2021 Honda Pilot problems and complaints

Owners have filed 432 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Honda Pilot. The most-reported areas: Electrical System (126), Engine (104), Forward Collision Avoidance (98).

Key takeaways

  • 432 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 12 involve a crash, 1 a fire, 8 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Electrical System12629%
Engine10424%
Forward Collision Avoidance9823%
Unknown Or Other8219%
Lane Departure4410%
Air Bags317%
Service Brakes266%
Power Train246%
Fuel/Propulsion System215%
Visibility/Wiper205%
Back Over Prevention194%
Tires133%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2021 Honda PILOT SUV AWD5/54/55/54/5
2021 Honda PILOT SUV FWD5/54/55/54/5

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Lane Departure,forward Collision Avoidance - filed 2026-09-15

The entire ADAS suddenly failed. the vehicle started cycling through all warning indicators (adaptive cruise control problem, abs problem, lane keep assist problem, brake mitigation system problem etc) brought it to Honda today and they confirmed that the "multi purpose camera/millimeter wave radar unit with aiming" h...

Back Over Prevention - filed 2026-09-14

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under an unknown recall; however, the recall repair failed to prevent the failure. The contact stated that while shifting in reverse(R), the rear-view camera failed to display a clear image. The local dealer was contacted. The manufac...

Engine - filed 2026-09-13

Our pilot is experiencing similar issues found online with catastrophic engine failure due to a misfire caused by a knocking rod. Honda so far has not responded to our claim despite it being a known issue around the same time ours was manufactured.

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More for the 2021 Honda Pilot

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.