2008 Honda Pilot: Best bet

1. Air bags10% · 3 complaints
2. Powertrain17% · 5 complaints
3. Engine14% · 4 complaints
4. Steering14% · 4 complaints
5. Electrical14% · 4 complaints
6. Body and structure14% · 4 complaints
7. Fuel and propulsion10% · 3 complaints
8. Lights14% · 4 complaints
9. Visibility14% · 4 complaints
10. Brakes7% · 2 complaints

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

• NHTSA 19V499000June 20193,947 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 19V501000June 20191,657,752 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 19V182000March 20191,101,534 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 18V268000April 20181,335 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 17V029000January 2017308,884 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 16V344000May 20161,790,894 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

• NHTSA 15V320000May 20156,281,043 vehicles

  Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module

  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.

  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.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Honda sent NHTSA 39 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2008 Pilot. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

• A18-050 · June 2026Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
• A20-015 · May 2022This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators.
• DOR-M3J3F-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.
• DOR-M9J4S-07 · June 2020These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters.
• A20-010 · March 2020This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators.
• A18-053 · June 2018This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators.
• A18-047 · May 2018This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators.
• A15-040 · December 2015"service bulletin - american honda consolidated the previous airbag inflator campaigns into this current bulletin based on decisions made by NHTSA.

All 2008 Pilot bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2008 Honda Pilot reliable?

Owners filed 29 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Honda Pilot in its first five years on the road, about 29 for every 100,000 sold: 0.3× the rate of a typical Pilot year. That's among the fewest of any Pilot year. Ratings compare Pilot years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.

What are the most common 2008 Pilot problems?

Owners' complaints most often involve the air bags (10%), the powertrain (transmission and drivetrain) (17%) and the engine (14%). A complaint can name more than one area.

Has the 2008 Honda Pilot been recalled?

Yes. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2008 Honda Pilot, the most recent in June 2019 (air bags). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.