2015 Honda Pilot

Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 17, 2026.

Fuel economy
20 mpgcombined; city 17–18, highway 24–25; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel
$16,240U.S. average; Ohio $14,510 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA overall safety rating
4 starslowest across the versions NHTSA tested
Recall campaigns
4over its history; check a VIN for open ones
Owner complaints
109filed with NHTSA; not adjusted for sales

Trims

NHTSA's VIN data lists these trims for the 2015 Pilot. A trim's engine and numbers are shown as its own only where EPA names versions after the trim and no other version could be it; "seen with" means a source shows that engine on the trim, not that it was the only one. Recalls and complaints cover the whole model year: whether a recall applies to a car depends on its VIN, on NHTSA's recall lookup.

Problems owners report

Owners have filed 109 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Pilot. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.

Complaints by part of the car
PartComplaintsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine22110
Unknown or other19106
Electrical system13010
Service brakes12201
Air bags11400
Power train11000
Structure10110
Suspension7100
Fuel/propulsion system6006
Visibility/wiper6000
Exterior lighting4000
Equipment3000
9 more parts
Steering3100
Vehicle speed control3000
Engine and engine cooling2000
Seat belts2000
Seats2000
Back over prevention1000
Lane departure1000
Tires1000
Visibility1000

Complaints by model year

Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.

  1. 2006268
  2. 2007211
  3. 2008133
  4. 2009134
  5. 2010111
  6. 2011293
  7. 2012171
  8. 2013271
  9. 2014116
  10. 2015109
  11. 20161,714
  12. 2017934
  13. 2018440
  14. 2019913
  15. 2020492
  16. 2021444
  17. 2022165
  18. 2023146
  19. 2024116
  20. 2025210
  21. 202623

Every Pilot year side by side

Recalls

NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for the 2015 Pilot over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.

Fuel system, gasoline: delivery

NHTSA campaign 23V858000 · reported Dec 18, 2023 · 2,490,460 vehicles potentially affected

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

NHTSA's record and documents

Air bags: frontal

NHTSA campaign 19V502000 · reported Jun 27, 2019 · 9,555 vehicles potentially affected

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. 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.

Remedy: 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.

NHTSA's record and documents

Air bags: frontal

NHTSA campaign 19V378000 · reported May 16, 2019 · 19,138 vehicles potentially affected

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

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.

Remedy: 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.

NHTSA's record and documents

Air bags: frontal

NHTSA campaign 18V661000 · reported Sep 27, 2018 · 1,355,406 vehicles potentially affected

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. 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.

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

Remedy: 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.

NHTSA's record and documents

Service bulletins and investigations

Carmakers sent NHTSA 85 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2015 Pilot, the latest on Feb 1, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.

The parts they mention most: service brakes (15), structure (13), engine and engine cooling (11), equipment (10), steering (10).

NHTSA defect investigations

Opening an investigation isn't a finding of a defect. Outcomes are as NHTSA's summary states them. A recall is shown as an investigation's outcome only where NHTSA's summary names it; other recalls NHTSA's file lists with it are marked as listed, not caused.

InvestigationPartOpenedStatus
Recall query RQ24013
Engine failure · covers 2 makes
EngineNov 8, 2024Closed Aug 20, 2025
NHTSA's summary names recall 23V751000
NHTSA's record and documents

Maintenance

Oil

The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2015 Pilot.

Oil change near you: Jiffy Lube · Take 5

Used ones for sale

See used 2015 Honda Pilots for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax

These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.

Specs

EPA class: small sport utility vehicle. EPA greenhouse gas score: 5 out of 10. Each version EPA tested:

VersionEngineTransmissionFuelCity / hwy / comb
Pilot
Front-Wheel Drive
3.5 L, 6 cylAutomatic 5-spdRegular Gasoline18 / 25 / 20
Pilot
All-Wheel Drive
3.5 L, 6 cylAutomatic 5-spdRegular Gasoline17 / 24 / 20

Sources and dates

Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data