2020 Honda Pilot engine problems

104 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2020 Honda Pilot, which is 13% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 104 13% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 42,000 miles 11 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 0 and 5
Injuries and deaths: 0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 11 complaints that include mileage. 64% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	5
20k to 40k miles	0
40k to 60k miles	2
60k to 80k miles	1
80k to 100k miles	2
100k to 120k miles	1
120k to 140k miles	0
140k to 160k miles	0
160k to 180k miles	0
180k to 200k miles	0
200k+ miles	0

What the data shows

Of the 11 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 42,000 miles, and 64% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 5 fires.

What owners wrote

Bought new 2020 black edition honda pilot on may 2,2020 with 11 miles on it. It caught on fire on 6/15/20 after driving only 3 miles I noticed a bad burnt smell as I was entering a parking garage, not thinking it was my car because it was new and there were no display lights indicating anything. I then noticed smoke coming from my hood about 30 seconds later. I immediately parked and turned engine off. Got out of vehicle to see a fire ball drop from under the front of my hood.

Reported at 400 miles, June 2020 Fire

The contact's husband owns a 2020 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 55 MPH, the Emissions warning light illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

Reported at 91,000 miles, February 2026

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Honda models