Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2017 Honda Pilot owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated. The vehicle jerked and then lunged forward. The RPM decreased from 3,000 RPM to 0. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Honda of Serramonte (485 Serramonte Blvd, Colma, CA 94014) who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer suggested trading the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under the warranty and provided no additional assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that there was an abnormal smoke odor coming from the vehicle, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the following day, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at slower speeds and attempting to come to a stop, the vehicle revved up and independently accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal with excessive force and the vehicle moved forward a little before coming to a stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by the dealer however, the contact was unable to speak with a representative. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the keyless warning, power steering, emissions, and hill assist warning lights activated, and the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The contact recently received a TSB notice from the manufacturer regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 60,951.
I was at a stoplight at a busy intersection (car previously running well) & when I went to accelerate as the light turned green, my car leaped/jerked forward & would only accelerate to 5-8 mph. All of the warning lights on the dash lit up at the same time. I SLOWLY got out of the traffic & onto the side of the road. I turned the car off & back on. All the warning lights were still on. The car went into drive, but would not accelerate past 25 mph & was jerking. Honda evaluated the car & determined that it was the camshaft that wasn't manufactured correctly. Honda stated that this is a known Honda defect & already had parts packaged to fix the problem. I have all of the paperwork provided to me when the repairs were made. However, this is not acceptable. A known HONDA issue like this should be recalled & repaired ASAP. …
This car loses speed when passing while highway driving. Car decelerates and throws you into neutral throws dash errors of "blind spot" & "transmission problem". I was luck to be able to get over 2 lanes to break down lane without being hit from behind on several occasions. Car message to put in park and turn off. Car was in neutral and wound not go into park. I had to put emergency break on and power down car in neutral. Waited a few minutes then restarted and no errors on dash. Car back to normal. Car has major faults and you can't show the codes when you get to dealer because they are gone then they also want to charge you $175 diagnostic fee. Car also has issues with the stop light idle turning off feature and not turning back on for 5-10 minutes yet another way someone can hit you from behind. I am stuck with this unsafe car and Honda never has to recall anything. …
Honda has a 2 TSBs for all Pilots on all VINs having a transmission juddering issue. They are making us pay out of pocket for a known issue on all 2017 VINs. I was quoted a minimum of $700 due to the labor involved. We, as customers, shouldn't have to pay for a known issue with all VINs of 2017 Honda Pilots. It caused issues with cruise control and keeping speed on the road especially uphill. Sometimes it will shift extremely hard. It happens at all speeds when partially on the accelerator. It has been reproduced at Honda dealerships but they will not fix it unless the vehicle produces a code. I fear driving this in the wintertime with the pulsating accelerations possibly causing me to slide. It is unknown if the manufacturer has looked at this actual park on this vehicle.But they do know about it on all 2017 Honda Pilots. …
I drive a 2017 Honda Pilot Touring 9-speed and I've been dealing with some frustrating issues for last 3 years. The car has sudden loss of power, jerking, harsh shifting, and acceleration problems. I've done all the dealer-recommended maintenance (timing belt + water pump, spark plugs, valve adjustment, fuel injector cleaning, regular oil and transmission fluid changes), but the problem still hasn't gone away. I feel unsafe to drive the car on freeway due to sudden loss of power and then sudden acceleration. Sometimes it feels like the gears don't shift when they should, I am not a mechanic and not sure if it's an engine issue or a transmission issue. I checked for recalls but didn't find any. First I thought it has to do with driving on ECO mode but it seems like it does not matter which mode I drive. It still gives me the same issue.
Lane keeping assist problem light on, collision mitigation system problem light on, road departure mitigation system problem light on, adaptive cruise control problem light on. brake sy stem light on. The vehicle's multiple camera has failed and it is a common occurrence with this vehicle. Honda has not recalled this and is charging customers upwards of $2500 to replace the camera behind the windshield and recalibrate it. This isn't an issue based on miles there have been incidents with it happening as early as 30,000 miles. I bought my vehicle used and about 113,000 this started happening
I was driving in 80 mph traffic in and my car instantly lost all power while alarms starting blaring while I was changing lanes. I was unable to brake or to accelerate and had to coast - over 6 lanes of 5:00 traffic to a stop and was lucky we weren't killed. According to the dealer, it's a known issue with the fuel injectors and Honda is planning to repair it at their cost, but have no idea when they can do it because the parts are not available. We absolutely are lucky we weren't killed.
Acceleration complaints in other Pilot years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2017 Honda Pilot?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2017 Honda Pilot, 3% of the model year's 935 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2017 Honda Pilot acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2017 Honda Pilot, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2017 Honda Pilot acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 14,000 miles, and 77% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.