Honda Pilot: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Honda Pilot: 15 model years scored from 6,376 NHTSA owner complaints and 97 recall campaigns. Worst year 2019, best year 2014.
Honda Pilot: which years to avoid
Across 15 scored model years the Honda Pilot ranges from 27/100 in 2019 to 84/100 in 2014 — a 57-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Pilot at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Electrical System (257 of them).
Avoid: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The second-generation Pilot (2009–2015) is one of the quieter three-row SUVs in the dataset. The third generation arrived for 2016 with a nine-speed automatic on the upper trims, cylinder deactivation on the V6, and a new infotainment system — and 1,688 complaints: harsh and delayed shifts, warning-light cascades, and the engine idling roughly under cylinder deactivation. Honda reflashed the transmission and later replaced the nine-speed with its own ten-speed. The 2019 facelift year spikes again. The 2022–2024 fourth-generation cars score in the 70s. If you want a used Pilot, 2014–2015 or 2022 onward are the safe years.
Read the guide
Honda Odyssey and Pilot: the transmission years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-01.
How the Pilot changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2011–2015
Mean score 78/100, about 14 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (198 complaints). 31 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2016–2021
Mean score 49/100, about 103 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (1,807 complaints). The record falls 29 points against the years before it. 17 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2022–2024
Mean score 73/100, about 45 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Forward Collision Avoidance more than anything else (74 complaints). The record improves by 24 points against the years before it. 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2014 (score 84). Worst: 2019 (score 27, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | AVOID | $7,128 | 192 | 4 |
| 2024 | 68 | CAUTION | $4,656 | 109 | 6 |
| 2023 | 73 | BUY | $4,615 | 135 | 5 |
| 2022 | 79 | BUY | $4,448 | 147 | 5 |
| 2021 | 48 | AVOID | $5,500 | 424 | 10 |
| 2020 | 51 | CAUTION | $5,556 | 482 | 11 |
| 2019 | 27 | AVOID | $6,577 | 887 | 12 |
| 2018 | 71 | BUY | $5,348 | 437 | 7 |
| 2017 | 51 | CAUTION | $6,379 | 914 | 4 |
| 2016 | 46 | AVOID | $7,652 | 1,691 | 0 |
| 2015 | 81 | BUY | $5,216 | 108 | 4 |
| 2014 | 84 | BUY | $5,354 | 116 | 3 |
| 2013 | 75 | BUY | $5,706 | 271 | 6 |
| 2012 | 75 | BUY | $5,682 | 171 | 9 |
| 2011 | 73 | BUY | $6,110 | 292 | 11 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Pilot, through the years →
Pilot sub-models & family
Variants & trims on record
Body, powertrain and trim variants of the Pilot on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.
What goes wrong on the Honda Pilot
Across every Pilot model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine2,060 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System1,690 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other996 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Power Train619 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Fuel/Propulsion System463 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620
- Forward Collision Avoidance422 complaints across all Pilot years · typical job: Radar or camera module replacement and calibration$780–$2,160
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Honda Pilot years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2019 is the weakest at 27/100, with its complaints concentrated in Electrical System.
What are the best Honda Pilot years to buy?
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2014 at 84/100, on 116 complaints and 3 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Honda Pilot problem?
2,060 of the complaints filed against the Pilot across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
Compare with
Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04