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BrakesPart report

2012 Honda Pilot Brakes Problems

Complaints
29about this part
Share
17%of 172 total for the year
Median mileage
36,000miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 29 complaints about the brakes of the 2012 Honda Pilot, 17% of the 172 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 36,000 miles. 4 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I recently buy this car and it has 79000 miles on the odo meter and when I check the carfax miles came out 186000 miles it means they rollback the odometer and I want to report a claim because it is really a safety concern”

NHTSA complaint #11342633, filed 2020-08, 2 miles

“My Honda has 60k miles on it. In october, I noticed vibration and shaking when braking at high speeds. I had my pads replaced and my rotors machined. Here it is a few months later and I'm having the same issues, the car shakes and vibrates severely when going downhill.”

NHTSA complaint #10969687, filed 2017-03, 60,000 miles

“On may 17, 2016, in my driveway, I was trying to move my 2012 Pilot from beside my husband's vehicle to behind it so my son could pull into the driveway. I pressed the gas pedal to move behind my husband's truck and it moved up a little before it accelerated to a high speed slamming his truck into the garage and crushing it. I hit the brakes, but it didn't help. The engine was revving and tires were spinning as fast as they could. …”

NHTSA complaint #10873716, filed 2016-06, 60,000 miles

“The check engine light and vtm4 light come on after over an hour of driving. Sometimes the whole inside of the car smells has while driving and the fuel consumption is not efficient. In addition when the car sits in the garage for a few days, maybe 2-3, and I start driving, the wheels make some deep brushing noise. This gets worst when I brake. Sometimes it smells like something is burning under the hood or around the engine.”

NHTSA complaint #10608297, filed 2014-07, 42,000 miles

“I have been driving my Honda Pilot 2012 lx since nov 2012, though have been visited Honda about 03 times for brakes, the current miles are approx 37400 miles and already resurfaced the front brake rotors 2 times, this is due to the vehicle weight per Honda, it seems the issue is with rotors, even after driving really conservatively the rotors get uneven really fast, I sincerely believe the rotors need to be of better quality and hence replaced by Honda.”

NHTSA complaint #10671009, filed 2015-01, 36,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Brakes: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202614%
20253315%
20241311%
20231712%
20222012%
2021286%
2020265%
2019435%
2018102%
2017273%
2016312%
20151211%
201498%
20134216%
20122917%
20114114%
201098%
20091410%
200875%
20072110%
20063413%
200513420%
2004224%
2003253%

Other parts of the 2012 Honda Pilot

Engine
35 complaints
Electrical system
22 complaints
Air bags
20 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
20 complaints
Vehicle speed control
17 complaints
Fuel system
16 complaints
Suspension
14 complaints
Steering
11 complaints
Engine cooling
10 complaints
Other or unknown
9 complaints
Body and structure
9 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
5 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Honda Pilot

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology