2016 Honda Pilot
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 1,706 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 23 Pilot model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 23 involved a crash and 10 involved a fire. 20 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, frame and membersJun 4, 2026
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.
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.
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.
Campaign 26V365000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
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.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, hard parts internal/mechanicalNov 13, 2023
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.
A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
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 letters are expected to be mailed mid-June 2024, and 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed January 27, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XG1 and GG0.
Campaign 23V751000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, body, hoodNov 29, 2021
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.
A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 21V932000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storageMar 30, 2017
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
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.
Campaign 17V219000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, storage, tank assemblyJun 9, 2016
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.
A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.
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).
Campaign 16V417000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, instrument cluster/panelOct 16, 2015
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".
If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 15V668000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, rear/otherJul 6, 2015
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.
If the third row seatbelt is trapped, the occupants may not be restrained properly, increasing the risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 15V424000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: electrical system
579 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jan 6, 2016
ON NOVEMBER 10, 2015, AT APPROXIMATELY 5:30PM, MY WIFE AND I WERE TRAVELING ON NORTH I-75 IN SOUTHWEST OHIO. BESIDES OURSELVES, WE HAD OUR TWO YOUNG GRANDCHILDREN IN THE CAR. THE CAR'S COMPUTER STARTED DISPLAYING A CHANGING SERIES OF WARNINGS GENERALLY INDICATING VARIOUS SYSTEM FAILURES. THE CAR BASICALLY STARTED TO SHUT DOWN. SINCE WE WERE IN THE FAR RIGHT LANE, MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO COAST OVER TO THE SHOULDER. IF WE HAD BEEN TRAVELING IN THE MIDDLE OR LEFT LANE OF TRAFFIC, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN LITTLE IF ANY CHANCE OF MOVING OVER TO THE CURB. THE CAR, WITH TWO YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT, WOULD HAVE SHUT DOWN LEAVING US IN THE PATH OF VERY FAST MOVING CARS AND TRUCKS. THE ONLY OUTCOME WAS A POTENTIALLY DEADLY HIGH-SPEED REAR END COLLISION. WE HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO OUR HONDA DEALER APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES AWAY. ON NOVEMBER 27, THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING, THE SAME FAILURE OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 2:30PM. THIS TIME WE WERE 400 MILES FROM HOME TRAVELING EAST ON HIGHWAY 11-E, BETWEEN GREENEVILLE AND JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE. I CAUGHT THE FAILURE EARLY ENOUGH BEFORE THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND WAS ABLE TO COAST THE CAR TO A PARKING LOT OF AN OUT-OF-BUSINESS STORE. THIS TIME INSTEAD OF TWO YOUNG CHILDREN, WE HAD TWO ELDERLY GREAT GRANDPARENTS. THE DEALER THAT HANDLED THE FIRST INCIDENT DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A SOFTWARE ISSUE. HOWEVER, THE SECOND DEALER DIAGNOSED IT AS A FUEL PUMP RELAY NOT PROPERLY CONNECTED. THIS RELAY REQUIRES A SPECIAL TOOL TO INSTALL IT. SEE ATTACHED LETTER WITH ATTACHMENTS FOR ALL DETAILS INCLUDING SERVICE INVOICES.
Electrical system, Dec 17, 2015
SAFETY RECALL 15V-668 ACTIVE, IT APPEARS CAR ALARM & SECURITY SYSTEM WAS COMPROMISED BY ANOTHER CAR REMOTE. IN SAMS PARKING LOT I APPROACHED MY VEHICLE AND OPENED REAR DECK AND WHILE LOADING ITEMS IN CAR A HORN STARTED BLOWING ANOTHER SUV IN LEFT PARK SPACE LIGHTS WERE FLASHING BUT IT WAS MY CAR HORN BLOWING, NO LIGHTS ON, OTHER CAR OWNER OPENED HIS REAR DECK AND LOADED ITEMS, MY WIFE GOT OUT HER KEY AND SILENCED MY CAR HORN, WE LEFT & TRAVELED 8 MILE, STOPPED, GET OUT MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT LOCK WITH DOOR HANDLE, KEY FOB ORMANUAL LOCK ON DOOR. DIC DISPLAYED KEY NOT RECOGNIZED, ALL OUTSIDE LIGHTS STAY ON 10 MIN, I CRANKED CAR GOT ON I 20 I DID NOT HEAR DOORS LOCK.DIC NORMAL I OPENED MY DRIVER DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR OPENED AT 70 MPH. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. GOT HOME SHUT OFF CAR TRIED LOCK / UNLOCK SEVERAL TIMES OK LIGHTS GO ON/OFF IN NORMAL MANER. I HAVE A DEALER APP FOR RECALL 12-22-15
Power train, Electrical system, Nov 19, 2015
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HONDA PILOT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO A HONDA DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND THE FAILURE RECURRED SIX DAYS LATER. WHEN THE FAILURE RECURRED, THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS GIVEN BACK TO THE CONTACT, BUT THE VEHICLE STALLED A FEW DAYS LATER AND ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 900.
Electrical system, Engine, Jul 31, 2015, fire
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HONDA PILOT. WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE EMITTING FROM THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE. AFTER LIFTING THE HOOD, FLAMES EMITTED FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE NEAR THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,600.