Driving home late Tuesday night October 13, 2026 the car made a severe noise, pulled to side of the road turned car off. The car would not start, the car was towed the next day to the Honda Dealership it was bought from. The car had just been in the Honda shop for routine maintenance. There was no warning lights. The safety concerns being on the side of a busy road. My wife and 2 children had to wake up and come and get me. This Pilot is our primary car the other one is not safe enough and is used for in town driving. According to the dealership it was towed to it was a P0304: cylinder 4 misfire misfire with a brand-new plug and a healthy timing belt, together with a loud engine noise, points to mechanical damage inside the engine. That fits a rod bearing failure.
Honda Pilot won't start problems
271 of the 9,455 owner complaints about the Honda Pilot describe won't start, most of them for the 2016 model year.
- owner complaints
- 271
- worst model year
- 2016
- typical repair cost reported
- $850
- typical mileage
- 50,000
By model year
Often reported together
Start-stop 52Stalling 48Engine failure 15Warning lights 14Key fob 14Loss of power 12Check engine light 10Battery drain 9
Trouble codes mentioned
P0087 3P0304 2P0430 1P0301 1
What owners say
The car stopped in the middle of the high traffic highway in IL while driving to the airport on [XXX].The car failed to restart on few restart try. Vehicle was put on emergency flashing light and turned off / turned on. it would not start. The break / clause was stiff. We turned off the vehicle completely for few min and then restarted. The vehicle started. it was the scariest thing ever happened. as we were 5 member in the car and the situation was very risky, prone to accident and death. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The vehicle is not starting after coming to a complete stop with the auto start stop feature at a red light or stop sign. After releasing the brake pedal, the engine does not start up again, which leads me to having to turn off the car and turn it back on manually, which could take up to a minute. The Honda dealer has already updated the vehicle replaced the starter and adjusted the valves two months ago and the issue is still persisting.
While driving car it made some noise from engine area and only would drive about 35 mph. The car then shut off and had to coast off highway into parking lot. Luckily it didn't stop in middle of 4 lane highway. Car would not crank and had it towed to Honda dealer. Upon inspection from Walker Jones Honda dealer the following diagnosis. Verified motor locked up. Dropped the oil pan and inspected. Found bearing material in the oil caused by bearing slippage. Pictures were taken. There was no warnings or lights when this event occurred. The car has been taken care of and regular oil changes made through the Honda dealership. We are having to pay to get the engine replaced. The car has 103,965 miles on it.
Random complete engine failure while driving due to connecting rod bearings. Mechanic diagnosed and shows damage. Car will not start or run at all.
I just parked my car in my driveway and after an hour, i went back to drive but my car wont start at all. No power and cannot start . This happened twice i was in a restaurant and when i went back to my car, it wont start and no power. The first time it happened when i went to the restaurant and i towed my car to the service center and they told me It was a glitch . The 2nd time it happened they could not figure out and so they asked help from honda tech line and recommending to do a dashboard tear down to check the wire harness on my own expense. Very frustrating .
While driving car it lost power and was going only 35 mph then shut off completely while driving. Would not crank had car towed to Honda dealer and they said the engine was seized up. The car is at the Honda dealer now. No warning lights that I'm aware of. Honda dealer stated I would need a new motor.
When at a red light or stop sign the vehicle will idle and turn off. The vehicle doesn’t want to restart. It takes a bit to get started again then it progresses.While parked I turned the car off for 5 minutes and it would not start up again. Tried the jump cables to make sure it wasn’t the battery had to have a tow truck come they were able to get the car jumped and started. Took the battery to get tested and the battery was perfectly fine. Something is wrong with the starter. It doesn’t happen all the time but it has happened to me a few times and it’s not safe with me and kids in the car.
The vehicle won't start, electrical system failure. Sometimes the electrical system fails when the car is driving/it will stall on the road. It was predicated by the alarm going off intermittently and without provocation (in the middle of the night/etc).
I came to a complete stop at a red light. The car went into neutral and shut off completely. In order to restart the car, I had to put it in park to completely restart it in traffic. This same thing has now happened multiple times and each time it does, it comes shortly before the battery fails and will not start the car at all. I have been through 3 AGM Platinum batteries in the past year. Something is draining the battery. The starter, alternator and auxiliary battery have each been tested in the course of taking the vehicle to 3 different auto mechanics before going to the Honda dealership. All of them said these components tested fine (and they were tested under load). Honda acted like they didn't know about this being a common problem and suggested we replace the starter as an experimental remedy. We asked the Honda dealership for the software update fix and were told we already had the 23-008 update. However, after more research realize that it also needs a 23-009 and 23-010 update as well which was not offered. Honda's failure to take responsibility on this known chronic problem is disappointing at best and likely negligent/reckless.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
- What is wrong
- 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 and seize, damaging the engine.
- Risk
- A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
- Remedy
- 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. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early April 2024, 2019 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-May 2024, 2020 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-June 2024, and 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed January 27, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XG1 and GG0.
Recall number 23V751000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- Teeth separation from the timing belt may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of crash.
- Remedy
- 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 and any damaged components will be replaced for free. The recall began June 7, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's number for this recall is L4M. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Acura's number for this recall is Z4L.
Recall number 19V298000 · Recall details
Engine
- What is wrong
- Honda is recalling certain model year 2013 Pilot 2WD and 4WD vehicles and certain model year 2013 Odyssey vehicles. During manufacturing of the engine piston, it is possible that the heat treatment process was not properly applied, resulting in the piston having an insufficient hardness level, making it more susceptible to premature wear.
- Risk
- A worn piston may suddenly fail, causing the engine to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the engine short block free of charge. The recall began on September 16, 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009. Honda's recall numbers are JB4 (Honda Odyssey) and JB5 (Honda Pilot).
Recall number 13V382000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine
- What is wrong
- On certain minivans, sedans, coupes, and sport utility vehicles equipped with v6 engines, a timing belt tensioner pulley on the water pump is misaligned and could cause the timing belt to contact a bolt on the cylinder head. Eventually the belt could be damaged and fail.
- Risk
- If the timing belt breaks, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the water pump and if it is one of the defective pumps, the water pump and timing belt will be replaced. Owner notification began august 30, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009 or acura at 1‑800‑382‑2238.
Recall number 02V226000 · Recall details
Questions about the Honda Pilot won't start
Which Honda Pilot years have won't start problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2016 (92 complaints), 2019 (49 complaints) and 2017 (47 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix won't start on the Honda Pilot?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $850 (median of 19 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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