2022 Honda Pilot Engine Problems

Mileage when the problem started

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2022 Honda Pilot owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

2022 Honda pilot will have engine stall and will not accelerate while in motion. First time it happened was February 2024. Vehicle completely stalled in traffic and would no longer accelerate. Vehicle had to get pushed out of traffic and towed to Honda dealership. Honda service department replaced the transmission saying that was the issue and reason the vehicle engine was stalling. Vehicle has continually stalled but not as severe as the first time throughout the year of 2024. It is now 2025 and vehicle is progressively stalling more frequently. Honda says there is no recall for what is occurring to the 2022 Honda Pilot, but is now having the same engine stalling issue while in motion with their Honda Pilot 2023-2025 models having over 295,000 vehicles involved in a recall reported through National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. -Vehicle is available to inspection upon request. …

The contact owns a 2022 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop, the engine failed to restart with the Auto START/STOP feature engaged, causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was manually restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Action Number: EA25004 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

My name is [redacted] , I am the owner of a 2022 Honda Pilot, and the safety of this vehicle is now of great concern to me. My vehicle has done up to 35,000 mileages. On Friday, [redacted] as I was driving on the highway, this vehicle suddenly stopped without warning. All the lights on the dashboard came up and I received 5 messages indicating that the following had problems: Emission System, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Electric Power Steering, Transmission System, and Adaptive Cruise Control. This is a very dangerous and life-threatening hard stop that occurred in the middle of the highway, and I had to tow the vehicle to the DACARS Honda Dealership in Bowie, Maryland. I must state that my service history is up to date as of the time of this incident. …

As I was traveling from Houma, La on a major highway to an out of state meeting. I started to hear a slight tapping sound and pulled over to inspect the sound. Upon inspection it seemed as though it was coming from the lower engine, or exhaust near the engine area. I located the nearest Honda dealership which was Community Honda of Lafayette with intentions of dealership inspection. It was approximately a 20 minute drive from the current location. As I was approaching the exit to the dealership the warning system lit up an check engine light. The Manager at the dealership took the vehicle to the back and ran a scan and responded that it sounds like an exhaust leak. I got back on the road for my destination. Approximately an hour later while I was on [redacted] all of the warning lights lit up at once, the engine jerked and shut off. I pulled over to inspect the vehicle again. …

I was operating a 2022 Honda Pilot and had just made a left turn into a parking lot. I was slowly pulling into a parking space directly in front of a dance studio with a large floor-to-ceiling window. There were four children and a dance instructor standing inside near the window. As I was coming to a stop to park, my foot was on the brake. At that moment, the engine suddenly revved loudly and the vehicle accelerated forward unexpectedly without any additional throttle input. There were no warning lights, messages, or prior symptoms before this occurred. Despite braking, the vehicle continued forward and struck the exterior of the building. I was able to avoid the window area where the children were standing. The airbag deployed, and the front passenger side of the vehicle was damaged. The building was not structurally damaged, and no one was injured. …

I came to a complete stop at a red light. The car went into neutral and shut off completely. In order to restart the car, I had to put it in park to completely restart it in traffic. This same thing has now happened multiple times and each time it does, it comes shortly before the battery fails and will not start the car at all. I have been through 3 AGM Platinum batteries in the past year. Something is draining the battery. The starter, alternator and auxiliary battery have each been tested in the course of taking the vehicle to 3 different auto mechanics before going to the Honda dealership. All of them said these components tested fine (and they were tested under load). Honda acted like they didn't know about this being a common problem and suggested we replace the starter as an experimental remedy. …

My vehicle is equipped with Honda's Auto Idle Stop system. While driving, the vehicle has chronically suffered from a slow crank symptom. On two occasions, after coming to a complete stop at an intersection and the engine shutting off automatically, the vehicle completely failed to auto-restart when required, taking considerable time to restart and enter Drive. No warning lights or error codes were displayed on the dashboard during or leading up to or after these failures. One of these auto-restart failures occurred in active traffic and nearly resulted in a crash. I mentioned the slow start/crank to the dealer on several occasions (before the "no restarts" occurred); they were dismissive of the issue, stating that "All pilots with Auto Idle Stop feature do this. I've gotten to the point where I try to disable the feature everytime I get in the car but don't always remember. …

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Per the quote from the dealership where the issue was diagnosed: Looks like you are going to need a new engine due (to a) bad cylinder 5 misfire and the main bearing spun causing internal failure. It is available for Inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The engine could have failed during driving causing an accident. 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? …

This has happened to me 5 times in the last month or so. It is a safety situation and is scary when it happens. The Idle Stop feature is malfunctioning and could cause me to be rear ended. When I am waiting to turn right at a red light, or waiting for someone to turn at a yellow blinking light, the Idle Feature isn't working properly. Sometimes the entire car actually turns off, the car goes into Neutral, and the dash board shows a crash detection or battery image. This is a safety hazard because in a right turn lane, when I am waiting for the cars before me to go, and then they do go, the people behind me are expecting me to go. Instead, I have to put on my flashers, put my car in park, AND THEN restart my car, then put it in Drive. …

After Automatic Braking engaged, within a couple days car will make a zipper noise and gas pedal will not work. Have to press it 5-6 times and then it will start working again. Very dangerous when you have cars traveling behind you and you basically start slowing down immediately. But today, not sure if related, backed out of driveway on a slope, car went immediately to park with a large sound like the bottom falling out of the car and shook the car. Several warnings kept flashing (emissions, transmission, and P for park was flashing). I powered car off and back on was able put in N to let it coast backward to get out of the road. Completely shut everything off waited a couple minutes and was able to drive it back to my driveway and there was fluid leaking from underneath halfway between the front to tires. Calling dealership tomorrow

NHTSA investigations

Engine complaints in other Pilot years