Did you know that the average number of miles Americans drive per year is 13,474? This is more than the same number of miles you would drive if you were to do four drives, roundtrip, from Dallas, Texas to New York, New York.
If you’re one of the many Americans who drive, and you have a Honda Pilot, you might be worried about the Honda Pilot emissions system problem. If you don’t have enough information about this, you might feel anxious.
Fortunately, in this guide, we’ll review this problem and the others that follow it, as well as solutions. Finally, you can deal with your Honda Pilot problems and start driving safely and smoothly again. Read on to learn more.
The Honda Pilot Emissions System Problem
If you asked yourself the question, “Should I buy a Honda Pilot?”, answered yes, and bought a model that was manufactured between 2016 and 2018, you might end up running into a fuel supply system problem. There are several first signs of this.
One of these signs is the blinking of the emission system warning light, which is meant to signal a Honda Pilot emissions system issue. Another sign is having difficulty upshifting the transmission, or it shuddering.
Usually, after you notice the emission system warning light issue, the transmission warning light will turn on. Sometimes, other warning lights will turn on, too.
Often, drivers who experienced these warning signs pulled the car off the road. Then they allowed it, for a minute, to rest. Then, they got the car to move and drove it home safely.
However, if you notice these signs of the Honda Pilot emissions problem, this can be pretty scary. This is especially the case if you’re going at highway speeds.
While there are many reasons an emissions light can turn on, there’s a clear pattern with Pilots of the 2016 to 2018 models where there’s an issue with gears after and the transmission light turns on after.
Honda’s Reaction
In May 2019, Honda released a service bulletin. This service bulletin was about the Honda Pilot’s emissions problem’s likely cause and solution. Then they released other bulletins in November 2020, which covered the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Pilot models.
The likely cause, according to them, was that the machining process’s debris had been possibly causing internal wear to occur in the injector and/or high-pressure pump. So, factory dust might have been causing the issue.
When debris ends up in the car’s components, what will eventually happen is a cylinder misfire. Ultimately, this causes several issues.
These issues include long-term damage, inefficient vehicle performance, and the burning of excess gas.
The Solution
Fortunately, there is a solution to the emissions issue with the Honda Pilot. All you need to do is replace the fuel injectors. However, because this isn’t a recall situation, the possibility of getting the repairs done for free might not be possible.
Is your Honda Pilot still under warranty? In this case, you’ll be able to get these repairs done for free.
If it isn’t, however, you’ll have to pay for the repair costs yourself. This will be around $500.
Fortunately, the majority of Pilots manufactured between 2016 and 2018 still have their original 80,000-mile/eight-year warranties, so these are covered.
Is the Pilot you’re driving still under warranty? In this case, it’s smart to check your VIN. You might be eligible for these repairs.
If you are, you should get them done ASAP. This way, you won’t end up needing the repair later on after your car’s warranty has expired. If that were to happen, you’d have to pay for them yourself.
The Good News
When Honda sold Pilots back in 2016, the total number they sold was 121,000. Out of the models of Pilots that came out that year, there were only 123 transmission complaints (listed with the NHTSA). Even assuming that these were all emissions issue complaints, the incidence rate is low.
The incidence rate is only one in 1,000. Of course, however, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t worry at all about this potential issue.
Instead, be alert to any issues your car’s powertrain and engine might have.
Cylinder misfires can be serious. But even when they aren’t, they can cause you to burn excess fuel. As result, you’ll end up spending more on gas than if your car didn’t have its cylinders misfiring.
This said, there’s no need to lose sleep over this problem. The best thing to do is to catch it early. If you do, you can prevent the occurrence of long-term damage that would otherwise happen because of it.
Note that there’s another benefit that comes with checking your VIN. If there are any technical service bulletins for which you’re eligible, you’ll find out about these.
Simply put in your VIN. Then, if there’s any other issue in addition to the emissions system problem you need to deal with, you’ll know about it and be able to deal with it accordingly.
Need More Information?
Now that you’ve learned about the Honda Pilot emissions system problem, you might need more information about this car. Maybe you want to learn about other common issues. Or maybe you’re worried that your car is a lemon.
Whatever information you need, we at Robinson Lemon Law Group, LLC, can help. We’re experts when it comes to both car issues and lemon law.
We understand the lemon process, can address issues with both used and new lemon cars, and we know all about lemon laws in different states. To learn more about how we can help you, contact us now.
