2006 Honda Pilot: problems, recalls and reliability
10 recalls and 266 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (22% of complaints); the 2008 model year looks more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Oct 2019
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 266 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2006 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was an auction sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 74,009 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 300,151.”Owner report · Electrical System · Sep 2025
“When I got into the vehicle this morning, I opened the door and smoke came out from inside, then I noticed in the driver's seat there was fire from the control panel of the driver's seat. Where the fire affected the seat, the seat belt and the interior panel of the driver's door.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jul 2025
“The Vehicle Stability Assit (VSA) system in activating inappropriately causing the vehicle to brake unexpectedly. There is a Honda Service Bulletin (13-026) for this problem for 2005 Honda Pilots. Well, the same problem is happening to my 2006 Pilot.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jul 2025
Show 7 more owner reports
“Rear suspension cradle attachment points at the frame corrode. This is common on all pilots in northern climates. Honda has recalled both the Ridgeline and CRV models for corrosion issues related to suspension attachment point corrosion but refuses to recall the pilot. While they claim you will not lose control when the suspension disconnects from the frame the vehicle cannot pass inspection and thus becomes disposable. When vehicles are otherwise perfect this is not acceptable from both safety and fiscal aspects. Please investigate this further as Honda has a repair kit and guidelines but charges thousands for the work .”Owner report · Structure · Apr 2025
“While driving, the seat came off the base and something was loose, the seat basically will fall back if you just lean back, while stop and go the seat will also move back, something is loose or broken, this is a defect from Honda. Yes this can be inspected upon request this is dangerous because the seat can break off and just fall back anytime not only impact the driver safety while it can also hurt someone sitting behind it No the seat has not been inspected by anyone other during oil change check was told to have someone to look at it. No there is no warning or message or any symptoms before the failure”Owner report · Seats · Oct 2024
“The contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that following a State Safety Inspection, the vehicle failed due to extensive corrosion to the rear suspension and to the rear trailing arm. The contact was advised by the State Inspector not to drive the vehicle due to the advanced state of corrosion. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V228000 (Structure). The contact had called the manufacturer and was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.”Owner report · Structure · Jul 2024
“Hi Honda pallet is completely rusted out and corroded on the back underneath. My mechanic said it is dangerous. The left-hand side could literally fall out while driving and this is not something normally seen even with the car being older”Owner report · Structure · Mar 2024
“The car was making a lot of noise, so we took it to the shop. Upon investigation, they told us we were lucky we hadn't had a catastrophic failure as the frame was rusted through. We were told not to drive it further. The car has been well taken care of.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Mar 2024
“235/70R16 I purchased 4 Michelin defender LXT tires, on 02/06/2024. I had to have all the tires rebalanced. The tire shop. Said said all tires were 1 1/2 to 2 oz off. This problem should not be occurring in such a short period of time. Repair was made on 02/20/2024”Owner report · Tires · Feb 2024
“While driving at night, with rain and fog, the low beam headlights became extremely dim which made it impossible to see the road. Surprisingly both low beam headlights went dim, not effective at all, I had to depend on my fog lights for a bit of visibility. Could it be the headlamp, turn signal switch on the column that has gone bad?? So dangerous, my wife was almost shaking as we slowly made our way home, and we live in the country so scary drive home.”Owner report · Exterior Lighting · Feb 2024
When filing, owners marked a crash in 23 of these complaints and injuries in 119 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 10 campaigns
Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain Accelerator Pedal Assemblies part numbers 699-114 and 825-5029-1, sold as replacement parts for 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2004-2008 Acura TL and TSX, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2007-2011 Honda Element, 2005-2008 Honda Pilot and 2006-2014 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The rotating portion of the accelerator pedal assembly may bind. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 124, "Accelerator Control Systems."
Remedy: Dorman will notify owners, and qualified service facilities will replace the affected accelerator pedal assemblies, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2019. Owners may contact Dorman customer service at 1-800-523-2492, using option 5. Dorman's number for this recall is AS1019XXXX.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2008 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2008 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2008 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling model year 2002-2004 Odyssey and model year 2003-2004 Acura MDX, Honda Element, and Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KA0, KA1, KA2, and KA3.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after September 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already received an inflator of a different design, and therefore are not included in this recall and do not require additional servicing. Note: This recall fully supersedes recalls 08V-593, 09V-259, 10V-041, 11V-260, 14V-351 and 15V-153. Honda's numbers for this recall are JQ9, JR0, JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, JR5, JR6, JR7, and JR8.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are E5D and X5C.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES, THE OWNER'S MANUALS CONTAIN INCORRECT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S (NHTSA) VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE.
Remedy: HONDA WILL SEND A POSTCARD TO DEALERS AND OWNERS WITH THE CORRECT NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE INFORMATION AND WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO INSERT THE CARD INTO THE "REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS" SECTION OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 2, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009, ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238 OR HONDA MOTORCYCLES AT 1-866-784-1870.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2009 Acura RL and Honda Element vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles, 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles and 2006-2009 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2008 Acura RL, Honda Element and Honda Pilot vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2006-2008 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall bagan March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KD9 and KE0.
HONDA IS RECALLING 2,032 HITCH STYLE BIKE RACKS SOLD AS AFTERMARKET FOR USE ON MY 2003-2007 AND SOME MY 2008 HONDA PILOT, RIDGELINE, AND ACURA MDX VEHICLES. A PINCH BOLT EXISTS BETWEEN THE BIKE ARM BRACKET AND THE UPRIGHT ASSEMBLY OF THE "HITCH" STYLE BICYCLE RACK.
Remedy: OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT THULE AT 800-THULE91 (800-848-5391) TO OBTAIN A FREE REPAIR KIT ALONG WITH REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS OR OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 Honda Accord and Pilot, 2010 Accord Crosstour, 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 Element, 2007 and 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2012 Insight, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2012 Ridgeline vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 22, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are K1P, and M1O.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2006 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact Pilot by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2006 Honda Pilot reliable?
NHTSA has 266 owner complaints and 10 recall campaigns on record for the 2006 Honda Pilot. The most complained-about area is air bags (22% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2006 Honda Pilot problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 100,311 miles or less.
Does the 2006 Honda Pilot have open recalls?
10 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.