2019 Honda Pilot Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Engine failure: one of the engine rods blew through the longblock and seized the engine while driving on the highway. The car is regularly serviced from the dealership, well maintained, has low mileage, and is relatively new (2019). There is no recalls for the car, but this seems related to the ongoing investigation with Honda and Acura cars that have had engine failures.
While idling and driving into a parking garage, a new metallic knocking noise was audible from the engine. When I pulled up to the parking garage, I lowered my window to have the code scanned to enter the garage. The noise was present at that time, nothing previous to my commute to work this day. The noise was not audible while driving due to road/wind noise, music and conversation in the car. Driving down the garage ramp and into the parking area with the window still down, the noise was more pronounced (perhaps from the surrounding concrete walls). I eventually parked the vehicle after taking a video clip and sought help via phone and email from my work office. In this specific incident, safety was potentially at risk if the condition had worsened to the point of engine failure or other severe condition while driving on the roads. I was lucky in this instance. On 01/06/2026, video clip was sent to Honda dealer where purchased. I was instructed to not drive it and have the vehicle towed. Due to distance and expense to tow it close to home where purchased, it was towed to a local Honda dealer. Today they called and said internal components have failed and the engine needs to be replaced. On 01/07/2026 I've further engaged my local Honda dealer where purchased. This includes transferring it to them. At this time, the vehicle would be available for inspection upon request. No check engine light or other warnings of any sort were present. No invoice for diagnostics/repairs is available as of yet for upload as this is event is still in progress. There is only a video clip to hear the audible sound coming from inside the engine.
At 144,500 miles, the connecting rod broke and destroyed the engine. The connecting rod broke while driving on the highway at highway speeds. Honda has confirmed the connecting rod was the cause and will need a new engine to get the vehicle working again. I was having intermittent check engine lights and Honda could not find anything wrong with the vehicle prior to the failure. There are currently recalls on 2019 Honda Pilots for this issue, but does not cover my specific vehicle. This is a known issue in Honda Pilots
The vehicle was had a lower engine knock. When I took the vehicle in I was informed that there is an open recall for Honda Pilots for engine knocking and failure but my vin number was not included. Because of the knocking I was informed that I needed to replace the engine. The vehicle is approximately 2400 miles over the 100k power train warranty. The engine has been serviced regularly and has had all PM completed. The vehicle is currently in the repair shop waiting for a replacement engine to come in. Since Honda doesn't have rebuilt engines the shop is waiting on a used engine to arrive that has approximately 77k miles on it. Because the engine is still waiting to be replaced I do not have a repair bill yet.
My engine has been diagnosed as having connecting rod bearing knock, which is indicative of failing connecting rod bearings. I'm submitting this complaint as further evidence for the NHTSA investigation that Honda's Honda Pilot Connecting Rod Bearing Safety Recall had an insufficient of covered vehicles. My vehicle has a fully complete oil change history documented by its CarFax report when I purchased it and I have the receipts for the subsequent required oil changes under my ownership. At the time of purchase and as of today, my VIN is not part of Honda's recall, yet I have experienced connecting rod bearing failure, as have many others. I am now faced with paying $1000 in diagnostic fees to a dealership to just to see whether Honda will offer any help or not, and, if not, pay them another $1000 to reassemble my engine. Instead, I will be having my trusted Honda mechanic either replace the bearings or the short block of my engine at my own expense. My vehicle was diagnosed by a Honda/Acura-only repair shop. When I have the work done, I'm happy to request to keep the original bearings so they can be examined should that be necessary. The vehicle has only been inspected by my repair shop. I haven't involved insurance. There are no warning lights on. So far, my safety is not at risk, but I have two children, and this is our family vehicle. Should the engine fail, it's likely that wold cause an accident and injury or death. I originally had the vehicle diagnosed because I could hear the noise myself and it was not a normal noise. I will have an estimate for repair available in the next few days.
My car is a 2019 pilot and with 105k miles, engine has the rod bearing knock problem currently being investigated by nhtsa.
we have consistently experienced engine rough-idle issues.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and accelerating, the engine made clicking sounds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the timing belt, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who determined that the rod bearings had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the Emissions system warning light was illuminated for forty-five minutes prior to the vehicle stalling. The vehicle was driven a short distance before it stalled again. The contact noticed an abnormal sound. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and turned off. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was unofficially diagnosed with internal engine failure. The contact was advised to tow the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was unofficially diagnosed with internal engine failure. The contact was advised that the engine needed to be dismantled for a complete diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the case would not be escalated until the complete diagnostic test was performed. The failure mileage was approximately 114,300.
2019 Pilot 3.5 liter V6 ~82000 miles has developed a nasty rod knock, failure is imminent. I am aware of the current probe that includes this year/make/model.
When my engine starts cold, there is a bad clanking noise. The noise goes away once the engine warms up.
vehicle needs a new engine has spun a bearing internally and sent metal throughout the motor has to be replaced This is a vehicle with 75,000 miles and loan just payed off. My son was driving car earlier and reported it lurching in the highway
rough idling and performance issues.
On multiple occasions, when stopped at a red light or stop sign, the car will auto-idle and not restart, causing the car to stall.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for an oil change. The contact stated that after leaving the dealer, the vehicle started making an abnormal knocking sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that there was a failure in cylinder #1, and the lower engine block needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted for assistance with the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
Connecting rod bearing, engine is knocking. Honda TSB 24-001 doesn't include my VIN right now.
2 weeks ago, my car stalled as I was driving down the highway and attempting to pass another vehicle. I was going around 45 mph, the engine stalled, the speed dropped down to about 33 and would not let me accelerate. There was not a warning light. Fortunately, there was not a car to my left so I was able to pull over. I turned the car off and it restarted. I took it to the shop a few days later and sat there for 5 hours while they ran diagnostics. They could not get the car to replicate nor did a code come on so they asked me if I could leave it. I left it for a few days and they still could not get the diagnostic code to come on nor could they get it to replicate. They did not have a rental or I would have left it longer. I will continue to call them to see if they have a rental so I can leave it longer.
On Feb 17th I was on a 4.5 hour trip. I wasn’t experiencing any issues with my vehicle until the last 20 min of the trip. I exited the highway to refill with gas before the final leg home. I pulled into the gas station, shut off my pilot, and refueled. Upon restarting my vehicle the vehicle wouldn’t start. After several failed attempts I needed to jump start the vehicle to get it started. Once it started I didn’t have another issue. I took my vehicle in for testing and found no issues with the battery or starter. This was the second occurrence so I purchased a portable battery charger for when this happens again.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); but the failure occurred after the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
I was driving on the interstate when the entire dashboard of my 2019 Honda Pilot Elite with 76,014 miles on it lit up with every light / warning possible. The vehicle began to sputter and stall. I was forced to pull off to the shoulder of a busy highway. I was able to slow sputter to the next exit while traveling on the shoulder to get myself off the busy highway. After getting 3 diagnostic testings completed… it was determined that the problem was within the engine. Specifically the cam shaft and cam shaft sensor. The sensor was scratched / scrapped due to “play” in the cam shaft. It was explained to me that this has been a common occurrence with Honda Pilots, particularly 2019. It cost a total of $3,657.94 for the repairs with labor included. They provided me with the parts that were replaced because they felt that eventually a recall would be announced due to the problem being so wide spread.
we have been dealing with the engine going into limp mode for over two years. it has been to two different dealers with about $10,000 spent to replace parts that were on recalls but supposedly this vin# was not part of the recalls even though its the same issue with the same parts being replaced! who do i hold responsible when my wife and kids are killed on the freeway when it goes into limp mode next time? NHTSB or Honda? Who is reimbursing me for parts like fuel injectors that were recalled on all honda pilot elites except for ours? I know about the engine recall but have not heard from honda or the NHTSB? Limp mode is very scary at freeway speeds between sacramento and stockton on [XXX] !!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Connecting rod bearing failure. Engine was making knocking noise noticeable under 2000 RPM. Engine could experience sudden loss of power if engine failed. Dealer inspected engine internals and found a spun connecting rod bearing, requiring engine short block to be replaced. Vehicle falls in the production date range stated on recall 573 for this exact issue, however Honda Corporate stated VIN doesn't match affected units.
A rod bearing in the engine failed and broke through the side of the engine block damaging the catalytic converter and causing oil to spray every where and the engine to seize and catch fire.
Auto idle doesn't always restart. Latest incident, I was stopped at a busy intersection. It failed to restart when I lifted my foot. Caused my car to become inoperable, pretty much every light came on, radio stopped. Had to put it in park, turn off the car, and restart it. There were cars coming close to hitting me.
Several times the engine automatically shut down when I stopped in traffic, but then failed to re-start. Takes several minutes of messing with it before it will allow me to restart it. Of course there was angry traffic behind me waiting... *There is already an ongoing NHSTA investigation into this issue. NHTSA Action Number: PE22005
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Honda Pilot has 83 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.