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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Honda Pilot — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 271 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

271

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Honda Pilot — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Honda Pilot

111 complaints

2011 Honda Pilot

293 complaints

2012 Honda Pilot

171 complaints

2013 Honda Pilot

271 complaints

2014 Honda Pilot

116 complaints

2015 Honda Pilot

109 complaints

2016 Honda Pilot AVOID

1,712 complaints

2017 Honda Pilot

933 complaints

2018 Honda Pilot

440 complaints

2019 Honda Pilot

913 complaints

2020 Honda Pilot

492 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 79 reports

Power Train 54 reports

Structure 47 reports

Service Brakes 42 reports

Unknown Or Other 35 reports

Air Bags 18 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 16 reports

Suspension 13 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 10669195 12/30/2014

AT ABOUT 12:05 PM, ON DECEMBER 7TH (WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45MPH) ON A FLAT SURFACE STREET WITH MY WIFE IN THE FRONT SEAT AND TWO CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT, WE HEARD A GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM BENEATH THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR. SECONDS LATER, MY WIFE GRABS HER FOOT AND SCREAMS IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN. I PULL OVER AND SAW A .25 INCH? THICK BY 5 INCH LONG ABRASION …

Service Brakes ODI 10557670 12/30/2013

WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES AT LOW SPEED DURING AN EMERGENCY STOP, THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED AND CONTINUED TO DEPRESS FURTHER TO A POINT WHERE THE LOCATION OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS HIGHER THAN THE BRAKE PEDAL. THIS POSITION INTERFERES WITH THE PROPER APPLICATION OF THE BRAKE BY ALLOWING A CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE HIGHER ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THUS THE DRIVER PUSHING BOTH PEDALS AT…

Engine ODI 11562683 12/29/2023

Burn oil more then usual smokes when accelerating hard . premature spark plug failure, cylinder 1, 2 , 3 have alot of oil build on them causing failure.

Power Train ODI 10557595 12/29/2013

I PURCHASED A 2013 HONDA PILOT TOURING MODEL ON MAY 3, 2013. OVER TIME, AND NOW WHENEVER I DRIVE BETWEEN 35-45 MPH THE CAR SHUDDERS AND VIBRATES. IT OCCURS IN VCM MODE AND IS NOW PRESENT WHETHER IN VCM MODE OR ACCELERATING. THERE IS NO VIBRATION THRU THE STEERING WHEEL. I FEEL IT THRU THE CAR SEAT, BACK, AND CENTER STORAGE LID. PASSENGERS HAVE REMARKED "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR …

Engine ODI 11499180 12/28/2022

The contact owns a 2013 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started to stall with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle off the highway and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with a premature engine piston wear which was linked to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V382000 (Engine) howev…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 Honda Pilot, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2013 Honda Pilot reliable?

Owners have filed 271 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Honda Pilot, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Honda Pilot years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.