KnownCarProblems2006 Honda Pilot Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 268 complaints with NHTSA about the 2006 Honda Pilot, most often about the air bags (23% of complaints, typically around 96,000 miles). It is 12th of 24 Pilot model years by number of complaints and has 8 recalls.
Most common 2006 Honda Pilot problems
Air bags
61 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and having to abruptly apply the brakes, he crashed into a vehicle stopped ahead of him. The air bags did not deploy and the windshield was shattered. The contact sustained minor injuries to the back. The police were contacted…
While driving on interstate, suddenly the wheel jerked to the left and my vehicle crashed into the median guard rail then veered back across the road to stop on an embankment. The cause of the wheel jerking to the left is unknown. Fortunately there were no other vehicles involved. When the driver's side curtain airbag…
Brakes
34 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 87,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, foundation components.
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. While driving 40 MPH, the wheels seized when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was towed to Honda windward (45-671 kamehameha hwy, kaneohe, hi 96744, ([phone]) where it was diagnosed that the ABS modulator needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
While driving the ABS and vsa lights went on and I had to make a rapid stop when a car pulled in front and the my car swerved suddenly and I almost lost control, with the sensation that it was going to turn over. This has continued every time I put the brakes on quickly to make a sudden stop.
Engine
32 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Check engine light and vtm light both come on sometimes steady sometimes flashing. Told by several garages including Honda dealer that a misfire shows on diagnostic test. Most resent garage check mechanic states probably due to valves needing replaced which could be a $3,200 fix. No recall but no real answers. One…
Hello,I have a Honda Pilot 06 I am just going to a bad rap now my car engine had a miss fire on cylinder 2 and 5 and on top of all that my piston is blown but I had a warranty 100000.00 what are the odds the expire because my engine just hit 100331 they would not honor it they saying it cause by the spark plug for…
Body and structure
26 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 155,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Noticed clear coat non existent on most of vehicle. Vehicle is white and you can wipe your hand over most any area (wet or dry) and you will have white paint on your hand.
While pulling into a parking lot a loud bang happend in our 2006 Honda Pilot. We thought we had bottomed out. It turns out that the rear subframe, suspension, and drive train had fallen out of the rear crossmember. This is due to premature rust and inadequate metal used in the rear subframe. The rear subframe and…
Stability control
23 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 116,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic (asc).
Voice commands shutting radio off putting radio on air on air off asking to repeat .dashboard lights going haywire lost all electrical to dashboard instruments car started vibrating while driving replaced battery and alternator and battery light flashing on and off but battery and alternator testing fine car…
While I was driving out of my husband work parking lot only going 20mpg in my truck started brakes made a loud noise and the steering wheel began going to the right which made me force to turn the wheel to the left so I can stabilize the vehicle the vsa light came on as I proceeded to check out my truck well the truck…
Speed control
20 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. The contact was driving 25 MPH when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact stated that the failure would occur sporadically and on numerous occasions. The failure caused the contact to be involved in two crashes. The contact was uninjured yet the air bags did not deploy in…
Tl contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that he had an issue with the engine speeding up suddenly even when he took his foot off of the gas pedal. He was forced to shift gear into neutral and turn the vehicle off. He called the dealer and was told to re-start the vehicle and see if it would happen…
Suspension
18 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 165,000 miles.
While pulling into a parking lot a loud bang happend in our 2006 Honda Pilot. We thought we had bottomed out. It turns out that the rear subframe, suspension, and drive train had fallen out of the rear crossmember. This is due to premature rust and inadequate metal used in the rear subframe. The rear subframe and…
I was pulling away from my parking space when I heard a large thunk. Vtm-4, vsa, ABS, and [!] lights all went on and the vehicle was making an odd noise. After getting home and noticing that the rear was sitting lower, I looked at the undercarriage and saw that the trailing arms had completely come detached from the…
Electrical
18 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument panel.
Most of button lights on climate control dash and cruise/vsa/sunroof stopped working. I believe they burnt out. Happened to lots of Honda owner too. Honda dealership asks for $200-300 to fix this. It's ridiculously expensive to fix their mistake.
The contact owns a 2006 Honda Pilot. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut off and would not restart. During the failure, the ignition key warning indicator illuminated. When the contact removed the key from the ignition switch and inserted the spare key, the vehicle operated normally. An…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2006 Honda Pilot recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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, ke
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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 rec
Full defect summary
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.
Equipment: owners/service/other manual
Risk: The language in the owner's manuals is not in accordance with the current mandatory requirements.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Questions about the 2006 Honda Pilot
- What are the most common problems with the 2006 Honda Pilot?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (61 complaints, typically around 96,000 miles); brakes (34 complaints, typically around 87,000 miles); engine (32 complaints, typically around 100,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2006 Honda Pilot have?
- 8 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 27, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2006 a bad year for the Honda Pilot?
- It is 12th of 24 Pilot model years by number of complaints, with 268 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.