2018 Honda Pilot Problems, Recalls & Reliability
644 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2018 Honda Pilot, alongside 7 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 29/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Engine leads the reports, typically around 96,000 miles.
Typical
Where 2018 sits among all Pilot years
What owners report
“On several occasions so far, when stopped with the idle stop system engaged, the brake depressed and at a full stop, the engine shut down, as expected, but failed to restart once the brake pedal was released.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Pilot
“The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Pilot
“Numerous restart issues when car in in idle mode stopped at a traffic light or stop sign. Car does not idle but completely powers off. I'm required to place car into "park", turn on power, shift to drive in order to accelerate”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Pilot
“Transmission failed suddenly while on the highway. Engine light came on, and could not shift above first gear. Took to the Honda dealership where we purchased the vehicle (purchased new in 2018) and was told transmission failed and needed to be replaced. This is a 2018 Honda Pilot with only 35,000…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Pilot
“Auto start/stop failure - Vehicle stops, engine shuts off as usual. However, when brake is released the engine does not start back up. It then needs to be put in park and takes several takes to start again.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 Pilot
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 142 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 50,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 15,920 and 84,198 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (7)
American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine,…
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V,…
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda…
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear…
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024.…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
Fix: Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Acura MDX and Honda Pilot vehicles and 2019 Acura RLX, RLX Sport Hybrid, TLX and Honda Odyssey and Ridgeline vehicles. The timing belt teeth may separate from the belt.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and replace any affected timing belt free of charge. Vehicles receiving a replacement timing belt will also have the engine inspected…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018 Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles and 2018 Acura MDX vehicles. The front driver and passenger powered seats in the Honda vehicles and the driver powered seats in the Acura vehicles may have been…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat frame assembly in Acura MDX vehicles, and replace the driver and front passenger seat slide rail frames in Honda Pilot and Ridgeline…
Federal defect investigations
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2018 Honda Pilot reliable?
The 2018 Honda Pilot drew 644 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 29/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2018 Honda Pilot problems?
The top reported problems for the 2018 Honda Pilot are engine (162 complaints), fuel system (124), and electrical (88).
At what mileage do 2018 Honda Pilot problems show up?
Owners most often report 2018 Honda Pilot problems around 50,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 15,920 and 84,198 miles.
Does the 2018 Honda Pilot have recalls?
7 recall campaigns apply to the 2018 Honda Pilot. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.