Model Years

2012 Honda Pilot Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 9 safety recalls and 171 owner complaints for the 2012 Honda Pilot.

Recalled components: air bags and fuel system. Most-described problem: shaking, shuddering or vibration (44 complaints, 26%). Most-reported area: engine (35 complaints, 20%; median mileage when it happened: 22,600).

Fewer complaints than a typical Pilot year

The 2012 drew 66 owner complaints in its first three years, against about 122 for a typical Pilot year. Best years are picked only from 2016 on, since counts for older years say less: owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s.

No Pilot year stands out enough to avoid. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.

Every Pilot year ranked

9Safety recalls
171Owner complaints
17Complaints citing a crash
3Complaints citing a fire

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Honda dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

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Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

9 safety recalls for the 2012 Honda Pilot

Grouped by the part recalled, largest group first, newest first within each part. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for what is wrong, the fix and the full notice.

Air bags 8 recalls

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Jun 27, 2019

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

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.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger 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 F5F and Q5E.

9,555 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2014 TSX Sport Wagon, 2010-2013 ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic and Civic Hybrid, 2008-2010 Civic GX NGV, 2012-2015 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2014 Fit EV, 2010-2014 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign F5F, Q5E.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

May 16, 2019

Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal air bag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M4O, P4R, T4Q, and W4P.

19,138 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2013 TSX Sport Wagon, and 2010-2012 ZDX and 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, 2012-2014 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2013 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign M4O, P4R, T4Q, W4P.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Sep 27, 2018

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

Honda is also recalling certain 2011-2013 Acura TSX, TSX Wagon and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Insight, Fit and Pilot vehicles, 2011-2012 Honda Accord and 2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the 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. Lastly, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot, 2011-2013 TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord and 2010-2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles 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 air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M2J and S2K.

1,355,406 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014 Honda Insight and Acura TSX and TSX Wagon, 2014-2015 Honda Crosstour and Pilot vehicles nationwide, as well as certain 2014 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, California, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign M2J, S2K.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Apr 26, 2018

Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.

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.

1,335 vehicles.

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.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign C1X, N2L, U2M.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Jan 9, 2018

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

Additionally, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2012 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Accord Crosstour, Fit and Pilot, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V, and 2010 Acura ZDX and Honda Insight vehicles ever registered in the states of 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." Unless included in Zones A or B above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Fit, and Pilot vehicles ever registered in the states of 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 or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are B0K and L0J.

691,726 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX, ZDX, Honda Accord Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot vehicles, 2011-13 Acura TSX Sportswagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord,, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles and 2013 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles ever registered in the states of 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."

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign B0K, L0J.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Aug 31, 2017

Risk: In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal air bag inflator may deploy the air bag improperly, increasing the risk of injury.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

One dealership may have incorrectly installed the replacement air bag inflators.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are O07, Y0A, N06, G05, M04, Y01, and O09.

3,257 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 Accord, 2010-2012 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2012 Fit and Pilot, 2010-2012 Insight, and 2009-2012 Acura TSX vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign O07,Y0A,N06,G05,M04.

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Jan 10, 2017

Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Fit and Pilot, 2008-2009 Honda Accord, 2006-2009 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, and 2007-2009 Honda CR-V 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 B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2008 Honda Accord, 2006-2008 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV and 2007-2008 Honda CR-V 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.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KE1 and KE2.

977,708 vehicles.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Acura TSX, 2011-2012 Acura TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Acura ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2012 Honda Accord Crosstour and Honda Insight, 2009-2012 Honda Fit, 2009-2012 Pilot, 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2012 Honda FCX Clarity and 2006-2011 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic NGV 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."

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign KE1, KE2.

Air bags

Jan 18, 2013

Risk: The absence of more than one rivet could alter the performance of the driver's airbag during deployment. This could potentially increase the risk of injury during a crash.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

One or more rivets that attach the airbag module to the airbag cover may be missing.

Fix: Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda dealer. The dealer will inspect the driver's airbag module and replace it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 14, 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.

748,481 vehicles.

Honda's recall campaign number is S75.

Honda is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Pilot and 2011-2013 Odyssey passenger vehicles manufactured from March 13, 2008, through December 21, 2012.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign S75.

Fuel system 1 recall

storage · tank assembly

Feb 17, 2012

Risk: As a result, fuel may leak from the tank, increasing the risk of fire.

What's wrong, the fix and the full notice

The vent shut float (vsf) valve case in the fuel tank assembly does not meet the design specifications.

Fix: Honda will notify owners and dealers will inspect the vsf assembly date and, if necessary, replace the fuel tank assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on march 13, 2012. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.

8,709 vehicles.

Honda's recall campaign number is s25 and s26.customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Honda is recalling certain model year 2012 pilot and acura mdx vehicles.

NHTSA listing: PILOT. Honda campaign S25, S26.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2012 Honda Pilot.

What owners report

Owners have filed 171 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Pilot. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Honda Pilot recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2012 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2020 Pilot drew the most (206) and the 2012 drew 66.

Owner complaints

2012: 171 complaints

Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Honda Pilot
Model yearComplaints
2010111
2011293
2012171
2013271
2014116
2015109
20161,709
2017929
2018440
2019907
2020489
2021436
2022160
2023144
2024114
2025202
202622

Safety recalls

2012: 9 recalls

Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Honda Pilot
Model yearRecalls
201010
201111
20129
20136
20143
20154
20168
20174
20187
201913
202011
202110
20225
20235
20246
20254
20261

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

Tested versionOverallFrontalSideRollover
Honda Pilot SUV 4WD
Rollover risk 16.4%
Honda Pilot SUV FWD
Rollover risk 17.4%

2012 Pilot MPG

EPA rates the 2012 Honda Pilot up to 20 mpg combined.Every version and fuel cost

Questions

What are the most common 2012 Pilot problems?

In the 171 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Honda Pilot, the problems described most are shaking, shuddering or vibration (44), hesitation or slow acceleration (12), and misfires or rough running (8). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.

Is the 2012 Honda Pilot safe?

In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2012 Honda Pilot earns 4 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.

Is NHTSA investigating the 2012 Honda Pilot?

No. NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2012 Honda Pilot.

How do I check if my Pilot has an open recall?

Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Honda dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

Sources and method

  • NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Oct 2, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
  • NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
  • NHTSA investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
  • NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
  • NHTSA model names covered: PILOT.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.