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2020 Honda Pilot: check engine light

18 of the 497 complaints about the 2020 Honda Pilot describe check engine light.

owner complaints
18
of this car's complaints
4%
typical mileage
45,000
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 20 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Check engine light by model year

What owners say

Filed Nov 6, 2026 · Fuel system · MN

The fuel injector failed, causing the check engine light to go on and impacting vehicle performance. This failure caused raw fuel to pass through the system, leading to odors and a noticeable drop in engine horsepower. This problem could have caused engine lock or catalytic converter failure, putting our safety at risk. This issue was confirmed by the dealership. Additionally, the manufacturer, Honda, is aware of this issue across its vehicles with this engine setup, meaning it is a known problem. Their negligence to make us aware and to account for this put our safety at risk.

Filed Jun 15, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · 99,000 miles · SC

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with failures of 4 of the 6 fuel injectors. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

Filed Feb 15, 2026 · Electrical · CT

Car will randomly lose all power as if the battery is dead and then flicker and come back on. No warning lights or check engine lights are on. Nothing has been inspected yet but this same problem was a previous recall on this make and model

Filed Feb 14, 2026 · Fuel system · PA

SUV check engine light for the emissions system came on 11/21/2025. The light does not stay on all the time, it goes on and off ever several days. During my state inspection, dealer diagnosed issue to a P0430 code and ran a cylinder AF test. It revealed that cylinders 2, 5 and 6 failed for rich conditions and stated the fuel injectors require replacement. Both the dealer and honda Corp. stated there is no coverage for this issue. I did find that this issue was found with previous years for my model and make, however my year is not covered for the warrenty extension. Honda service bulletin 20 - 100.

Filed Dec 31, 2025 · Engine · OH

There was a snap like sound under my hood while driving. Shortly after, the check engine light engaged and the vehicle lost all ability to accelerate. This happened while merging onto a fairly busy road, with rolling hills. If there were vehicles around there would have been potential for an accident. If this happened on the freeway in a middle lane, the vehicle would not have been able to successfully exit without causing extreme danger to the passengers and other vehicles. The vehicle stopped on the side of the road. When the ignition was briefly reengaged, there were rolling error codes, including vehicle stability, all wheel drive failure, etc. The engine was noticeably knocking. The vehicle was towed and inspected by an independent mechanic. The 3rd cylinder in the engine will no longer hold compression. I now need to get the vehicle to an engine specialist for further inspection and repair.

Filed Jun 23, 2025 · Fuel system · MD

My car was fine. I was driving fine and then I pulled out of my neighborhood and all of a sudden my check engine light started blinking and my car was hesitating and jumping. I pulled over for 10 minutes with the car turned off and then it was fine. It did something similar once before a week prior but I thought it was a one time thing. There are recalls for fuel injectors on the year prior honda pilots. And the mechanic shop said that’s what they would replace when they looked at it.

Filed Apr 28, 2025 · Engine · MD

My 2020 Honda Pilot has 53k miles on it. I have have the vehicle for 8ths and 8k miles. The vehicle engine light suddenly began flashing and the vehicle began running rough. A loud knocking sound was coming from the engine when accelerating. The vehicle was taken to a Honda dealer and analyzed. The testing showed that the camshaft and cylinder #2 rod bearing was damaged to the point of the engine needing replacement. Upon research of the problem and damage found by the dealer, it matches a major issue found on many Honda's and Accura's. A manufacturing defect in the crankshaft leads to excessive wear and failure of the connecting rod bearings. This problem can cause the engine to suddenly seize or fail. Honda is currently refusing to cover the repair cost because the VIN of my vehicle isn't on the recall list.

Filed Apr 7, 2025 · Engine · KS

Our 2020 Honda Pilot has 96,000 miles on it. We were traveling on the interstate and the engine light came on and an immediate grinding and knocking sound was heard. We pulled over on an exit ramp. We called AAA and had the vehicle towed 35 miles to the nearest city. The vehicle was determined to have a connecting rod bearing failure that required the engine to be replaced. I understand there is a potential recall for this issue for Honda vehicles, that includes the 2020 Honda Pilot. I wanted to provide this information to support the federal safety agency's findings that there are issues with this engine that should not occur.

Filed Mar 7, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · NY

The instrument panel blacks out and does not display critical information such as engine oil pressure radio goes out speedometer goes out rear camera goes out. There was a recall T89 but Honda says my VIN does not come up under the recall even though it is the same issue. This is an intermittent problem. Everything will be working and then while driving it blacks out. The black could last hours. Unable to get navigation. Then when it comes back on the panel light up with engine light warning brake warning low gas warning even though tank is full traction control light comes on These warning lights will come on and after a few minutes go out.

Filed Feb 27, 2025 · Engine · PA

[XXX]: While driving on [XXX] in Pennsylvania, my check engine light illuminated in a tight construction zone with jersey barriers & speed limit of 55 mph during inclement weather. I chose to remain behind a tractor trailer driving under the speed limit for the remainder of the construction zone approximately 1 mile. Once out of the construction zone, I attempted to pass the truck in front of me; however, when I moved into the passing lane, my vehicle would not accelerate to pass the truck placing myself and my 2 children in danger on [XXX] in inclement weather. Fortunately, I was able to safely return to the travel lane & then exited at the next exit which was about 2 miles away. I proceeded to a pull off right after the exit ramp & called my spouse. When he arrived, we decided to attempt to drive the vehicle home an alternate route; however, while driving about 2-3 miles the check engine light remained on & I was not able to accelerate beyond 35 mph. We decided to pull into our HS parking lot where I shut off my car for about 5 minutes. When the vehicle was restarted, the check engine light was no longer on, so we drove around the parking lot & the vehicle appeared to be operating normally allowing acceleration to occur, so we attempted to return home. While driving about 3 miles, the check engine light once again displayed as well as a series of other warnings. The vehicle began to shake and various noises were produced from the front end of the vehicle including what sounded like metal on metal grinding. ASAP, I proceeded to a parking lot to ensure safety for myself & children to stop the car and have it towed to a local mechanic, then to a Honda Dealership. After initial diagnostics, we were informed our engine failed & needed replaced due to what they suspected was a connecting rod bearing issue. Our engine is currently being replaced, but we informed them we wanted the defective engine held to be available for inspection for this investigation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO

Filed Dec 27, 2024 · Engine · IL

Honda Pilot AWD EX-L 2020 Engine Failure Incident Report October 5, 2024 Check Engine light went on 294 IL Tollway while traveling in left lane. Began to feel a slowing of the vehicle and just a wrong feeling, proceeded to move towards right lane in busy traffic and ~0.5 to 0.75 miles later check engine light started flashing as we proceeded to exit. Planned to make it to rest area or tollbooth but felt it was too far away; check engine light flashing, pulled over to shoulder short of the tollbooth. Shut down all extraneous items (radio, A/C) and pushed the ignition button to turn off vehicle. Could hear some clanking sounds (which we have later researched and found audio/video of mechanics speaking about oil pump failure and loud clanking sounds, which was exactly what we heard).Vehicle didn’t seem to respond (not shutting off), pushed button again and now several red light warnings popped up in succession, these are the ones I recall seeing: (Oil pressure low and Low oil), I believe there were others, but they were cycling fast and didn’t put them to memory, but clearly the codes had been unleashed. Pushed button again and engine shut down. Opened hood and checked oil and did see oil on the dipstick (though level was not clear, seemed to have oil on upper and lower part of reading area, but not in the middle); Called dealer and agreed sounded like an oil pump failure, which in theory could mean there is still plenty of oil in the engine and moving to a safe location. Attempted to start engine again and it struggled and didn’t really start, had a clanking sound again, so hit the button to shut it off for good; and called for tow. Diagnosed with engine failure, quoted replacement $16k, negotiated after documentation and provided good will from Honda with deductible out of pocket $4917.75. Upon posting of investigation now approaching Honda Corporate for reimbursement request.

Filed Nov 13, 2024 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · TX

Vehicle struggles and jerks to keep speed between 1st and 2nd and 3rd gears and jerks trying to accelerate up until around 50 mph check engine light came on and off a few times and information center on car reports exhaust system problem and to take to a dealer, took to autozone to get codes read replaced part it said to replace but problem persisted light came back on took back to autozone same code showing different bay so I took vehicle to Honda dealer and had them do a diagnostic on it which they could not complete without me paying an extra 180.00 for a more in depth diagnostic I paid and they found the fuel injectors not functioning properly and said I need to replace them I declined Honda to do this and took it to a different shop myself to have it done where I trusted the mechanic had all the injectors replaced and same problem is still happening. The breaking assist comes on randomly while driving and hits breaks and shakes steering wheel while flashing (break) but there is nothing in front of me.

Questions about the 2020 Honda Pilot check engine light

Is check engine light a common problem on the 2020 Honda Pilot?

18 of 497 owner complaints about the 2020 Honda Pilot (4%) mention check engine light. The model year with the most reports is 2016.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2020 Honda Pilot?

There are 0 recalls and 20 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2020 Honda Pilot

Backup camera 62Stalling 40Collision warning 38Adaptive cruise 37Screen failure 36Lane assist 26Start-stop 21Headlights 17Won't start 17Fuel pump 15Jerking 14Knocking 12Engine failure 11Hesitation 11Warning lights 11Loss of power 10Grinding brakes 6Harsh shifting 6Shudder 6Fire or smoke 5Fuel gauge 5Sunroof shattered 5

All model years of the Honda Pilot

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