Problems · by component
2017 Honda Pilot engine problems
476 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2017 Honda Pilot cite engine, 51% of all 937 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
476
51% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
4
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“My 2017 honda pilot suddenly experienced engine failure. While drive the check engine light came on and could hear engine noise. Towed vehicle to a repair shop where they found bearing material in the oil filter. This vehicle has been well maintained, with regular oil changes.”
“We just purchased last month a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite. We have had issues with the auto start/stop function. Once at a drive through and once at a stoplight. After letting off break, it failed to restart and had to put it in park and restart. This is a dangerous situation being stalled in the road at a busy intersection. I haven't got it in the shop yet, but planning it next week.”
“The ''Low Oil Pressure'' light came on with limited driving function. It's been verified by an independent automotive repair that it has a rod knock that's similar to the rod bearing failures from the 2016 Honda Pilots that warranted a recall.”
“On [XXX] at approximately [XXX] with my car being at 136,390 miles I was at a stoplight and my engine idle engaged, but when I took my foot off the break, it would not reengage. It shifted to neutral. It took me several tries to get my car to start back up. This is the second time this has happened to me since owning this vehicle. I purchased it brand new and 2017 from the Honda dealership in Richland Washington. After the first time it happened, there was a bulletin that went out for a software update. I took this in and had it done. Obviously that did nothing. This is not only very frustrating but very dangerous.”
“My car starting making ticking noises. The engine oikd light briefly came on while I was driving with my family. It started to get worse so I took it to my mechanic. They discovered that it was a rod bearing failure.”
“Was traveling in moderately heavy highway traffic at 65 mph (actual speed limit) and vehicle suddenly started slowing down and hesitating. The narrow shoulder made it unsafe to stop but was able to continue at 45 mph or so and pulled off at first exit. There were numerous trouble lights on the dash. Car towed to Honda dealership and they found trouble code P0369. They found front camshaft sensor to be ground down in the center, as it had been damaged by the cam sprocket. The camshaft had excessive end play causing the cam to walk. New camshaft, thrust cover, sprocket, and related gaskets required. There were no symptoms for the issue before it happened. Honda has a 'Technical Line Summary Article' that says issue is caused by thrust cover manufacturing problem, specifically "we’ve found that the camshaft thrust cover surface roughness is out of spec."”
Showing 6 of 476 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.