2011 Honda Pilot Engine Problems

You purchased a used 2011 Honda Pilot that was reported to have 144,135 miles, but a Carfax report revealed the actual mileage was 204,000 miles — a significant discrepancy indicating possible odometer fraud. While driving at speeds of 35 MPH or lower, you heard electrical system noises, and the check engine light came on the next day. A dealer diagnosed that your catalytic converter needs replacement. Replacing the catalytic converter will involve removing and installing a new emissions control component.

Your engine shut off unexpectedly while you were stopped at a traffic light and wouldn't restart, requiring the vehicle to be towed for engine repairs.

Your engine is consuming oil faster than normal. Just two months after an oil change, your oil level dropped to empty, causing a strange noise. The dealership confirmed this is excessive oil consumption, which is a documented issue affecting 2009-2013 Honda Pilots. The fix will likely involve inspecting the engine for internal wear or defects and may require engine repairs or replacement of internal components.

The front cylinder head valve cover developed an erosion hole adjacent to the middle spark plug (#5) tube cutout. The valve cover is available for inspection. This portion of the valve cover is directly above the oxygen sensor on the exhaust manifold. Engine oil could leak onto the hot manifold and ignite, causing an engine fire. I have not taken this cover to a Honda dealer or independent service center as I do my own maintenance work on my vehicles. This failure occurred after 153,235 miles and there were no indications, messages, or symptoms. The hole was not leaking oil as it was filled with valve cover material that had degraded and turned into powder. The powder was easily dislodged after probing with a metal pick, leaving a hole in its place. The #5 ignition coil was inspected and was visually unremarkable. The engine was not misfiring. The MIL lamp was off and there were no DTC codes present. A web search found several other complaints about this issue (with pictures of incidents of greater severity) and it is not confined to Honda vehicles.

My Honda Pilot 2011 EXL w/ AWD displayed a flashing engine light while driving, which is a sign of a serious engine problem. When it was towed to the Honda dealership, the service representative told me that a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) of P0302 was recovered, which occurs when the spark plugs misfire, and is fully described in Honda's Service Bulletin 13-082: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10152434-0001.pdf. I was told by the Honda service rep that one spark plug was fouled and covered with engine oil, and that I needed to clean the pistons and replace three piston rings along with the spark plug, a $3500+ repair. This costly problem with some Hondas was the subject of a class action lawsuit (Soto v. American Honda Motors), and is known to cause a sudden loss of power while driving, putting the driver, passengers, and other nearby vehicles at significant risk. By way of background, I began experiencing intermittent and temporary electrical system failure and increased oil consumption as early as January, 2021, which was never fully diagnosed until it progressed to a state of engine failure in September. Honda was clearly aware of this problem, yet it failed to take preemptive action to protect Honda owners and others. Rather than recalling vehicles with defective Program Control Module (PCM) software/firmware and updating it on affected vehicles (a relatively inexpensive fix), they allowed drivers to continue to operate their Hondas, effectively playing vehicular Russian Roulette, until their engines failed catastrophically, like mine did.

I WAS INFORMED THAT THE WAY THE ENGINE WAS BUILT, WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES INTO ECO-MODE 2 CYLINDERS SHUT OFF. IN THE 2011 MODELS, THE SAME 2 SHUT OFF EVERY TIME, THIS CAUSES THE OTHER CYLINDERS TO WEAR PREMATURELY. ENGINES ARE NOW BUILT TO RANDOMLY SHUT OFF 2 CYLINDERS. I'M VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW WHY A RECALL WAS NOT ISSUED L. SEEMS LIKE A VERY POOR BUSINESS PRACTICE ON HONDA'S PART. I GOT THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE I AM EXPECTING AND NEEDED A BIGGER VEHICLE BUT IT IS DEFINITELY NOT LOOKING LIKE I WOULD EVER RECOMMEND A HONDA TO ANYONE AT THIS POINT BASED ON THE FACT I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE DECEMBER 19TH AND WAS ONLY ABLE TO DRIVE IT FOR A MONTH. I'VE BEEN WITHOUT A VEHICLE FOR OVER A MONTH AND AM NOT SURE WHEN I WILL GET THE VEHICLE BACK. IT'S COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I GOT IN MY VEHICLE TO TAKE KIDS TO SCHOOL AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS FLASHING. INSTEAD OF TAKING THE KIDS TO SCHOOL I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, IN THE MEANTIME EVERY LIGHT ON THE DASH CAME ON. ONCE WE GOT TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY HAD THE TOOLS TO FIX WHATEVER WAS POTENTIALLY WRONG, WE WERE INFORMED OF THE ISSUE WITH THE CYLINDERS. I AM LOOKING INTO THE LEMON LAWS IN GEORGIA. IT IS INSANE THAT THE WARRANTY WILL ONLY COVER AN ENGINE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, ONLY LESS MILES FOR 2400. SO IN ORDER TO GET AN ENGINE THAT I FEEL SAFE WITH MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR, I HAVE TO COME OUT OF POCKET ANOTHER 3000. I WILL ALSO HAVE TO REPLACE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS AS A RESULT OF THE WEAR ON THE ENGINE FROM HONDA'S FAULTY DESIGN.

MY 2011 HONDA PILOT HAS HAD A SEVERE SHUTTER WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A DEAD STOP TO UP TO 40MPH. IT HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE SINCE I BOUGHT IT IN IN 2014. IT'S NOW GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE JUST NORMAL ROAD DRIVING WHEN THE ECO MODE KICKS IN IT WILL ALSO SHUTTER TO THE POINT WHERE I HAVE TO ACCELERATE TO GET IT TO STOP. I ALSO FIND THERE'S EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION, EVEN HAVING TO REPLACE A MALFUNCTIONING SPARK PLUG THAT WAS COVERED IN OIL, WHICH ISN'T NORMAL EITHER. UPON CALLING THE DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THERE WAS NO RECALLS ON THIS PROBLEM SO I HAD TO REPAIR IT OUT OF POCKET. RECENTLY MY CHECK ENGINE CAME ON SO I HAD IT SCANNED THE CODES THAT CAME UP CODES P3400, P3497 WHICH I UNDERSTAND HONDA HAS ISSUED A BULLETIN (NOT A RECALL) ABOUT THESE CODES & THE EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION. HONDA IS NOT REPAIRING THESE KNOW ISSUES. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S BEING PUT ON THE CONSUMER WHEN IT'S A KNOW PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE...VERY DISAPPOINTED IN HONDA.

EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION RESULTING IN SPARK PLUG MALFUNCTIONS. PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED DURING ALL DRIVING CONDITIONS AS WELL AS WHILE BEING STATIONARY WITH VEHICLE RUNNING.

THE CAR STUTTERS WHEN YOU HIT THE GAS. THEY TOLD ME IT IS THE SPARK PLUGS AND THAT THERE IS A RECALL BUT NOT FOR MY VIN# ????? SAME CAR AND YEAR AS THE RECALL STATES. IT IS THE SAME ISSUES AS THE CARS THAT HAVE THE RECALL VIN#.

HONDA ISSUED TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB #11-033) RELATED TO EXCESSIVE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION AND THE MAKE AND MODEL OF MY CAR AND VIN WAS IN THE RANGE OF THE VINS AFFECTED. I HAD TO REPLACE PISTON RINGS AND SPARK PLUGS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. WHEN I CONTACTED HONDA, I WAS TOLD THAT MY PARTICULAR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THOSE AFFECTED EVEN THOUGH I WAS EXPERIENCING THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM BECAUSE MY PARTS WERE NOT LISTED AS COMING FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER. IF I'M STILL HAVING THE SAME ISSUE; MAYBE THERE IS MORE THAN ONE HONDA MANUFACTURER THAT IS AT THE ROOT OF THIS PROBLEM!

WHILE SLOWING TO YIELD ONTO A HIGHWAY I WAS BEHIND ANOTHER VEHICLE WHICH WAS STOPPED TO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC. AS I SLOWED TO A STOP, THE PILOT QUICKLY ACCELERATED TO 5000 RPM WHILE I'M PUSHING THE BRAKE TO THE FLOOR AND CAME WITHIN INCHES ON CRASHING INTO THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE IN TO PARK. IT THEN DROPPED DOWN ON ITS OWN TO NORMAL IDLE. THIS IS A 2011 HONDA PILOT TOURING WITH 29,800 MILES.

WHILE DOING ROUTINE DRIVING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, VSA LIGHT, AND VTM-4 LIGHT ALL CAME ON AND STAYED ON. THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO BE RUNNING NORMALLY SO I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTED IT. THEN ONLY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE AND ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER THE VSA LIGHT AND VTM-4 LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. I CALLED MY DEALERSHIP AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT. THEY SAID THE VEHICLE COULD BE DRIVEN WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. I RESEARCHED THE ISSUE ONLINE AND FOUND THAT A POSSIBLE CAUSE WAS A KNOWN ISSUE REGARDING RINGS AND PISTONS ON V6 HONDA ENGINES FROM 2009 TO 2013 THAT ALLOWS THE OIL TO SEEP PAST THE RINGS AND FOUL THE PLUGS AND THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FROM HONDA. WHEN THE DEALERSHIP LOOKED AT THE ISSUE THEY SAID THE VEHICLE WAS REPORTING THAT CYLINDER 2 HAD MISFIRED ONCE (THEY DID NOT STATE THAT IT WAS DUE TO OIL FOULING THE SPARK PLUG BUT MY ADVISER IMPLIED THAT WAS THE CAUSE WHEN HE MENTIONED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE OIL LEVELS AND CHANGE THE OIL AT 5000 MILES). THEY REPLACED ALL OF THE SPARK PLUGS AND UPDATED THE VSA SOFTWARE PER A TSB (TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN??) FROM HONDA. THE SERVICE ADVISER TOLD ME THE ISSUE MIGHT NEVER REOCCUR, OR IT MIGHT, AND THAT I SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THE OIL LEVEL MONTHLY, AND CHANGE THE OIL EVERY 5000 MILES MAX (I'VE USED MOBIL 1 FULLY SYNTHETIC SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW... AND SUPER UNLEADED GAS). IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN I'LL ATTEMPT TO PUSH THE DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE THE RINGS AND PISTONS AS THEY ARE DOING FOR SOME CUSTOMERS. IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN I'LL NEED TO SELL THE VEHICLE IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS BEFORE THE EXTENDED 8 YEAR WARRANTY ON THIS ISSUE EXPIRES, WHICH IS TOO BAD BECAUSE IT'S BEEN MOSTLY A GREAT VEHICLE, IN GREAT CONDITION, AND WITH LOW MILES. HONDA REALLY SHOULD BE DOING A RECALL ON THIS, BUT INSTEAD IT SEEMS THEY WOULD RATHER LOSE CUSTOMERS AND FUTURE SALES. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2011 HONDA PILOT IN OCTOBER 2014. FROM THE FIRST DAY OF DRIVING IT, I NOTICED A VIBRATION COMING FROM THE DRIVE TRAIN/ENGINE/TRANSMISSION WHEN THE ENGINE WAS SWITCHING INTO "ECO" MODE. THE VIBRATION CAN BE FELT THROUGH THE STEERING WHEEL, GAS PEDAL, AND FLOOR BOARD. IT BECOMES WORSE WHEN CRUISING AT A LOW RPM, OR WHEN CLIMBING A HILL (NO MATTER HOW STEEP THE HILL IS) WHEN THE ECO MODE IS ENGAGED. THE VIBRATION ONLY STOPS WHEN THE CAR IS REQUIRED TO INCREASE THE RPM, EITHER FROM MANUALLY DEPRESSING THE GAS PEDAL, OR THE COMPUTER DECIDING IT NEEDS MORE POWER. THE VEHICLE DOES NOT EXPERIENCE THIS VIBRATION UNTIL THE ENGINE WARMS UP AND THE ECO MODE ENGAGES. WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD, THE ECO MODE DOES NOT KICK IN, AND THERE IS NO VIBRATION. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE. VEHICLE CONSTANTLY VIBRATES/SHUDDERS AS ENGINE RUN IN ECO MODE AND AS VCM KICKS IN/OUT OR IS IN USE. I SEE HUNDREDS OF SAME COMPLAINT ON HONDA MESSAGE BOARDS AND ALL HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME RESPONSE FROM HONDA. THEY INDICATE IT IS NORMAL OPERATION AND NOTHING THEY CAN DO. ANYONE THAT'S DRIVEN A VEHICLE FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS CAN TELL YOU IT'S NOT NORMAL FOR A VEHICLE TO VIBRATE LIKE THAT. IN MY DRIVING, I FIND IT TO BE NOT ONLY ANNOYING, BUT VERY DISTRACTING AS I'M CONSTANTLY TRYING TO CHANGE SPEEDS/RPM, ETC. TO MAKE THE VIBRATIONS GO AWAY. THIS CONSTANT DISTRACTION IS A SAFETY CONCERN. I IMPLORE YOU TO GET HONDA TO OWN THE SITUATION AND FIND A FIX. *TR

OUR 2011 HONDA PILOT STALLED IN TRAFFIC AND HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE CLOSEST HONDA DEALERSHIP. AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF SENSORS AND A STARTER BEING REPLACED IT WAS DETERMINED THAT ENGINE FAILURE CAME FROM A SHREDDED TIMING BELT. SERVICE DEPARTMENT PUT ON NEW BELT AND COULD NOT FIND ROOT CAUSE OF BELT FAILING AT 26,000 MILES. *TR

AFTER THE BREAK-IN PERIOD OF THE VEHICLE, AND EVER SINCE THEN, WHEN THE AIR-CONDITIONING IS SET ON RECIRCULATE, IF THE GAS PEDAL IS PUSHED HARD (FOR EXAMPLE TO GO UP A STEEP HILL), A SMELL OF ROTTEN EGGS ENTERS INTO THE CABIN. IT DOES NOT DO IT AS BAD IF THE AIR CONDITIONING IS SET ON "FRESH AIR". THE WINDOWS ARE CLOSED AND NO OTHER CARS ARE AHEAD OF MINE WHEN IT HAPPENS. I AM NOT THAT WORRIED ABOUT THE SMELL (ALTHOUGH IT IS AN INCONVENIENCE). I AM WORRIED ABOUT THIS MEANING THAT THERE IS EXHAUST LEAKING INTO THE CABIN ALL THE TIME AT HIGHWAY SPEED, IT'S JUST THAT MOST OF THE TIME IT CAN'T BE SMELLED. THREE TRIPS TO THE DEALERSHIP HAS NOT RESULTED IN A FIX FOR THIS SINCE THEY KEEP SAYING THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE WAS CONSUMING OIL EXCESSIVELY AND SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE SHORT BLOCK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 69,000. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT AROUND 20 MPH ON LOCAL ROAD, MALFUNCTION INDICATOR CAME UP AND ENGINE STOPPED WORKING. TOWED TO HONDA DEALER AND AFTER THROUGH CHECKUP, THROTTLE BODY & THROTTLE GASKET WERE REPLACED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 87 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED AFTER EXHIBITING A LOUD POPPING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE FAILURE COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BUT THEY COULD NOT CONFIRM THAT IT WAS THE ACTUAL CAUSE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 9,800.