2012 Honda Pilot

On April 9, 2026, my daughter came in from school and parked her Honda Pilot at about 5:10PM. At about 7:03PM, my wife and I were sitting outside and heard a loud POP, it sounded like a car backfiring. I went to investigate and saw a little smoke and a small orange glowing piece of something on the ground under the vehicle towards the front of the vehicle. I grab a fire extinguisher from my work truck and went towards the vehicle. The car was locked and I saw flames under the hood standing by the driver door looking down where the windshield wipers are. I used the extinguisher till it was empty and the flames kept getting worse. I just walked away and my wife was already calling 911. No one was hurt no damage to any exposures. My daughter did not indicate that anything was wrong with the vehicle. No lights on, no smells, everything ran fine. It had 154,000 miles on it. I do have RING video footage of the event. I did file a claim with my insurance and sent them the video footage.

My 2012 Honda Pilot is experiencing the same engine defect that Honda acknowledged in later model years (2013–2015) and issued recalls/extended warranty coverage for. The defect involves the Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system causing excessive oil consumption, spark plug fouling, cylinder misfire, rough idle, fuel odor, and drivability issues that create an unsafe driving condition. I brought the vehicle to a Honda dealership in 2023 due to rough idle and a strong fuel smell — symptoms consistent with Technical Service Bulletin 13-082 for misfire and piston ring failure in 2009–2013 Honda Pilots. The dealer did not repair the issue or disclose that this matched a known defect. The vehicle now exhibits severe engine performance issues that pose a safety risk, including hesitation, engine shuddering, loss of power during acceleration, and strong fuel odor that may indicate improper combustion. Honda has issued recalls and warranty extensions for the identical defect on 2013 and newer Honda Pilot models with the same 3.5L V6 VCM engine but refuses to repair or acknowledge the defect for my 2012 Pilot, even though it uses the same engine architecture and has the same symptoms. This discrepancy indicates a potential gap in recall coverage that leaves owners of 2012 Pilots with a known safety-related defect unprotected. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate why the 2012 Pilot was excluded, despite identical engine design and failure patterns.

AS I PROCEED TO ACCELERATE ONTO A HIGHWAY OR ROAD MY VEHICLE IS VERY HESITANT NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU PUSH DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL IT WILL NOT GO AND THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN IT LURCHES ACCELERATING THE SPEED VERY FAST AS IF IT'S TRYING TO CATCH UP. THIS HAS CAUSED ME TO ALMOST I HAVE THREE ACCIDENTS NOW. I HAVE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN ENTERING AN INTERSECTION OR PULLING ONTO A FREEWAY AS MY VEHICLE DECLINES TO ACCELERATE AS IT NEEDS TO CAUSING PEOPLE TO RUN INTO ME ALMOST. IT IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DELAY FOR THE VEHICLE TO CATCH UP ON ITS OWN AND COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS FOR ANYONE. I HAVE READ SEVERAL COLUMNS WHERE CUSTOMERS WITH HONDA PILOTS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME ORDEAL AND YET IT'S HARD TO TAKE TO A DEALERSHIP AND EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON AND THEN GET IN THE CAR AND IT NOT HAPPEN RIGHT AWAY BUT MY CAR DOES IT ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU TRY TO ACCELERATE ON TO ANY ROAD. THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BEFORE IT CAUSES A LIFE

MY CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED FOR NO KNOWN REASON AND THE BRAKES WOULD NOT STOP THE CAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED 2 TIME IN ONE WEEK. FIRST TIME IT WAS MOVING AT A VERY SLOW RATE AS I WAS COMING TO A STOP AT A STOP LIGHT. THE SECOND TIME I WAS SITTING IN LINE AT A DRIVE THRU, WAITING TO MOVE FORWARD, WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND WHEN I PUSHED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IT WENT TO THE FLOOR AND WOULD NOT STOP THE CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY GARAGE AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING THIS BUT I AM NOT SURE IF I SHOULD KEEP THIS CAR, AFTER I REPAIR THE DAMAGE OR GET ANOTHER CAR? PLEASE CHECK CARCOMPLAINTS.COM

SOMETIMES WHEN STARTING OUT AND MAKING LEFT OR RIGHT HAND TURN AFTER BEING STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT OR STOP SIGN, THE ENGINE WILL HESITATE AND BOG DOWN FOR A FEW SECONDS BEFORE IT "KICKS IN" AND THEN THERE IS A "SURGE OF POWER". THIS IS VERY ANNOYING AT THE LEAST AND ALSO VERY DANGEROUS AS ONE COULD EASILY GET REARENDED OR WORSE YET GET CAUGHT IN THE INTERSECTION IN ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON 3 OCCASIONS AND EACH TIME I WAS BARELY ABLE TO ACCELERATE ENOUGH TO CLEAR THE INTERSECTION. THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS TO HONDA DEALERS OF THIS EXISTING PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE FAILED TO TAKE ANY CORRECTIVE ACTION OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM. SOMEONE'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE KILLED BEFORE THIS GETS THEIR ATTENTION. SEE LINK BELOW OF COMPLAINTS. HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2012/HONDA/PILOT/VEHICLE_SPEED_CONTROL/PROBLEM.ASPX. *TR

ON APRIL 30 2014 MY WIFE [XXX] ENTERED THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA CAMPUS IN THE 2012 HONDA PILOT. SHE APPROACHED THE GUARD BOOTH AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS CAN BE VERIFIED AS THE GUARD STOPPED HER AND THEY HAD A BRIEF CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE TO PARK. [XXX] THEN ACCELERATED OUT OF THE GUARD BOOTH WHILE MAKING AN IMMEDIATE LOW SPEED RIGHT TURN DOWN A RAMP INTO A PARKING GARAGE. FROM THIS POINT THE HONDA PILOT CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE DOWN THE RAMP AS SHE APPLIED THE BRAKES. THE CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL AND FAILED TO BRAKE. IT JUMPED A SMALL MEDIAN AND EVENTUALLY HIT A CONCRETE BLOCK WALL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RAMP. [XXX] MAINTAINS THAT SHE WAS APPLYING THE BRAKES DURING THE DESCENT DOWN THE RAMP UP THE MOMENT OF IMPACT AND THE CAR WAS STILL CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE AND BRAKES DID NOT RESPOND. I CONTACTED HONDA AND SUBMITTED A WRITTEN REQUEST THAT THE EVENT DATA RECORDER (EDR) BE TESTED. A REPRESENTATIVE FROM HONDA CALLED ME ON SEPTEMBER 6 (I WAS ONLY GIVEN A FIRST NAME OF [XXX]) HE EXPLAINED THAT ON OR ABOUT AUGUST 19 A TECHNICIAN EXAMINED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THAT NO PRE ACCIDENT DATA COULD BE RECOVERED. HE EXPLAINED THAT WHILE THE 2012 HONDA PILOT HAS AN EDR ONLY SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE THE ABILITY TO RECORD PRE ACCIDENT DATA AND THAT MINE DID NOT HAVE THIS ABILITY. HE ALSO SAID THAT I WOULD NOT RECEIVE A REPORT OR ANY CONFIRMATION IN WRITING ABOUT THE INCIDENT OR SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE VEHICLE. THE OWNER MANUAL INDICATES THAT EDRS HAS THE ABILITY TO RECORD DATA UP TO 30 SECONDS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT IT WILL REPORT IF THE ACCELERATOR OR BRAKE WAS BEING ACTIVATED AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT. IT WILL ALSO INDICATE THE VEHICLE SPEED. MY REQUEST IS THAT HONDA FOLLOW THROUGH AND TEST THE EDR TO DETERMINE IF THE BRAKES AND OR ACCELERATOR MALFUNCTIONED AS [XXX] MAINTAINS AND SUPPLY THE RESULTS TO ME. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND VTM4 LIGHT COME ON AFTER OVER AN HOUR OF DRIVING. SOMETIMES THE WHOLE INSIDE OF THE CAR SMELLS HAS WHILE DRIVING AND THE FUEL CONSUMPTION IS NOT EFFICIENT. IN ADDITION WHEN THE CAR SITS IN THE GARAGE FOR A FEW DAYS, MAYBE 2-3, AND I START DRIVING, THE WHEELS MAKE SOME DEEP BRUSHING NOISE. THIS GETS WORST WHEN I BRAKE. SOMETIMES IT SMELLS LIKE SOMETHING IS BURNING UNDER THE HOOD OR AROUND THE ENGINE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE REFUELING, FUEL SPEWED FROM THE FILLER NECK. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 12V063000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 12,000.