Seat Belt Problems of Honda Pilot - part 1

Honda has a known issue where their Pilot’s seatbelt sensor stops working. I was the second vehicle this week to bring my car in because the belt dings incessantly even though the seatbelt is secured. This can prevent the airbag from deploying while a passenger is in the seat. I’m being charged for the repair and feel that it should be covered as it’s a safety issue.

See all problems of the 2023 Honda Pilot 🔎.

Safety complaint – 2025 Honda Pilot ex-l brake/electric parking brake system warning I am filing this complaint regarding a serious safety issue with my 2025 Honda Pilot ex-l, which I purchased brand new from paragon Honda in queens, new york, approximately one year ago. The vehicle currently has only 47,089 miles and has never been involved in an accident. While driving, multiple warning lights suddenly appeared on the dashboard, including a brake system warning indicating a problem with the electric parking brake system and that the parking brake was unavailable. This occurred unexpectedly while the vehicle was in operation and created a serious safety concern. A brake-related warning and loss of parking brake availability on a nearly new vehicle is unacceptable and requires immediate investigation. I immediately brought the vehicle to paragon Honda service center in queens for diagnosis. The dealership informed me that I may be responsible for diagnostic fees and possible repair costs, despite the vehicle being approximately one year old and covered by the Honda factory warranty. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this issue represents a potential safety defect affecting 2025 Honda Pilot vehicles. I believe Honda should address this problem promptly and ensure that affected customers are protected from safety risks and unexpected repair expenses. Vehicle information: make/model: 2025 Honda Pilot ex-l mileage: 47,089 miles dealer: paragon Honda, queens, NY.

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Left middle row seat belt sensor is indicating unbuckeled when it is buckled. Dealer is asking over $500 to repair. I hae also read about other sensor alerts on 2023 and 2024 for left side as well.

My seat belt reminder system not operating properly. In fact, the second-row seat belt behind the passenger seat is malfunctioning. I learned that Honda put out a service bulletin (26-027) (https://dot. Report/bulletins/mc-11028510-0001. Pdf) in regards to the safety issue. I contact Honda and was told the issue was covered under a warranty claim. However, my vehicle has 39,000 miles and is no longer under warranty. I asked if the issue was a safety concern and was told not to drive the vehicle as it was 100% a safety issue. However, the repair would not be covered until Honda recalls the vehicle. I'm concerned that I can no longer safely drive my vehicle until Honda initiates a recall. The service bulletin was dated January 21, 2026. As such, Honda has had seven months to issue a safety recall. The Honda representative stated I would likely be eligible for "goodwill assistance" if I couldn't afford to fix the vehicle myself until I am eligible for reimbursements via a safety recall. Why is the NHTSA allowing Honda to funnel safety costs through warranty claims and delaying a recall?.

Right passenger seatbelt doesn’t show it’s full engaged and dings when passenger moves.

The second-row passenger-side seat belt buckle intermittently fails to correctly detect a latched seat belt. While occupied and properly buckled, slight passenger movement causes the vehicle to generate false seat belt warning messages and chimes indicating the belt is unfastened. Inspection confirms the buckle remains physically latched. The repeated false warnings distract the driver and may reduce confidence in the vehicle's seat belt monitoring system. The condition has been recurrent and is limited to the second-row right-side seating position.

Middle row window seat belt is engaged, but still chimeing and red "x" appears on dashboard seating chart middle row- window seat.

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The right rear seatbelt keep’s going into alarm over and over like someone is unplugging it and plugging back in. The alarm is persistent no matter who sits in the seat. It flashes on the dashboard and the audible alarm sounds most if not the whole car ride every day.

The contact owns a 2023 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the second-row seats which were occupied had properly latched the seat belts; however, the seat belt alarm was activated. The seat belt warning light was illuminated. The failure reoccurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The middle row, outer passenger side seat, belt, warning, light, and chime comes on intermittently when person is buckled up showing false positive vice versa input on the dash – regarding the seatbelt usage.

The contact owns a 2024 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the second-row passenger’s side seat belt became inoperable while buckled and a passenger was seated in the seat. The contact stated that there was a loud chime while the was occupied and the seat belt was buckled; however, the warning sound failed to turn off. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 41,000.

When driving on the highway vehicle suddwnly brakes on its own when it detects cars on side lane not directly in front of me creating a noticeable slowdown being somewhat unsafe. The wiper blades dont come up they hit the hood of the car which I believe shouldnt be this way. The seatbelt sensors go off in back row even if no one unbuckles then the car starts making loud noise to let you know and a side unbuckled light comes on and also the x marking which seat but it continues making loud beeping noise that can cause distraction and even an accident I drove 45 minutes with it doing this to me on and off mostly on the only way to get it to stop is if someone doesnt sit on marked spot. So now I dont know if this will happen on all seats as for now its obly on the third row passenger right side seat. I have about 3 weeksnoticing this but it was less now its more so I made apptment to take im to get checked but the sound is very anboying and distracting.

Seatbelt warning system incorrectly indicates with persistant and distracting chime and lights, that middle row right seatbelt is unbuckled, when it is in fact buckled. This has happened over 25 times over a 6 week period. It becomes a significant distraction to the driver, and forces the driver to ignore the seatbelt warnings all together, because while it is happening, it happens every 2-3 seconds continuously. Child passengers could very well be unbuckled ( dangerous) and the driver wouldnt know it, due to the defective system. It is also extremely difficult to concentrate on safely driving while the chime is continuously going off. I urge the NHTSA to instruct Honda to issue a safety recall and fix this dangerous issue.

The back seat seat belt warning malfunctions when someone is sitting in the back seat, causing the alarm to sound as if the passenger is not buckled in. The red seat belt notification also indicates that someone in that seat is unbuckled, which is incorrect. The seat belt is fastened the entire time. The notification alerts mid- trip while driving. This is extremely dangerous as a driver I thought our child unbuckled her seat belt while driving. This problem has been occurring for over 2 months. The problem has been inspected by a Honda dealership and diagnosed-Honda technical service bulletin (TSB) a26-027 for certain 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles. The bulletin addresses a condition where the vehicle incorrectly indicates that the second-row right passenger seat belt is unfastened, even when it is buckled.

Seat belt on rear passenger side seems like it is clipped in but car dings with red warning sign that seat belt is not fastened. I am worried that the seat belt is not working properly.

Supplemental restraint system problem deactivates airbags and dealers do not want to fix it under warranty.

The seat belt sensors are going off even when the rider is properly buckled in. Happening in the second row seats, primarily on the right passenger side of the second row. There may be an issue with the sensor.

Second row, right side seat belt sensor is malfunctioning. It started about 6 weeks ago. Occasionally, when going around a turn, an alarm would chime and a red x would appear on the affected seat on the dash screen. It was very quick, and sometimes I just heard the chime and did not see anything on the dash. The issue has become more frequent over time, so that it went from happening a couple times a week to multiple times in one trip, not always when going around a turn. Just a few days ago, the passenger got in and buckled, yet the system showed that it was not buckled. The seat belt was securely latched. The alarm continued to sound and the dash showed a red x on that seat plus a red picture of a person wearing a seat belt. It was a short (about 1 mile drive) and the alarm went off the whole time. We had to reconfigure the vehicle so that seat is no longer being used. We contacted the dealer and they stated that our VIN has no recall or service bulletins related to the issue. We are taking it in to be inspected later this week. The dealer would not order any parts or schedule a replacement until they tested it themself.

The contact owns a 2011 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while parked, the front driver-side seat belt retractor failed to retract as intended. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 11v468000 (seat belts). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 149,775.

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Second-row right passenger seat belt buckler is malfunctioning and alerting when the seat belt is buckled. The alert is distracting as a driver and my children can not sit in that seat since we can't tell if they are buckled or not. The first time it malfunctioned was a week or so ago in the middle of may 2026 and the problem has only gotten progressively worse to the point we can't have anyone sit in that seat. I have set up an appointment for the dealership to look at this issue in June. No one else has inspected the vehicle so far.

Right and center rear passenger seat belt sensors are malfunctioning. Despite passengers wearing their seatbelts, the dashboard and warning alarms signal that they are not wearing their seatbelts. I am concerned for the safety of my children who need to be in the back seats and fear that the seat belt system and sensors are not reliable.

The rear passenger-side (second-row, right-side outboard) seatbelt warning system is defective, repeatedly triggering false "unbuckled" alarms even when a passenger is securely buckled in. This is a known manufacturing defect involving the occupant detection sensor inside the seat cushion frame, which sends intermittent, incorrect signals to the vehicle's computer. The defect presents a severe safety hazard. The continuous, loud chiming distracts the driver and causes immediate "alarm fatigue. " this forces the driver to ignore seatbelt warnings, creating a dangerous situation where a rear passenger (including a child) could actually become unbuckled without the driver realizing it, significantly increasing the risk of injury or death in a crash. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership for inspection, but technicians reported they could not replicate the intermittent failure at that specific moment. However, the system immediately failed again the very first time a passenger sat in that seat after leaving the dealership. The defective seat cushion frame and its internal components remain in the vehicle and are fully available for inspection. The failure began intermittently and has now become a persistent issue. There are no prior warning lights; rather, the seatbelt warning chime and dashboard graphics activate and continuously flash/alarm while driving, falsely indicating the occupant is unbuckled when they are actually safely secured. This issue matches the parameters of Honda service bulletin 23-018 and the active NHTSA safety investigation into this model.

This is the second time experiencing a complete failure of the rear seat belt warning architecture on my 2023 Honda Pilot. In 2025, I formally reported that the warning sensors for both the 2nd-row middle seat and the 3rd-row seats were malfunctioning—triggering persistent unbuckled alarms even when passengers were properly seated and securely fastened. The issue has now returned and is actively failing on the 2nd-row seats. Despite passengers being buckled in safely, the vehicle's dashboard alerts and audible chimes sound continuously, causing severe driver distraction and making it impossible to accurately determine if my rear passengers are actually protected. I am providing a diagnosis of the seat belt warning issue in 2025, I am having the same issue now in 2026.

The rear passenger seat belt warning system in the 2023 Honda Pilot suffers from a critical malfunction. Specifically, the right rear passenger seat belt sensor triggers false, persistent, and loud "unbuckled" audio alarms and visual dashboard alerts while an occupant is sitting in that position with the seat belt securely and properly fastened. According to an official Honda service bulletin addressing this precise symptom, the root cause is a manufacturing defect involving a damaged or broken wire inside the seat belt buckle assembly, which causes the vehicle to misread the occupant's buckled status. Safety hazards & risks: severe driver distraction: the loud, continuous auditory chime and flashing dashboard alerts create an extreme, immediate distraction for the driver while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of a crash. Warning fatigue & false assurance: because the system consistently misreports the true status of the passenger, it forces the driver to consciously dismiss or ignore safety alerts. In a real-world family scenario, this false information can lead a driver to believe a rear occupant (particularly a child in the 2nd or 3rd row) is securely buckled when they are actually unbuckled, or vice versa, defeating the entire purpose of the vehicle’s safety warning system.

My vehicle, 2023 Honda Pilot elite, is experiencing intermittent, inaccurate seat belt engagement readings for the second-row seating middle and right position captain chair while driving. The system frequently sends incorrect status information to the driver's dashboard display, presenting two specific safety hazards. A false negative alert, the dashboard display indicates that the second-row middle and right captains chair positions are unbuckled when in fact the passengers are completely buckled. This prevents the driver from knowing if rear occupants—specifically children—have unfastened their seat belts while vehicle is in motion , creating a severe safety risk. This also triggers persistent, distracting warning chimes and dashboard alerts while driving. This is very concerning not knowing if the safety restraint system in place is correctly working due to the indicators on the dash intermittently showing false information while my children are buckled.

The middle right side passenger seat belt alarm is going off and indicating it is not clicked when it is. I have had my [xxx] son and [xxx] daughter (different weights) sit there and the alarm will go off constantly indicating their seat belt is not fastened. I have also had adults who were heavier sit there as well and its doing it constantly. The alarm will not shut off and flashes on the dashboard that it isn't fastened. Is there an issue with others? I have used canned air to blow out the seatbelt thinking there may be something inside the latch. When this first started beeping it would only beep a few times and indicate it wasn't fastened. Now the alarm keeps beeping and you can't even sit in the seat due to the alarm constantly going off and indicates not buckled on the dash board. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car is giving false alerts warning that a buckled seat is unbuckled in the second row seat behind the front passenger seat. It started the week of April 19, 2026 and it is happening more frequently now. It is very annoying and it is concerning that it might have an impact on the airbags. I haven’t contacted the dealership yet or made an appointment to have it looked at, but it can be available for inspection. It seems like this is a common issue with 2023 Pilots.

The occupant detection system for all five rear seats is erratic, frequently reporting seats as occupied and unbuckled when they are empty or folded flat. Once the vehicle reaches 10 mph, audible alerts trigger and recur up to three times for 30 to 60 seconds each, even if no passengers are present. Because these sensors are integral to the restraint system, there is a critical concern that the airbags may not deploy correctly based on this inaccurate occupancy data. Extremely distracting. First time we noticed: leaving the chanhassen kingdom hall of jehovah’s witnesses. We had 4 kids in the vehicle when they were all seated and buckled up and the third row seat (middle) that nobody was sitting in started alarming several times thinking that a passenger was in the and needed to be buckled. This is everyday recurring problem in all 5 rear seats.

Recently the vehicle has developed an erratic behavior when a passenger on mid-row seat is using the seat belt, seat belt reminder goes on/off every few seconds displaying inaccurate information of when the seat belt is in use. I contacted my local Honda dealer describing the problem and informing them of Honda's service bulletin #TSB a26-027, which describes exactly the same symptoms my vehicle is having and they've been unwilling to address the issue, as the TSB is not an active recall.

When dropping off rear-seat passengers, the seat belt alarm continues to sound loudly for an extended period after passengers unbuckle and exit the vehicle. This behavior persists even after the door has been opened and closed. In contrast, the front passenger seat does not behave this way, and in my previous vehicle—a 2023 Honda Pilot touring—the rear seat alert would disengage promptly once the door was opened and closed. At the dealership we tested a 2026 Honda Pilot touring and this issue does not exist in that model either. Seems specific to only 2026 Honda Pilot trailsport trim level or possibly just some 2026 Honda Pilot trailsport vehicles. This issue occurs regardless if the vehicle is put into park or not. The only way to eliminate the issue is for the vehicle to be turned off after rear passenger exits during a drop off. As a parent of three active children, I make multiple drop-offs each day at school and sporting events. The repeated and prolonged alarms have become a distraction while driving and have contributed to what I would describe as “alarm fatigue. ” my concern is that when a legitimate seat belt safety issue arises, the effectiveness of these alerts may be diminished because of their frequency in routine, non-risk situations.

The second row passenger side seat belt warning sensor repeatedly pings even when the seat belt is connected anytime the passenger shifts in his or her position. It's as if the seat belt is not connected but it is. Not only is this annoying but it also means the driver is uncertain as to whether the seat belt is plugged in properly and has to manually check each time. Safety is therefore a concern. This happens whenever the vehicle is in operation and someone is using the second row passenger side seat belt. No other seats are affected. There has been no inspection of the problem but I plan to take the vehicle to a Honda dealer. My research online suggests this is an problem consistent with NHTSA investigation pe25017.

Passenger side 2nd row seat belt indicates unbuckled when passenger is buckled in and seated. Started as an intermittent indication, now the warning lamp continuously indicates the passenger is unbuckled when seated with seat belt buckled. Dealer has confirmed the concern, aligns with oem service bulletin, oem has redesigned service parts but will not service under warranty due to mileage on vehicle (80k).

The rear passenger seatbelt warning system beeps constantly when someone is buckled into the seat saying it’s not buckled, when it is.

The second and third row seats do not recognize when passengers are exiting the vehicle. All second and third row seats cause the seat belt warning to go off multiple times even when there are not passengers in the vehicle. Car in park does not mitigate this problem.

The second row passenger side seat belt continues to give an alert that there is a rider but the belt is not buckled, even though the belt is buckled. The wire running alongside the belt latch can be jiggled to get the alert to stop. Then the alert restarts. Sometimes the alert continues to trigger several times over. Sometimes there will be no alert for several minutes. A local auto shop looked at the seatbelt and said there is a mechanism that is supposed to slide and catch when the belt is buckled. That mechanism is no longer catching. The problem started March 2026. There has not been a safety incident to date.