2020 Honda Pilot: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Sep 1, 2026 · Transmission · MO

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating and was shaking violently. The contact associated the failure with the transmission. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered a goodwill repair; however, the contact had not agreed to the terms. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that prior to the transmission failure, the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the hesitation issue, and the dealer associated the failure with the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired for personal reasons.

Filed Aug 1, 2026 · Transmission · NJ

I am reporting a severe safety defect regarding the automatic transmission on my 2020 Honda Pilot AWD (VIN: [XXX]). The vehicle experiences a violent and constant transmission vibration/judder under light throttle acceleration. On XXX, at 127,073 miles, an authorized Honda dealership officially diagnosed the vehicle under Repair Order # XXX, confirming the presence of "shudder at light throttle". Despite changing the transmission fluid as required by maintenance schedules, the issue persists. This failure causes unexpected vehicle hesitation and jerky shifts while driving at highway speeds, creating a high risk of rear-end collisions and posing an immediate safety hazard to my family and other drivers on the road. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 16, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 78,000 miles · HI

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle shifted into park independently. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while restarting the vehicle, the vehicle hesitated to restart for approximately 90-seconds, and then operated as intended. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where was it diagnosed, and the dealer determined that the the front camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure, and informed the contact that the failure was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

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 Nov 5, 2024 · Engine · NJ

Started experiencing engine hesitation while driving during May, 2024. Dealer refused to accept that it is not related to the Recall (2016-21 Pilot Fuel Pump Mtr Saf Recall Exp2 the federal safety agency Recall Number23V-858), instead suggested for a fuel injector cleanup. I ended up spending $500 because my wife and kids drive this vehicle, I want them to be safe. Now, the problem is occurring again after a 3 months. What should I do?

Filed Aug 20, 2024 · Fuel system, Transmission · 81,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency 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 manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had become a recurring failure. Additionally, the transmission warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle was jerking into gear and the vehicle hesitated before responding as needed. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer and was being diagnosed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Jul 17, 2024 · Fuel system · 50,000 miles · AK

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly hesitated before returning to normal functionality; however, the failure became a regular occurrence. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel injectors, relating the failure to a faulty fuel pump. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Jan 16, 2024 · Transmission · NJ

2020 Honda Pilot had started what was called Juddering by the dealer. Transmission upon acceleration will hesitate and jump hundreds of rpms up and down. I did research and was told also by the dealer Honda had issue with a torque converter within the transmission that I was told a bulletin extended the warranty on the 2017-19 pilots with 6 speed auto transmission. The 2020 I own has the same issue which the dealer confirmed but also told me my vin and model year is not covered. It is the same issue as the 17-19 and I'm concerned for me and my family's safety due to the transmissions' issue. Concern it will get much worse possibly breaking down on a longer highway trip which we will take sometimes 3 times per year.

Filed Dec 2, 2022 · OH

Automatic idle engine shut off had been the problem. I will come to a red light or stop sign, the car will do the engine shut off, and it will hesitate to start back up. There have been times that the car has complete shut down and I had to restart it in the middle of traffic. When that happens, it is VERY slow and hesitant to start back up. It is also common for it to restart the car and wipe out the radio and Bluetooth. The radio will turn to static. I have been unable to start my car completely while it has been parked. I have had this looked at multiple time but there is never a solution.

Filed Oct 20, 2022 · Electrical · WA

The Auto Engine Idle function has been problematic for a while now, causing the engine to stall. It seems to have gotten progressively worse and now happens whenever I forget to disengage the Auto Engine Idle. One time in the spring of 2021, my husband had pulled into the intersection and was waiting for the chance to turn, only to find the engine stall and not respond to anything. It took a good almost two minutes of turning off the engine and trying to push the power button back on. It finally did turn on so we did not need a tow, but it was extremely scary to be in the middle of an intersection with a stalled engine. Subsequently the engine stalled a couple of times, briefly flashing an error message on the dashboard before shifting into Neutral on its own and then indicating to shift into Park. I have had the diagnostic test ($99) done at the Honda dealership (Dublin, OH) and was told that they could not replicate the engine stall and that there were no error records recorded in the engine log. A few times, the engine seemed to hesitate like it was on its way to stalling after being in Auto Idle Engine mode, but would start up when I released the brake. Today the engine stalled again when I was at a red light, briefly displaying an error mode and then shifting into Neutral on its own again. I had to power off the car, and try the engine start push button a few times before it finally powered on. I am constantly worried about the engine stalling, which is not a pleasant experience. It is scary to think the engine could stall while driving the kids somewhere.

Filed Oct 18, 2022 · Acceleration, Transmission · AL

The vehicle is showing the same issues as found in the Honda Service Bulletin 20-029 for "9-Speed A/T Hard Upshift with Steady Acceleration", and an occasional hesitation or slip. Our Honda Pilot has a Honda 6-Speed Automatic Transmission and AWD. The transmission has just had a full service, which included a "transmission fluid exchange to include torque converter lines" and replacing the transmission filter. When watching the vehicle shift, the tachometer will spike RPMs, then drop well below, and rise to settle in-between with a hard upshift. This issue was extreme prior to the transmission service, especially given the vehicle has only 49k miles and was purchased brand new. The constant hard shift and slip is a safety hazard.