2020 Honda Pilot Problems, Recalls & Reliability
777 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2020 Honda Pilot, alongside 11 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 35/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 3,600 miles.
Below average
Where 2020 sits among all Pilot years
What owners report
“Stop/start system shutdown the engine and failed to restart while at stop light. It occurred twice on 9/8/2022 and twice on 9/9/2022.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
“LKAS, adaptive cruise control, auto high beams, forward collision, auto breaking warning lights all came on and failed. Lots of other Honda pilots of this vintage are experiencing this issue according to Honda forums.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
“There is a crackling/popping sound coming from the infotainment center. It happens when the radio is playing and on calls. It is very distracting and annoying since it is very loud. This has been happening for some time and has not stopped or diminished in volume.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
“Vehicle auto start / stop system intermittently will not restart the engine after turning off at a stop.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
“The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
“The auto start/stop feature of the 2020 Honda pilot is defaulted to on. At three times in the last two weeks, at a stop light, the vehicle lost all power, directed me to put the car in Park and restart the vehicle. I had to press the start/stop button several times to get the vehicle to start again.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2020 Pilot
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 197 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 5,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 1,780 and 21,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (11)
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 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020…
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
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 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear…
Fix: Dealers will replace the MOST cable harness and install a straightening cover over the vehicle cable connector, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2023. Owners may…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2020-2022 Passport and Odyssey vehicles. The heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, allowing the mirror glass to detach. As such, these…
Fix: Dealers will replace both left and right side-view mirrors, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 17, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Passport and Pilot vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four tires and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 22, 2021. Owners may contact American Honda Motor Co.…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019-2020 Passport, and 2019-2021 Pilot vehicles. Incorrect instrument panel control module software can cause the instrument panel to not display critical information, such as engine…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument panel control module software, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Pilot, 2019-2020 Odyssey and 2019-2020 Passport vehicles. Incorrect central network software programming may cause several errors to occur that can delay or prevent the rearview camera image…
Fix: Honda will notify owners that updated software is available. Owners have the option to either follow the mailed instructions to download and update the software for free, or visit a dealer to have…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020 Passport and Pilot vehicles. The certification label may have been printed with ink that can be wiped away with a solvent, removing the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the certification label, free of charge. The recall began March 24, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Pilot and 2019 Passport vehicles. The front frame left and right side upper members may not have been welded completely to the unibody. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle for missing welds, free of charge. If the vehicle is identified as missing welds, the dealer will offer to repurchase the vehicle or…
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 2020 Honda Pilot reliable?
The 2020 Honda Pilot drew 777 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 35/100, scored against the model's worst year (2016).
What are the most common 2020 Honda Pilot problems?
The top reported problems for the 2020 Honda Pilot are electrical (215 complaints), driver assistance (178), and other (113).
At what mileage do 2020 Honda Pilot problems show up?
Owners most often report 2020 Honda Pilot problems around 5,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 1,780 and 21,000 miles.
Does the 2020 Honda Pilot have recalls?
11 recall campaigns apply to the 2020 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.