Honda Pilot Owners Say Infotainment System is Distracting, Dangerous

The “infotainment” systems in Honda Pilot vehicles may pose a safety risk to drivers due to the distracting screen.

The Honda Pilot is marketed as a “modern family SUV” with three rows of seating, plenty of cargo space, and modern technology. Some of the technological advancements for the Pilot include smart phone integration, wireless phone charging, and the vehicle’s “infotainment” system – an 8-inch touch screen that controls audio, navigation, and other functions.

“From its updated looks to a versatile interior and upgraded technology, the Pilot outclasses the competition,” the Honda website claims. The Pilot scored a positive review from US News car rankings, giving it 8.3 out of 10.

Infotainment System Problems

However, the Honda Pilot infotainment screen may be finicky at best, according to some owners’ complaints. When the Pilot was first out in late 2018, Car and Driver wrote that the infotainment system was the “Achilles’ heel” of the van due to its “fussy” nature and “outdated” feel. Unfortunately, the “frustrating to use” touchscreen of the system may require significant attention in order to work – attention that may be directed from the road.

These issues prompted a class action lawsuit recently filed in California federal court.

In the Honda class action lawsuit, plaintiffs claim that the defects associated with the infotainment system causes the screen to crash or freeze unexpectedly. If the infotainment system crashes while a driver is attempting to navigate, drivers can, and usually are, distracted from the road. Especially if drivers are relying on the infotainment system for navigation or to watch their children in the back of the vehicle, the sudden lapse in functionality can allegedly cause dangerous distraction.

Plaintiffs in the Honda class action lawsuit claim that the auto vehicle manufacturer knew or should have known that their vehicle feature was defective but failed to fix the issues. Instead, participants say the company reportedly allowed 2019 Pilot vehicles to be sold to consumers with another defective infotainment system.

“Honda either knew of the defect before marketing the Vehicles or failed to conduct adequate testing of the Vehicles system prior to its release,” claims drivers participating in the Honda class action lawsuit. “Regardless, soon after the release of the vehicles, Honda must have known of the defect based on the numerous customer complaints it received, and yet Honda continued to market the vehicles.”

Consumers are allegedly unable to seek effective repairs for their vehicle due to Honda’s inability to fix the problem. Instead of resolving the problem, owners claim Honda replaces the defective parts with other defective parts. One Honda owner allegedly tried to have their infotainment system repaired eight times without success.

Plaintiffs include owners of the Pilot and also the Honda Odyssey, which is allegedly equipped with the same infotainment system. Consumer Reports allegedly downgraded its Odyssey rating to “no longer recommended” due to “much-worse-than-average reliability, with problems including the infotainment display freezing and losing all functionality.”

In addition to the Odyssey and Pilot, the allegedly defective infotainment system is also installed in Acura RDX vehicles from model year 2019.

Plaintiffs in the current lawsuit seek to represent a Class of consumers across the country who purchased 2018 and 2019 Honda Odyssey vehicles or 2019 Honda Pilot vehicles. The Honda Odyssey Class Action Lawsuit is Conti, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 2:19-cv-02160, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.

Join a Free Honda Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own or lease a 2018-2019 Honda Odyssey, a 2019 Honda Pilot, or a 2019 Acura RDX and have experienced problems with the vehicle’s Infotainment Display, you may be entitled to compensation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.