2025 Honda Pilot: What to check before buying

Power steering assist cuts out suddenly, often along with a flood of dash warnings for brakes, AWD, lane keeping, and collision systems. Reports describe it in parking lots, at 20 to 30 mph, and on the highway, leaving drivers to muscle the car to the shoulder. Restarting sometimes brings the assist back. A second, more common pattern is clicking, creaking, or popping from the wheel in slow turns, starting around 1,000 to 2,000 miles. Dealers replace clock springs, airbags, and even steering racks, yet the noise often returns. A few reports cite failed inner tie rods.

The car shuts down and will not restart, sometimes at a stoplight or while slowing on an off-ramp, leaving it stranded in traffic. Power can return after 20 minutes or a few hours, and dealers often find nothing wrong. Some owners link the stalls to the auto idle stop feature. Driver-assist faults also show up here. Collision braking and parking sensors fail to react at low speed, including one crash report. Other complaints cover misread speed limit signs, a speedometer reading high, phone disconnects, and a black backup camera screen.

The collision mitigation braking system brakes hard with nothing ahead, at speeds from 30 to 74 mph. Construction zones, trucks in the next lane, and a cyclist passing at a safe distance are common settings. Drivers describe seatbelts locking and near rear-end hits, and one report lists neck pain and possible whiplash. Some cars first show a message to clean the sensor area. Dealers realign or replace the front radar, but repeat visits are common, and one car sat at the dealer for 27 days. A few cars throw warnings for every safety system at once.

Shifts are rough and delayed at low speed, especially between first, second, and third gear. Owners describe hesitation pulling away from a stop and the car lurching forward as the transmission downshifts during braking, which makes smooth stops hard to judge. Several cars show it within the first few hundred miles, and it can be worse with a cold engine. More serious reports involve the transmission jumping to park, either when the driver selects reverse or while moving at 12 mph. Several owners believe a transmission software update is needed.

Adaptive cruise control shuts off without warning on the highway, usually with a message to clean the sensor even when nothing blocks it. Some cars also brake hard to about half their speed and lose lane departure and blind spot functions for up to 45 minutes. Dealers say they have no fix, and some owners were told Honda is still working on one. A crash report describes the car accelerating on its own into a parking garage wall while the driver pressed the brake.

The brakes apply themselves hard, sometimes bringing the car to a full stop, on highways and winding mountain roads. Drivers describe near rear-end collisions, including with a semi truck, and at least one owner was told there is no fix yet. A separate set of reports describes the brake pedal failing to slow the car, and two crash reports fall in this category. A federal recall covers the hydraulic brake system, with failed brake pedal assemblies being replaced. Owners report the recall parts were not available, so repairs were delayed.

Sudden stalls and power loss while driving lead these reports, sometimes with an emission system warning, and the car may not restart. One report describes a seized motor at 160 miles that needed replacing, and another owner was told a buyback was possible after repeated failures. Other stalls clear after a restart, and dealers find nothing wrong. Rough throttle response, hard shifts, front camera blocked messages, and fuel economy of 15 to 19 mpg against the advertised 19 to 26 also come up.

Glass breaks easily. Windshields crack from minor road debris or with no impact at all, sometimes repeatedly in the same lower driver-side corner, and one rear window shattered on its own. Replacement windshields have been hard to get, and each replacement needs a driver-assist calibration. Other complaints cover the rearview mirror popping off its mount, ripples that distort the view through the windshield, and a backup camera image too poor at night to spot pedestrians.