The Odyssey minivan and the Pilot three-row crossover share Honda's 3.5-litre V6 and, from the mid-2010s, shared its transmission experiments: a nine-speed automatic licensed from ZF and then Honda's own ten-speed. Both nameplates have a long, quiet record either side of those launches, and both have a stretch of years in which the transmission is the leading complaint by a wide margin.
The Pilot, 2016 to 2020
The third-generation Pilot arrived for 2016 with the nine-speed on the upper trims, a six-speed on the lower ones, cylinder deactivation on the V6, and a new infotainment system. The 2016 model year has 1,688 owner complaints against 108 for the 2015 car. The nine-speed shifts harshly, hesitates, and on some cars refuses to go into Park, triggering a cascade of warning lights; the cylinder deactivation causes a rough idle and, on high-mileage examples, oil consumption and fouled spark plugs; the infotainment freezes. Honda reflashed the transmission repeatedly and extended the warranty on some components. The 2017 car scores 51, the 2018 car 71. The 2019 facelift brought the ten-speed to the upper trims and a fresh spike to 879 complaints, then the 2020 and 2021 cars settle around 50.
The fourth-generation Pilot from 2023 has the ten-speed across the range and a moderate record so far, scoring 74 and 69 in its first two years.
Honda Pilot: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | AVOID | 192 | 4 |
| 2024 | 68 | CAUTION | 109 | 6 |
| 2023 | 73 | BUY | 135 | 5 |
| 2022 | 79 | BUY | 147 | 5 |
| 2021 | 48 | AVOID | 424 | 10 |
| 2020 | 51 | CAUTION | 482 | 11 |
| 2019 | 27 | AVOID | 887 | 12 |
| 2018 | 71 | BUY | 437 | 7 |
| 2017 | 51 | CAUTION | 914 | 4 |
| 2016 | 46 | AVOID | 1,691 | 0 |
| 2015 | 81 | BUY | 108 | 4 |
| 2014 | 84 | BUY | 116 | 3 |
| 2013 | 75 | BUY | 271 | 6 |
| 2012 | 75 | BUY | 171 | 9 |
| 2011 | 73 | BUY | 292 | 11 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda Pilot model page.
The Odyssey, 2018 to 2020
The fifth-generation Odyssey launched for 2018 with the ten-speed automatic on the upper trims, and the record is worse than the Pilot's: 962 complaints for 2018, 924 for 2019, scores of 22 in both years. The ten-speed shudders at low speed, lurches from a stop and hesitates on kickdown; the power sliding doors fail to latch or open, which led to a recall; the rear-seat entertainment system and the infotainment freeze; and a rear-brake caliper problem produced a recall of its own. The 2020 car is somewhat better at 448 complaints; the 2021 to 2024 cars score in the 60s. The 2025 model year has jumped again to 313 complaints in its first months on the road, with idle stop-start failures and unexpected braking cited in the owner reports quoted on its page, and is worth watching before buying.
Honda Odyssey: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 42 | AVOID | 374 | 2 |
| 2024 | 59 | CAUTION | 102 | 3 |
| 2023 | 69 | CAUTION | 98 | 5 |
| 2022 | 62 | CAUTION | 134 | 9 |
| 2021 | 66 | CAUTION | 140 | 8 |
| 2020 | 24 | AVOID | 465 | 12 |
| 2019 | 22 | AVOID | 959 | 12 |
| 2018 | 22 | AVOID | 990 | 12 |
| 2017 | 91 | BUY | 39 | 2 |
| 2016 | 75 | BUY | 269 | 6 |
| 2015 | 82 | BUY | 206 | 6 |
| 2014 | 77 | BUY | 307 | 5 |
| 2013 | 82 | BUY | 210 | 6 |
| 2012 | 85 | BUY | 244 | 5 |
| 2011 | 85 | BUY | 233 | 5 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda Odyssey model page.
The years that are safe
The fourth-generation Odyssey (2011 to 2017) is one of the best minivans in this dataset, scoring between 74 and 92 every year; the 2017 car, the last of the run, scores 92 on only 39 complaints. Its known faults are the 2011 to 2013 cars' VCM oil consumption and a piston-ring warranty extension, and the 2014 to 2017 cars' rear-camera and door-lock actuators. The second-generation Pilot (2009 to 2015) scores between 73 and 85, with the same VCM caveat on the earlier years.
What to check
On any 2016 to 2020 Pilot or 2018 to 2020 Odyssey, drive it in traffic and feel for the low-speed lurch, then ask the dealer for the transmission software campaign history — Honda issued several updates and the later ones help. Cycle the sliding doors on an Odyssey five times each. On any Honda V6 with cylinder deactivation, check the oil level and ask about consumption; a set of spark plugs at 100,000 miles is normal, oil consumption of a quart every thousand miles is not.
Summary
Buy: Odyssey 2011 to 2017, Pilot 2011 to 2015, and either nameplate from 2022. Avoid: Pilot 2016, 2017 and 2019; Odyssey 2018, 2019 and 2020. Watch: Odyssey 2025.