general problems of the 2020 Honda Pilot - part 1

Per Honda, the standard maintenance of replacing a timing belt and tensioner has put more tension on the crankshaft, which causes a tapping noise from the connecting rod bearings when the vehicle is accelerating under load. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Honda has said that this does not harm the engine, but a noise of this kind is not normal and any noise of this kind associated with this particular part of the engine has the possibility of degrading the engine's life and causing a potential safety issue while driving down the road. Yes, the problem has been reproduced by the dealer. Dealer service department has been the only one to inspect it. No, there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The issue first appeared right after getting the mandatory timing belt maintenance when driving away from the dealer service department.

I am seeing warning lights on my screen and using obd-ii scnner shows code p0302 (misfires). Vehicle bought 2020 August and gas about 90k miles. Is this vehicle under recall for this issue.

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.

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.

Driving on the highway dash goes completely black. Can’t see speed. Cruise control shuts down. Have to pull off the highway shut the engine down and wait for a couple minutes then restart. I have had all recalls repaired at the dealership where purchased but this happens weekly. At 50,000 miles I noticed rough and abrupt transmission shifting and clunking with a lag in acceleration. This continues despite multiple transmission flushes. The problem continues to worsen and current mileage is at 71000.

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.

Transmission is sluggish and the rpm’s fluctuate between 1200 and 1400 at any speed going back and forth so the car has a back and fourth motion. Engine failure on 12/3/25 car stopped while driving. Makes a loud knocking sound. Most likely faulty bearings due to poorly engineered camshaft. White pear paint peeling since I purchased car. Capital Honda in san jose unable to address any issue saying nothing is covered under warranty. These issues where taking place even while under warranty.

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.

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.

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!.

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.

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.

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.

2020 Honda Pilot will sporadically turn off at highway speeds and at stop lights and will not turn back on until placed in park with foot on the brake. This is not to be confused with the start/stop feature used to save fuel. Additionally the 2020 Pilot will lurch forward (like stuck in drive) while still in park.

Vehicle auto start / stop system intermittently will not restart the engine after turning off at a stop.

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.

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 informatio.

The auto start/stop on my car will cause my car to not restart when I’m at a stoplight. This has happened multiple times. I have to remember to turn off the auto start/stop function every time I get in the vehicle. It will shut my whole car down and take several seconds for me to be able to turn the car back on putting me at risk when I’m stopped in traffic. It has happened multiple times since may 2024.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Idle-stop system fails to restart the engine when I release the brake pedal, the vehicle inoperable and undriveable wherever it comes to a stop—whether at a red light or stop sign, in the middle of a busy intersection, or on a highway entrance ramp. I have to wait a minute of two before I can restart my vehicle.

Honda Pilot awd ex-l 2020 engine failure incident report October 5, 2024 check engine light went on 294 IL tollway while traveling in left lane. Began to feel a slowing of the vehicle and just a wrong feeling, proceeded to move towards right lane in busy traffic and ~0. 5 to 0. 75 miles later check engine light started flashing as we proceeded to exit. Planned to make it to rest area or tollbooth but felt it was too far away; check engine light flashing, pulled over to shoulder short of the tollbooth. Shut down all extraneous items (radio, a/c) and pushed the ignition button to turn off vehicle. Could hear some clanking sounds (which we have later researched and found audio/video of mechanics speaking about oil pump failure and loud clanking sounds, which was exactly what we heard). Vehicle didn’t seem to respond (not shutting off), pushed button again and now several red light warnings popped up in succession, these are the ones I recall seeing: (oil pressure low and low oil), I believe there were others, but they were cycling fast and didn’t put them to memory, but clearly the codes had been unleashed. Pushed button again and engine shut down. Opened hood and checked oil and did see oil on the dipstick (though level was not clear, seemed to have oil on upper and lower part of reading area, but not in the middle); called dealer and agreed sounded like an oil pump failure, which in theory could mean there is still plenty of oil in the engine and moving to a safe location. Attempted to start engine again and it struggled and didn’t really start, had a clanking sound again, so hit the button to shut it off for good; and called for tow. Diagnosed with engine failure, quoted replacement $16k, negotiated after documentation and provided good will from Honda with deductible out of pocket $4917. 75. Upon posting of investigation now approaching Honda corporate for reimbursement request.

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.

On August 12th, 2024, we were driving north on new jersey turnpike at 65mph surrounded by traffic when the vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly stalled (no dashboard warning lights or system messages prior, nor any signs while driving prior). The surrounding cars were unaware of this mechanical failure and thus it created an extremely dangerous situation for all on the highway. Fortunately, I was able to navigate safely to the side of the highway without incident. Having towed it to the nearest Honda dealer, they diagnosed the root cause to be seized timing belt idler pulleys, causing the engine to lose timing and stall. This failure also resulted in damage to the cylinder heads, valves and associated components. While the dealer has repaired all of this damage under warranty, they have not adequately justified how or why these components failed extremely prematurely (4 year old vehicle with 35k miles). Additionally, Honda has not provided reimbursement for the resulting expenses incurred - hotel, rental car, towing, etc.