2022 Honda Pilot Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year report two dominant patterns: warning lights for the driver-assistance systems that trace back to a failed forward camera, and engine stalling or failure to restart, often around the automatic idle-stop feature, sometimes at highway speed. Electrical complaints about display and battery problems, steering noise traced to the rack, and idle-stop no-restarts round out the sample; reports arrive across a wide mileage range, from a few thousand miles to beyond 70,000.

1. 1
   Engine

   Engine stalls or will not restart, idle-stop involved

   • 46 complaints (27%)
   • median 26,000 mi at 2.5 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2022–2026

   Owners report momentary loss of power and no acceleration while driving, sometimes on the highway, with the vehicle recovering after a few seconds or after cycling the ignition. Many describe the engine failing to restart after the automatic idle-stop shuts it off at a light or stop sign, requiring a shift to Park and a manual restart. Complaints say dealers often could not reproduce the problem or found no stored codes, while others report transmission replacement, battery replacement or software updates that did not resolve it. Spread from under 5,000 to about 77,000 miles, with many reports in the 20,000-70,000 mile range.

   3 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the engine has ever cut out or failed to restart from idle-stop, and whether idle-stop and engine-related service bulletins were applied; test a stop-and-go drive with idle-stop enabled.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On several occasions, while driving, my vehicle would not accelerate when I pressed the gas pedal. It stalls and then bursts forward. I have noticed that it is more prevalent when I drive off. I have taken my car to the dealer service center, and they said they could not replicate the issue. My vehicle is available for inspection upon your request.”

   NHTSA complaint #11466330, filed 2022-05

   “I came to a complete stop at a red light. The car went into neutral and shut off completely. In order to restart the car, I had to put it in park to completely restart it in traffic. This same thing has now happened multiple times and each time it does, it comes shortly before the battery fails and will not start the car at all. I have been through 3 AGM Platinum batteries in the past year. Something is draining the battery. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11755715, filed 2026-08
2. 2
   Forward collision avoidance

   Forward camera failure disables Honda Sensing features

   • 33 complaints (19%)
   • typically at 4.0 yrs old
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $2,105 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2022–2026

   Owners describe multiple dashboard warnings appearing at once — adaptive cruise, lane keeping, collision mitigation braking, road departure mitigation, auto high beam and blind spot — with the driver-assistance functions unavailable until the camera is serviced. Several were told the multipurpose forward camera had failed and quoted repair costs over $2,000, and some linked it to a windshield replacement that required camera recalibration. Complaints also describe false brake alerts without an obstacle ahead and occasional hard automatic braking, with dealers sometimes attributing the fault to road debris damage. Reported from roughly 20,000 to 60,000 miles, often after a windshield replacement or in otherwise normal driving.

   What to check: Have the Honda Sensing warnings checked and ask whether the forward camera works on a test drive; if the windshield has been replaced, confirm the camera recalibration was done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Car brake warning pops up on dashboard when there is no object directly in front of the car. This occurs when there is oncoming traffic in another lane and it has happened when I am going over train tracks. It's as if the concrete curb is in front of me. My car has never stopped abruptly. This has happened over the last few years. I was unaware to report it. I did bring it up to the dealer but they didn't seem to understand.”

   NHTSA complaint #11591124, filed 2024-05

   “I turned my car on one day and warning lights for all of my safety sensing features came up. Intermittently they work for a little bit. I brought it to the dealer, and they said that there was damage to the sensor, but there has been no damage to the front end of the car. Their reply was perhaps a pebble came up from the road while I was driving. It seems to me that that is a fault in the manufacturing if it is that easy for all of the sensing features to stop working. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11736897, filed 2026-05
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Center display flickering and blank / battery drain

   • 54 complaints (32%)
   • median 24,000 mi at 2.6 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2022–2026

   Complaints describe the infotainment or instrument display flickering, freezing or going blank, sometimes with the rearview camera image unavailable, and one owner tied a blank screen and dead backup camera to the rear camera cable recall. Others report batteries draining and repeated replacement, brake lights staying on, and the car failing to start; some had the system reset by the dealer with no lasting fix. A separate group mentions failing state emission inspections because the computer would not update. Mostly reported between about 24,000 and 40,000 miles, across varied seasons and driving conditions.

   Recall 23V4310007 related service bulletins

   What to check: Check whether the rearview camera recall (23V431000) was performed, watch for brake lights staying on, and confirm the battery is healthy and the displays work reliably on a test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I have received a rejected emission test due to the computer not updating. Honda demands 200 diagnosis for this. and I have read it reported several times to years 2019 - 2023”

   NHTSA complaint #11719997, filed 2026-02

   “Brake light wont cut off and drains battery. Car wouldn't start and once battery was charged all steering, cruise control, hill assist, lane assist and other lighs came on. 7 total alerts came on and car struggled to go up hills and speed up after braking at lights. Brake light stayed on entire drive and didnt go off even when the car was off.”

   NHTSA complaint #11748984, filed 2026-07
4. 4
   Other or unknown

   Steering noise, rattle and rack replacement

   Mentioned in 6 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners report clanking, rattling or clicking noises from the front end or steering column over bumps and turns, sometimes with shaky or stiff steering that makes the vehicle feel loose. Several say early visits pointed to shocks, sway bar links or tie rods before a dealer or independent shop identified a failing steering rack and pinion and replaced it. Complaints note the noise often began in the mid-30,000 to 60,000 mile range and worsened over months. Typically reported from about 35,000 to 68,000 miles, often worsening gradually over several months.

   What to check: Test the steering over speed bumps and while turning at low speed, and ask whether the rack and pinion or sway bar components have been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “With about 59,800 miles, a rattling noise under the driver's side of the car began near the end of June, 2026 and gradually became louder, specially on bumpier streets. By the last week of July 2026, the steering started getting erratically stiffer becoming harder to control the direction of the vehicle. A neighborhood mechanic replaced the inner & outer tire rods but this didn't resolve the problem. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11758801, filed 2026-08

   “When you brake and turn the steering wheel to the left it makes a loud clanging noise and the steering wheel shakes. The car feels loose and it does not feel safe to drive. The dealership states it’s the steering rack. It has been happening for 5 months.”

   NHTSA complaint #11626942, filed 2024-11

Buying note. Have any 2022 Pilot inspected for Honda Sensing warning lights, a stalling or idle-stop restart history, and steering or rear suspension noise before buying, and confirm open recalls are completed. A pre-purchase scan for stored codes and a service history from a dealer can clarify which of these have already been addressed.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.