Reliable Auto DB

2018 Honda Pilot reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 439 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Honda Pilot over 9 years — 17 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Pilot years here — under the median of the other years, which is 36. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Fuel pump.

2016 Honda Pilot LX
Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

439

Per year

17

Recalls

7

Years on the road

9

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (156 of 439), then Electrical system (85) and Powertrain (78). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 47,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 16,723 and 84,899 miles. Those filings include 9 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 8 that report an injury.

Next to 2017 and 2019

The 2017 Pilot has 921 complaints, 35 per year, and the 2019 has 903 complaints, 49 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2018 Honda Pilot. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (7)

Recall structure, frame 2026-06-04 · NHTSA campaign 26V365000
Summary American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Remedy Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.
Vehicles affected 880,514
Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Vehicles affected 98,892
Recall Fuel pump 2023-12-18 · NHTSA campaign 23V858000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Remedy Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Vehicles affected 2,490,460
Recall engine and cooling, engine, internal engine parts 2023-11-13 · NHTSA campaign 23V751000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 248,999
Recall structure, body, hood 2021-11-29 · NHTSA campaign 21V932000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
Remedy Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.
Vehicles affected 724,826
Recall engine and cooling, engine, gasoline, belts and pulleys 2019-04-12 · NHTSA campaign 19V298000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 93,946
Recall Seats 2018-04-05 · NHTSA campaign 18V221000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018 Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles and 2018 Acura MDX vehicles. The front driver and passenger powered seats in the Honda vehicles and the driver powered seats in the Acura vehicles may have been assembled with improperly manufactured rivets. In the event of a crash, the rivets can break causing the seats not to be secured to the floor. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat frame assembly in Acura MDX vehicles, and replace the driver and front passenger seat slide rail frames in Honda Pilot and Ridgeline vehicles, free of charge. The recall began May 30, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall is D0S, and T0T.
Vehicles affected 5,810

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (439 total)

Engine
156
Electrical system
85
Powertrain
78
Fuel and propulsion system
63
Fuel system, gasoline
62
Speed control
23
Structure
17
Seat belts
12
Forward collision avoidance
10
Service brakes
10
Visibility and wipers
9
Engine and engine cooling
8
Seats
6
Lane departure
5
Air bags
4
Electronic stability control (ESC)
4
Latches, locks, and linkages
4
Steering
4
Suspension
4
Exterior lighting
3
Visibility
2
Back-over prevention
1
Wheels
1
Show 15 more Show less
Crash-flagged

9

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

8

Death reports

0

Of the 104 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 47,500 miles. The middle half fall between 16,723 and 84,899 miles.

Complaints filed per year

1320182020191720202720219720224620231192024682025322026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "Auto restart issues. I have reported this before. When coming to a stop and the engine shuts off it does not automatically restart. It has left me sitting at a light having to sit and wait before I am able to turn my…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-12
  • "All safety features turned off. I had a professional mechanic shop inspect. Since this happens randomly, they cannot provide exact diagnosis. This is a major safety risk! After I picked it up from the mechanic, I drove…"
    Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-09-11
  • "High Pressure Fuel Pump fails after implementing recall listed below. See recall information: December 18, 2023 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 23V858000 Fuel Pump May Fail Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while…"
    Unknown or other, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-08-29
  • "The vehicle started to make some strange noises coming from the engine area. I brought the vehicle to our mechanic, who stated that the engine needs to be replaced. He described the problem as an issue with the piston…"
    Engine · filed 2026-08-20
  • "Failed Component: Lane Departure System Camera - Honda (P/N 36160-TG8-A51). This camera has completely failed which completely shuts down the following safety systems in this Honda Pilot: Adaptive Cruise Control Forward…"
    Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure · filed 2026-08-13

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2018 Honda Pilot SUV AWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2018 Honda Pilot SUV FWD 5 stars 4 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Pilot all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (9-speed) All-wheel drive 19 26 22 MPG $2950
Pilot all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 18 26 21 MPG $3100
Pilot front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (9-speed) Front-wheel drive 20 27 23 MPG $2800
Pilot front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic 6-speed Front-wheel drive 19 27 22 MPG $2950

Specs and fitment

3rd generation, 2016–2022
Body styles SUV
Oil 0W-20 , 5.7 qt capacity
Tire size 245/60R18 (LX/EX/EX-L) to 245/50R20 (Touring/Elite)
Towing capacity 5,000 lbs

Known issues for this generation

Honda service bulletin 20-029 covers 2016-2019 Pilot Touring and Elite models, plus a VIN range of 2020 Touring and Elite models, for intermittent harsh or jerky upshifts with steady acceleration. Honda traced the symptom to abnormal adaptation values in the transmission control module's software rather than to a mechanical fault; the remedy updates the transmission control module, after which the transmission needs about 500 miles of normal driving to re-adapt to the driver's pattern, and 2016 models additionally require a powertrain control module idle learn. A separate earlier bulletin, 16-008, covers 2016 Pilots with the 9-speed automatic for a different set of shift-quality symptoms, including a sensation of surge while braking and slow downshift response at low engine speeds.

Compare

Previous year 2017 Honda Pilot Next year 2019 Honda Pilot See every Honda Pilot model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2018 Honda Pilot reliable?

Owners have filed 439 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Honda Pilot over 9 years — 17 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Pilot years here — under the median of the other years, which is 36. NHTSA has 7 recalls on file, including Frame, Front passenger seat weight sensor, and Fuel pump.

What are common problems with a 2018 Honda Pilot?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (156 of 439), then Electrical system (85) and Powertrain (78). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 47,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 16,723 and 84,899 miles. Those filings include 9 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 8 that report an injury.

Is the 2018 Honda Pilot more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2017 Pilot has 921 complaints, 35 per year, and the 2019 has 903 complaints, 49 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2019.

Has the 2018 Honda Pilot been recalled?

The 2018 Honda Pilot has 7 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2018 Honda Pilot?

Owners have filed 439 complaints about the 2018 Honda Pilot with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2018 Honda Pilot get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2018 Honda Pilot is 22 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Honda Pilot take?

2nd gen: 5W-20 (2009-2012) or 0W-20 (2013-2015). 3rd and 4th gen US Pilots use 0W-20 (about 5.7-5.8 qt with filter on recent fills).

Does recall 24V-900 cover the Honda Pilot?

Certain 2023-2025 Pilots are covered for the fuel tank fill pipe: an incomplete connection may allow a fuel leak; dealers inspect and repair the fill-pipe connection.

What generation is the 2020 Honda Pilot?

3rd generation (2016-2022). The 4th generation starts in 2023.