2008 Honda Pilot problems
Owners have filed 166 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Honda Pilot. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 19% of complaints. After that come engine (10%) and body & structure (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 166 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 19% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 14 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 27 and 3
- Typical mileage
- 87,000 miles 87 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 8 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 14 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 15 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 9 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 87 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 87,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 93,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 14 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 27 injuries reported; 3 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 80% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 22nd most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Honda Pilot with enough data (56 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Honda pilot was struck (tbone) at 65 MPH side curtain airbags deployed and driver was knocked unconscious and leaned on the gas. Car went into full rev and crashed into a wall where the front airbag deployed. Homeless man was sleeping behind the wall and was struck by the runaway honda pilot. Shouldn't the vehicle of shut down after airbag deployment? Fuel inertia or cut off did not engage.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 honda pilot. She entered the vehicle after a rainy day and noticed the carpet on the drivers and passenger side was wet. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where she was informed there was a leak coming from the windshield and it was repaired. The failure has since recurred twice. After each occurrence the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer to be repaired. The failure and current mileages were 60,000. Updated 01/13/11 updated 02/07/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 honda pilot. While driving 15 MPH and approaching a traffic light he depressed the brake pedal and it went all the way to the floor making it difficult to stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance who was unable to duplicate the failure; therefore, they only changed the brake fluid. The dealer also informed him that there were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 72,400. Update 05/06/11