was at a traffic light, and the vehicle shut off. When the light turned green, it did not restart. As a result of this she about got taken out by a semi that was coming in behind her. This could have been a deadly accident as it is raining and wet. She was stuck at the light on a busy highway for 3 minutes before the vehicle would restart.

My battery died while the vehicle was parked. I needed to physically move the vehicle but could not because the electronic button shifter would not allow me to put the transmission in neutral. The only way to move it out of park is a lengthy process requiring tools, engine component removals and a manual shifting of the linkage using a long wrench. My solution, was I had to leave the vehicle unattended, call a friend, get tools and replace the battery while blocking traffic. Safety concerns were that the vehicle was blocking traffic at a business and no documentation by Honda of how to fix or even shift the vehicle into neutral. Now consider if someone has to try and manually tow the vehicle while in park! I replaced the battery myself, but this is a well documented issue with electronic shifters, that will never make a dealership or service departments records or statistics! there was no warning of the failure, or battery light illuminating. Previous vehicle inspections at the dealership gave no indication that the battery was failing.

The auto stop/start idle function does not re-engage after stopping the engine. This has happened at least 4 times in the last 3weeks with my vehicle. When stopped in traffic or at a light and stop sign the engine idle engages and stops running the engine, when releasing the brake pedal the engine does not turn on as it should and the car stalls. This requires the operator to engage hazard lights, shift into park and repeatedly try the push start button to turn on the vehicle to proceed. The passenger safety of myself and children are of concern. While having to wait on a car function, that is the core operation of the vehicle, it is dangerous to shut off a vehicle while in operation. Having other vehicles honking and trying to pass or even stopping at a highway entrance ramp then trying to engage the car to meet highway speeds is a dangerous time for an engine to stall and not re-engage. Yes, the issue has been reproduced and a dealer has already addressed the issue with a software update. This update has not resolved the issue. There are no current recalls on my vehicle. There are no warning signs or messages or the ability to turn off the function permanently. In addition, there a times during the operation of the vehicle where the engine stop/start function works after many stops but then randomly does not start. It is an inconsistent feature.

Lane departure front facing projection camera suddenly went out disabling multiple safety features of the car. The part number for the car is 36160-tg8-a83. This car only has ~86,000 miles and this is unacceptable. This failure disables the lane keep assist, lane departure, auto high/low beam, adaptive cruise control, auto braking safety features and causes the brake light system light to come on. Apparently, this is a common issue and should be investigated. The parts are on back order nationally and good luck finding a used one.

While stopped at red light the auto off feature engaged and the car stalled out when restarting. This has happened multiple times since buying the vehicle.

All safety features on the dashboard have lit up all are constantly on. Honda America states no open recall, I see many forums for Honda owners having this issue that also impacts safety.

The lkas camera stopped working and it won’t allow any of the connected systems to operate including acc, emergency brake assist, cruise control, etc.

Car intermittently won’t start due to insufficient battery charge. Jump starting will start the car. Dealership testing of battery and charging system determined no issues. However, issue reoccurs. Suspect charging doesn’t occur until battery reaches a minimum voltage level which is currently set too low. Safety issue in that car starting is unreliable.

The idle engine turn back on feature has not turned on several times. It has happened a couple of times upon turning it back on after a complete turn off in a parking lot. Also, it has happened in traffic at a stop light on busy roads where I was sitting there dead stopped in the road unable to get the car started. Another time, it did not turn back on as I was pulling out of my neighborhood and we almost got hit because of it. The battery seems to be involved and seems to have to recharge for a few minutes and then it will turn back on. I've called 911 to help me get out of the road, have taken out the battery and put it back, and had it checked at the dealership. I have to remember to use the button that turns off the idle engine turn off feature or it will happen. It doesn't have any pattern or reason to it.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to lose automotive power, and failed to return to normal operation. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle remained at the residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 20 mph, the vehicle shifted into park independently. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while restarting the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated to restart for approximately 90-seconds, and then operated as intended. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where was it diagnosed, and the dealer determined that the the front camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure, and informed the contact that the failure was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

Since purchasing the vehicle there was a leak under the driver's side console after heavy rains. After multiple trips to the dealer they directed us to replace the windshield. We did so (under protest). The leak still existed. The dealership determined that there was a gap at the a pillar. We worry that this is related to the sturcture recall about missing welds. Honda will not admit to any issue.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? when calling the dealer they believe it is the “Smart control unit. ” how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? my vehicle will not start most of the time…leaving me stranded when I have to go anywhere and I have to get out to take the battery terminal off and back on just to try to reset it long enough for it to try to start. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no, from my understanding of reading other people having the same problem Honda knows it is a common issue and has not done anything about it. The dealer wants paid to do an inspection. I do not have the money they are asking for. I know inspections aren’t very expensive but most people (myself included) can’t afford even a simple inspection. Just to pay for the car takes all I have. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? at first I noticed my car alarm would go off randomly and originally thought my doors weren’t being shut all the way however after making sure all doors were in fact shut it still went off. I was at work that night and had to keep going out to turn my alarm off…the next morning I go in to start my car and leave and it had trouble starting saying “keyless start system problem” after finally getting it started I drove to the gas station to get gas and turned off the engine as I was walking away I heard cracking noises and my car making the ding noise it makes when you turn it on acc mode. When I came back to the car all the lights on the dash, radio screen, headlights, tail lights, and mirror lights (the ones that light up when a car is close) were flashing like crazy and still heard the crackling noise.

All the associated warnings are on dash, diagnosed at local Honda dealership with code u 3006-16. Advised multi camera failure and requested $1600 to repair. Immediate after I am now getting a transmission warning problem on dash.

The infotainment screen is turning off and says “network communication lost. Most net off”. This means the infotainment screen goes black, often for long periods before it cycles back on, making it difficult to use navigation and the screen for reverse camera.

•what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the “Smart” control module, part# 38320-tg7-l112-m1 was removed and inspected; obvious incomplete conformation coverage was discovered along with significant dendritic growth on an uncovered ic. Proper cleaning of the board alleviated the issue – for the time being at any rate. I am including pictures of the board and growth that clearly show this defect and its related consequences, but I can provide the part for inspection if it’s feasible timewise and if I haven’t sold the vehicle by that point. •how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the vehicle was rendered completely and utterly inoperable by this condition and additionally necessitated the removal of the battery to keep the car alarm from triggering randomly. If this condition manifests itself at the wrong time it could easily create a dangerous situation for myself, my family and others. •has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? the diagnosis, research, documentation and associated repair were performed by an independent service technician. •has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? this problem was reported to Honda USA in late March of 2025; no acceptable recourse was provided or offered. •were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no. On Friday March 21st at approx. 6pm, the car alarm was triggered with no interaction whatsoever after the vehicle had sat for several hours. After disconnecting the battery for over an hour the problem immediately returned upon reconnection along with flashing dash & interior lights and clicking relays and/or components.

2020 Honda Pilot touring was purchased in CT at Honda of stamford, may of 2023. I started having issues in July pertaining to extreme dust coming into the cabin causing my children and myself asthma conditions to worsen. I took the car to the dealer and they blew out something connected with the system. I than started having issues with the radio system and large popping sounds coming from it. The dealer didn't check this for me. The car also brakes on it's own while driving without warning and nothing is in front of me. The dealer didn't check this. On [xxx] the dashboard lite up with a lot of error messages and the car brake light was on. The car would only go 20mph on the highway. The car was stuck in greenwich, CT at my son school for 2 days until I got it towed to the dealer. On feb24th the car was towed to the dealer. I was told the brake switch went out and needed replacement. I was charged 200. 00. I picked the car up on feb25th @1pm and the dealer claimed the repair was done. On [xxx]. I was traveling on the highway in norwalk, CT and the dashboard lite up with the same errors and he brakes did the same thing and the car was hard to steering. I took it back to the dealer and was told 3 other things was wrong with the car. Code-c0040-62 brake lamp switch failure stuck. U3000-49 multi purpose camerawave radar internal electronic failure. B2a60-97. Tech reset camera and the system still gave failure codes. The dealer confirmed the issues, but refused to give me a replacement. I had a dmv investigation and the out was to refund me for the conveyance fee the dealer lied about on the contract. I was also refunded for VIN etching the dealer lied about on the contract and refunded for Honda care. I was in the car with my children when the brake issue happened both times and it was scary. The car was never inspected before it was sold to me. I also never received several documents from the dealership required by CT state law. I left the car. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia),.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that upon arriving at the destination and attempting to reverse into a parking space, the transmission failed to shift into reverse even though the gear shifter was in reverse. The vehicle failed to shift back into drive, prompting the contact to turn off and restart the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality and the contact continued driving the vehicle. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power and was unable to accelerate above 20 mph. The contact was able to reach her destination and turned the vehicle off, after which the vehicle was unable to restart. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the brake switch and possibly other faults with the electrical system. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 52,000.

The car's engine randomly stopped working and required jump start twice. Despite replacing the valve adjustment and battery, the problem persisted. The Honda dealer we approached did diagnostic testing twice, stated that it could be a problem with the car's auto idle stop system, but did not offer a definitive solution.

The engine stalled when I did not disable idle-stop. When I slowed down and stopped my Pilot 2020 due to traffic or traffic lights, the idle-stop activated. The engine was then stalled occasionally and the system requested me to step the brake and push start button to restart my Pilot. However, when I tried to restart it, the battery warning sign lit up and it made restart unsuccessful. I will then have to wait for a minute or two and tried again. I found this problem a few months after I bought my Pilot 2020 and I had reported the problem to my paul miller Honda service at west caldwell, NJ. Honda service identified the problem but they do not know what is the exact cause of the symptom and suspect faulty battery. Honda service helped me to change batteries several times already and last time was Dec 10, 2024.

The Honda Pilot radio center includes the back-up camera and also apple-play used for navigation. This system was subject to a recall earlier when the radio would crackle and then the info center would lose power on an intermittent basis. A recall was performed, and a cable was replaced. That seems to have fixed the loud crackle issue, but I still have an intermittent problem with the info center losing power. The dealer told me to contact Honda. Honda told me it is a dealer decision to charge for troubleshooting and diagnostics. Meanwhile this is a safety issue especially when backing up and while driving because I lose my gps map. Honda has not fixed the earlier problem, and the dealer will not do anything without getting paid for their efforts (which seems reasonable).

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that an abs message was frequently displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and the contact was informed that there was a miscommunication error with the front camera, which caused the failure. The contact was informed that the failure was not a safety issue and was given an estimate for the repair; however, the contact declined the repair. Since the failure, the contact received various messages on the instrument panel, with one message related to the transmission. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who confirmed the miscommunication error and that if not addressed, the failure could lead to other major safety issues. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

Every week or two, sometimes multiple times in same week, the 2020 Honda Pilot would turn on randomly in accessory mode where headlights would come on and/or infotainment/radio would come up, or alarm/horns would go on by themselves. Often in the middle of the night when car was in a garage. Sometimes during the day. New vechicle battery was replaced 2 months earlier. Batterries in key fobs were replace but issue continued. Honda dealership diagnosed it as keyless access unit letting voltage through transistor waking ignition switch and recommended replacement of keyless access unit. 2020 Pilot was 4 years old with 55,832 miles. Appears to be a common issue/complaint on online forums with replacement of remote keyless access control unit. Dealership replaced unit 19 days ago.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while reversing the vehicle out of her driveway, the contact forgot an item that was left on the floor of the driveway. The contact exited the vehicle without placing the vehicle into park(p). The contact fell out of the vehicle due to her error as the vehicle remained in reverse(r). The vehicle backed into the neighbor's sidewalk and hit the neighbor's garden wall. The vehicle then began to move forward in the direction of the contact and ran over the right side of the contact's body. The vehicle proceeded to run into the garage door and garage frame which were both damaged due to the impact. The contact yelled for help as a neighbor came to offer assistance; the neighbor helped the contact shut off the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact's mom took her to urgent care where x-rays were performed. The contact suffered no broken bones but did sustain mild bruising to the right side of her body. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

Car shuts off when going into idle when at a traffic stop or in traffic. Does not restart. Completely shuts off goes into neutral then park and have to press brake and start the car again. Has happens 4 times in last 2 weeks.

About a month ago my car started acting like it didn't want to restart at traffic lights when the auto idle kicked in. One time to completely did not restart on a major highway and I had to completely turn the car off then back on again. Then last week I tried to get into my car and multiple components had stopped working: my keyless entry, blind spot sensor, parking sensor, entertainment system, back up camera, lane keeping assist, etc. I tried taking it to a mechanic and they could not figure out what the problem was. I tried replacing the battery and the car is still stuck in this mode. I have it at a dealership now and they are trying to determine what the problem is.

The car goes into neutral automatically when idle. It then needs to be shut down and restarted. This happens in traffic at a light or intersection. Although, I received the idle stop start recall software update the issue persists. The dealer was unable to reproduce the issue and there were no codes when diagnosed.

The instrument panel blacks out and does not display critical information such as engine oil pressure radio goes out speedometer goes out rear camera goes out. There was a recall t89 but Honda says my VIN does not come up under the recall even though it is the same issue. This is an intermittent problem. Everything will be working and then while driving it blacks out. The black could last hours. Unable to get navigation. Then when it comes back on the panel light up with engine light warning brake warning low gas warning even though tank is full traction control light comes on these warning lights will come on and after a few minutes go out.

When the vehicle comes to a stop and the auto-engine-start-stop feature is engaged, the vehicle will shift itself into neutral and will not disengage until you shut off the vehicle and turn it back on.

While stopped at a red traffic light after taking a freeway exit with one foot on the brake, my 2020 Honda Pilot engaged in auto stop (auto idle stop). When the traffic light turned green, I took my foot off of the brake, the vehicle attempted to start but stalled with the electrical components still on (dashboard indicators and ventilation still on). I stepped on the brake and attempted to put the vehicle in park, but noticed the vehicle would not shift out of neutral. I pressed the start/stop button (ignition) and the dashboard indicators flashed but the engine did not start until the second attempt. Somewhere in between, I pressed the emergency lights to indicate to drivers behind me of an issue. About 15-20 seconds had lapsed during my troubleshooting attempt. Prior to this event, there were at least 8 individual events where when the auto start/stop was engaged and disengaged, the dashboard would flash warning signals for a fraction of a second with an audible warning sound. Dashboard warnings flashed on and off too quickly to clearly see what was being displayed. A short delay in restarting the vehicle from idle stop would occur, about 1-2 seconds but the car would then proceed and run as usual.

The recurring malfunctions in my vehicle's front screen system have repeatedly endangered me, especially when it suddenly blacks out while navigating unfamiliar roads or during backing maneuvers. Additionally, the faulty front vehicle sensor has caused my vehicle to halt abruptly, even when no obstacles are present. Despite numerous visits to the dealer, the issues persist, and their repeated requests to bring it in have yielded no solutions. Since purchasing the vehicle new in 2020, these persistent safety concerns have become increasingly dangerous as they are getting worse. I have attempted to contact Honda with no resolution.

The car's front and back sensors will trigger for no reason. In a drive-thru it'll tell me that I am going to run into something after I've been sitting there for three minutes and not moving. The brakes slam on consistently, this happens at least three times every time I drive the car, as I'm driving down a road not about to run into anything or anyone. It's quite scary, and luckily, I haven't been rear-ended yet, I honked a few times but was not rear-ended. The low tire sensor goes off even though there's no low tire. I checked at several different service places, and all of them say the tire is fine. After it's checked, the light goes off, but it comes back on within a few weeks. There is a bad smell inside the car as if a diesel truck is passing us. It is so bad that we have to roll down the windows to be comfortable inside the car. Even though this recall has been done, I still get a loud popping and cracking on the radio when I'm making phone calls or getting phone calls. I have a son with autism, and I have to stop the car and let him out when it gets really bad. I have video on google photos but I am 63 years old and I do not know how to share them from my computer, sorry.

The vehicle has a defect with the radio/audio/bluetooth system making a crackling sound while operating the vehicle. The Honda dealer acknowledged that this is a recall issue, although no recall currently exists and as a result they replaced the fakra service cables. This did not solve the problem and it is one that is common to all Honda Pilots of this year. It is very distracting and cannot be stopped unless the vehicle is completely shut off.

On four (4) separate incidents, my car has either abruptly stopped running (waiting at a stoplight) or not been able to start. When I push the engine start/ stop button to restart the car, it does not start and several random warning and dashboard lights flash on and off like crazy. These incidents occurred twice before the recall was fixed and twice after the recall was (supposedly) fixed. Please help as I don’t want to be stranded again! this car is only a few years old. Thank you.