KnownCarProblems2016 Honda Pilot Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,715 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Honda Pilot, most often about the engine (48% of complaints, typically around 70,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Pilot model year since 2000 and has 8 recalls.
Most common 2016 Honda Pilot problems
Engine
817 complaints · 48%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
My vehicle has been cutting off, all power including all computer screens/dashboard/steering, which last 2-5 seconds, then cuts back on. The RPM will rev up to the 4-6 thousand range and at times the vehicle will no go over 45mph. This has happened at 35 MPH to 70mph. While in park, absolutely no gear engaged, the…
2016 Honda Pilot , 68441 miles on it. Emissions system problem displayed on dash. Service advises it needs a software update and that there will be a charge for it. Complaint filed with Honda. Customer should not be charged for software updates that the manufacturer failed to get right. Imagine if you had to pay for…
Electrical
580 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 49,000 miles. Parts named most often: starter assembly, software, alternator/generator/regulator, ignition.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. While the vehicle was stationary and while driving various speeds, the "auto idle disabler" feature engaged on several occasions. The vehicle stalled without warning after the brake pedal was depressed at a stop light. Three weeks later, while driving approximately 15 MPH on the…
The car stalls intermittently when auto idle stop is engaged and car is stationary. Instead of the engine starting up again after take foot off the brake and press the gas pedal, the car stalls completely and have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. Sometimes…
Other or unspecified
292 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles.
An error with the "keyless start system" keeps re-occurring. An error code "keyless start system problem" shows up. Did a google search and this seems to be a common issue with 2016 Honda pilots.
I have a message on the dash saying 'keyless start system problem' I changed batteries on both keyfobs and problem still occurring. Can someone help me
Transmission
201 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 47,500 miles.
9 speed transmission goes into neutral at highway speeds 2x. On both occasions, had to pull over to shoulder with no power. Very dangerous. Honda is replacing transmission with 48k miles on car. They are not extending the warranty on a known issue with this transmission.
While traveling on I-95 at about 75 MPH, every warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The car slowed down and changed into neutral. We were able to coast to the shoulder but the car in park. We did not turn the car off bc we wanted A/C as long as possible (occurred on june in ga, hot). The car would not go…
Fuel system
191 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 55,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, fuel injection system.
On friday, 2/21, the 'emissions system problem' came on my dash (again). Dropped it off at the dealer on monday, 2/24. We were told the fuel injectors all needed to be replaced. Then we got a call back that after they got in there, all the seals needed to be replaced too. I have only had this brand new car for 4 years…
Warning light: emission systems problem I purchased the car at around 56,000 miles from a non-Honda dealership. This light first appeared around 58,000 miles when I turned the car on in my driveway to go to work. I called my local mechanic (I.e not a Honda dealership) to ask to bring it in for diagnosis, but by the…
Body and structure
54 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 15,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
If it is windy, I'd um traveling over 65 MPH or if a drive alongside a big rig the hood of my car flexes in four directions (when two or more of these factors come together it is quite bad). I've pulled over to be sure it is closed correctly (it is) but the problem persists. It feels as if the hood is going to fly up.…
My family was in our 2016 Honda Pilot touring. We stopped our vehicle and started to get out. My eleven year old niece was sitting in the middle seat of the second row. She was in between my two sons, both in carseats. When she removed her seatbelt the belt quickly snapped back and the buckle hit my three year old in…
Speed control
39 complaints · 2%Half of these problems showed up before 31,000 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact took the vehicle to bob lanphere beaverton Honda (10760 sw canyon rd, beaverton, or 97005) for scheduled maintenance. Two weeks later, the vehicle accelerated spontaneously while driving approximately 45 MPH. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they wanted to…
I was traveling on a two lane highway at a speed of around 75mph. I needed to slow down so pulled my foot off accelerator and slowed by about 10mph. When I went to accelerate again I had no power and the car began to decelerate for the next 10-15 seconds. I had no power and had a car coming in close behind me and a…
Stability control
37 complaints · 2%Half of these problems showed up before 37,000 miles.
The TPMS system isn't monitoring the wheels sensors. The sensors were check and are good. The problem is that TPMS system that not appear in the control panel to reset this. The light of TPMS system is on all the time. This occured to 37,000 milles aprox.
I was driving in stop and go traffic on a freeway, my foot was on the brake and car was in drive, when I took my foot off break and pushed gas pedal the car would not go. I tried to put it in park and it would not go, I tried to turn off car and it wouldn't turn off. The message on the dashboard said to push brake and…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 Honda Pilot recalls
Suspension: rear
Risk: Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed july 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are aou and aot. Vehicle identification numbers (vins) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning june 10, 2026.
Full defect summary
American honda motor company (honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 honda pilot, 2017-2023 ridgeline, 2019-2023 passport, and 2014-2020 acura mdx vehicles that were sold in connecticut, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia, or wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed march 28, 2024. 2016-2017 acura mdx owner letters were mailed november 1, 2024. 2016-2020 acura mdx owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-december 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of march 18, 2024. 2015-2016 acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-december 2024, 2018 acura tlx owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of march/early april 2024, 2019 acura tlx owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-may 2024, 2020 acura tlx owner let
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016-2020 acura mdx, 2016 and 2018-2019 pilot, 2017 and 2019 ridgeline, and 2018-2019 odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
Doors and locks: latch
Risk: A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed january 18, 2022. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is pbv.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2019 passport, 2016-2019 pilot, and 2017-2020 ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
Fuel system: storage
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is ke8.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2016 honda pilot 2wd and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.
Fuel system: tank assembly
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tanks, free of charge. Owners may contact honda/acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. The recall began on july 29, 2016. Honda's numbers for this recall are ka9 (honda vehicles) and kb0 (acura vehicles).
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2015 acura mdx 2wd and mdx 4WD vehicles, 2016 acura mdx 4WD vehicles, 2015-2016 honda odyssey vehicles, and 2016 honda pilot 2wd and 4WD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that were manufactured with insufficient welds which may separate and allow fuel to leak out.
Electrical: instrument cluster/panel
Risk: If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began on december 11, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is jv7.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 honda pilot 2wd vehicles manufactured may 4, 2015, to september 8, 2015 and 2016 pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured may 7, 2015 to september 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 126, "electronic stability control systems", number 135, "light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "tire pressure monitoring systems".
Seat belts: rear/other
Risk: If the third row seatbelt is trapped, the occupants may not be restrained properly, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and repair the rear third row seat belt, free of charge. The recall began on august 6, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-310-783-2000. Honda's number for this recall is js7.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 honda pilot vehicles manufactured may 4, 2015, to june 5, 2015. Due to an assembly issue, the third row seatbelt may be trapped between the rear seat and the rear sideliner.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Engine failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5l v6 engine used in the following vehicles: model years (my) 2018-2020 acura tlx, my2016-2020 acura mdx, my2016-2020 honda pilot, my2018-2020 honda odyssey, and my2017-2019 honda ridgeline.â the subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a recall query (rq24013).â it was determined that these engine failures are outside the scope of honda recall 23v-751. Further, evidence gathered in conjunction with rq24013 does not suggest this failure is caused by the same crankshaft manufacturing defect that is addressed by honda in recall 23v-751.â based on analysis of data from rq24013,
No restart after auto start/stop engages
Summary
On june 3, 2022, the oï¬ce of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe22005 after the agency received voqs and several ï¬eld reports concerning the auto idle stop (ais) feature on 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traï¬c light or road intersection with the ais function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5l engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On january 6, 2023, honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016
Engine failure
Summary
On november 8, 2024, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened recall query rq24013 to assess the scope of honda recall 23v-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23v-751. In november 2023, honda recalled 248,999 various model year (my)2016â2020 honda and acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5l v6 engine. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a crankshaft manufacturing defect that caused premature connecting rod bearing wear and engine seizure. While the out-of-scope failures involved in these complaints appear to have a very similar failure mechanism as the recalled engines, a thorough analysis o
No restart after auto start/stop engages
Summary
On june 3, 2022, the oï¬ce of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation pe22005 after the agency received voqs and several ï¬eld reports concerning the auto idle stop (ais) feature on 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traï¬c light or road intersection with the ais function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5l engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On january 6, 2023, honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019my honda pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 acura tlx, 2016
Questions about the 2016 Honda Pilot
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Honda Pilot?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (817 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); electrical (580 complaints, typically around 49,000 miles); other or unspecified (292 complaints, typically around 42,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Honda Pilot have?
- 8 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 4, 2026 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the Honda Pilot?
- It is the most complained-about Pilot model year since 2000, with 1,715 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.