Honda Replaces 2017 Pilot Engine Free After Lawmakers Step In
Honda gave a Maryland family a free engine for a 2017 Pilot with 56,000 miles after a $25,000 quote and a letter from two lawmakers. No recall covers that year.
Honda installed a new engine at no cost in a 2017 Honda Pilot with 56,000 miles after a Maryland family was quoted $25,000 for the repair and a U.S. senator and a congressman wrote to the company, according to Torque News, which cited reports from MotorBiscuit and local station WJLA. Honda has not added 2017 Pilots to any recall for the problem.
The company told WJLA it wanted the engine to study the issue. Owners of other 2017 Pilots with the same failure have no announced remedy.
A rattle at startup and a $25,000 estimate
Andy Shea of Chevy Chase, Maryland, bought the Pilot for his daughter. She later heard a rattle when the engine started. The dealership diagnosed a failed rod bearing, a part that supports the connecting rods inside the engine, and quoted $25,000.
Shea expected Honda to help, since federal regulators were already looking at the problem. Honda told him it would not or could not, citing mileage and warranty. Shea noted the SUV had only 56,000 miles. The family parked the vehicle for more than a year.
The federal investigation and the recall gap
The federal probe into rod-bearing failures covered more than 1.4 million Hondas and Acuras, including 2017 Pilots. Torque News reported that Honda itself had logged 2,500 reports of the issue, and that seven fires or crashes were possibly caused by it. No recall followed for that problem.
A separate 2023 recall covered a different connecting-rod defect. It applied to model years 2016, 2018 and 2019 Pilots, but not 2017.
How the repair got approved
WJLA reported the family’s story. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Jaime Raskin, both of Maryland, then sent Honda a letter with six questions about why the problem was occurring and why the company would not pay for the fix. Honda afterward replaced the engine for free.
Honda told WJLA that “a detailed inspection of the engine in this vehicle may assist in advancing our analysis of this market issue.” Torque News read this as a sign Honda does not plan to expand the recall list.
Maintenance and warranty questions
Torque News reported that both the original owner and the Sheas changed the oil about every 5,000 miles, more often than the 7,500 miles Honda recommends.
The Pilot’s powertrain warranty runs 5 years or 60,000 miles, while the bumper-to-bumper warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles. At 56,000 miles, the vehicle was within the powertrain mileage limit. The timing is unclear: it is not known when the SUV was parked or when the problem began, though Torque News said the family appears to have first brought it in before the five years ran out. It is also unknown whether Honda has turned away other 2017 Pilot owners with the same repair.
What this means for 2017 Pilot owners and used buyers
The free engine applies to one vehicle. Honda has announced no change in policy for other 2017 Pilots. Owners can check any vehicle’s open recalls by entering the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, and recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. The 2017 Pilot does not appear in the 2023 connecting-rod recall.
Maintenance records matter in a dispute like this one. The Sheas’ regular oil changes undercut any suggestion that neglect caused the failure.
Source: Torque News
