2020 Honda Pilot: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 29, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · WI

While driving on my way home from work (24 mile drive) I received on my dashboard faults that flashed briefly for my steering, lane keeping assistance, lane departure, forward collision, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and parking collision (warning lamps). My radio also had cut out at the same time. While that occurred my steering wheel jerked suddenly while going straight at speeds around 60mph. I brushed it off as a communication issue since it is known to occur on these vehicles, but the steering wheel jerking was new to me. Made it home turned the vehicle off (vehicle was off for 15 minutes). I started up the vehicle no warning lamps came on. But as soon as I got up to 40mph and a mile from my home the same issue occurred but more frequent, but less of the steering wheel jerking. I got where I needed to go and got back onto the road and reached 30 mph the warning lamps came on more a lot more frequently on my way home. As soon as reached my alleyway turning left, the steering wheel had a moment of locking up (about 5-10mph). This came as a shock for me. I backed up into my garage and had to turn the steering wheel left again and the same thing happened. I parked the while the vehicle was running I turned the steering wheel really fast, recreated the steering wheel locking momentarily a few times. I turned the vehicle off and tried to restart it but there was no power. Turns out that my battery had gone bad. I had no indication of a low voltage or battery issue. I replaced the battery and issue was resolved. For me and a situationally unaware driver and this issue occurs where the steering wheel jerked and/or an emergency evasive action was needed, this could cause an accident due to the sudden loss of steering. There was no indication of battery issues. No dealer or independent shops were involved. I am a mechanic myself.

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 Jan 2, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · IN

2020 Honda pilot will sporadically turn off at highway speeds and at stop lights and will not turn back on until placed in park with foot on the brake. This is not to be confused with the start/stop feature used to save fuel. Additionally the 2020 pilot will lurch forward (like stuck in drive) while still in park.

Filed Aug 28, 2025 · Engine · CA

Rough Shifting at lower speeds when accelerating and deceleration. Very hard jerk while driving with family in the car. Hard jerk happened occasionally and produces no codes. Dealer and mechanic say they can't do anything without codes.

Filed Jan 31, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · 60,000 miles · TN

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle was jerking while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle with fuel injector failure. The fuel injector was replaced. The contact stated that the emissions light illuminated after the repair. The vehicle was taken to AutoZone who diagnosed that the catalytic convertor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the catalytic convertor failure was confirmed. The catalytic converter was replaced. The emissions light was then blinking consistently with the TPMS, power steering, and other unknown warning lights intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was shaking abnormally while idling. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

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.

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 Apr 3, 2023 · Transmission · MT

When driving on ice conditions coating to a stop, my newly perchased used vehicle jerked, transmission stuck on downshifts, so bad it started the vehicle into a slide until antilock breaks engaged while iwasnt breaking. Sometimes the transmission pushes on downshifts on dry ground while breaking. Took it to dealer and they said all normal. This could have caused an accident if other vehicles were nearby.

Filed Nov 22, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · IN

The Honda Auto Start Stop system has been taxing my battery through daily use and creates unsafe situations. On more than one occasion, similar to the following, I have experienced the Honda Pilot stop the engine via the A.S.S. System. Upon releasing the brake, the system attempts, but fails, to come to ignition and the electrical system lacks the ability to start the engine, creating a need to re-start (or attempt restart). On 1 such occasion, my family was traveling through a city on the interstate. After driving on the interstate for a few hours we came to a stop light and stopped. At the green light, upon releasing the brake, the Honda Pilot attempted to start again and failed. The car went completely dead in the middle of a 4 lane interstate with my family inside. The car did not start again until the 3rd time attempting to restart the vehicle. Approximately 10 seconds later than intended, we were able to clear our vehicle from the interstate intersection. On normal occasions, such as the course of business with the Honda A.S.S. System, driving in situations that would be categorized as "start/Stop" situations, the Honda A.S.S. System leads to stalled response and delayed lurching into traffic creating situations due to the delay in response. Multiple times this has been reported to my dealer. They acknowledge it as a "Battery" problem. They test my battery per HONDA WARRANTY and tell me it "Passes". They basically are just charging my battery and sending me out the door. The time between vehicle events is decreasing. Please help address this obvious vehicle shortcoming. There is no permanent means to disable it. Thank you.

Filed Oct 22, 2022 · Transmission · AR

While driving my 2020 Honda Pilot it jerks very hard when accelerating. It continues to do this when shifting gears. It’s also slow to accelerate and drags with the gears getting stuck until it finally jerks and shifts. I just had the transmission flushed 7k miles early yesterday 10/21 due to Hondas recommendation. I get regular scheduled maintenance and this is the 2nd flush with my car only having 50k miles. Now they say I will need to keep coming back getting repeated flushes at my expense until the fluid is cycled through. My car is driving worse than before the second flush. I’m afraid to drive it on the highway due to these jerks and stalls in shifting because it might freeze up causing a life threatening situation.

Filed Jul 18, 2022 · Engine · GA

Upon acceleration up a hill of speeds 10 mph -25 mph the transmission "lurches" causing the RPM to jog up and down. While traveling the speeds of 35 mph - 60 mph, regardless of being on flat ground or not, the transmission has the same "slipping" and "lurching" feeling while jogging the Rpm up and down (can happen on cruise control as well). Both incidents will shake the honda pilot. These incidents havae increased in frequency and intensified in sensation.

Filed Oct 14, 2021 · Brakes · 11,700 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after purchasing the vehicle at the local dealer and leaving the parking lot, the brake sensor message was illuminated, and the wheels began to vibrate and jerk slightly to the left and right. The contact also stated the radio was resetting independently. The contact took the vehicle back to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the camera sensor to be refocused and to replace the audio system. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience failure daily. The contact took the vehicle back to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the camera sensor to be refocused and the audio system replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience a failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,700.