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: power train
200 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Engine, Nov 21, 2023
On 9.14.23, rod to crankshaft broke leading to catastrophic engine failure and damage. I had to coast off of the exit ramp I was on to the side of the road; then have vehicle towed to Martin Honda Services. ~$13k in repairs. This was prior to their knowledge that on Nov 13, 2023, Recall Report 23V-751 was issued. For the reason my engine blew up. However, my VIN is NOT covered in this recall. My hope is they expand the netting of VIN population to include ALL impacted 2016 Honda Pilots! $12,694.00 REMOVED OIL PAN FOUND BROKEN CYLINDER #3 PISTON ROD,DAMAGE ENGINE BLOCK AND CYLINDER HEADS. P&A ON SHORT BLOCK AND BOTH CYLINDER HEADS AND ALL NEEDED GASKETS $529.50 PERFORM V-6 VALVE ADJUSTMENT WHICH INCLUDES REPLACING BOTH VALVE COVER GASKETS.
Power train, Engine, Nov 21, 2023
vehicle has been to standard maintenance at dealer. Rod problem at 100,000 miles resulting engine replacement. Transmission is not suitable and slips after 100,000 miles.
Power train, Fuel/propulsion system, Nov 17, 2023
I have a very loud knocking noise in the engine of 2016 Honda Pilot. The dealership told me it was a bad rod bearing. The same day the dealership told me there was going to be a recall on my vehicle for this exact problem. They are now telling me my VIN number is not covered in the recall for this exact problem. I find it hard to believe this problem occurred on my vehicle and is not related to recall. Thanks
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Sep 25, 2023
While driving at freeway speeds of 80 mph, and while passing a vehicle, Engine wants to temporarily slow (like it's dropped a cylinder or two), and the car will NOT speed up. Then engine warning light starts to blink, Emissions Problem light starts to blink, then car downshifts several gears and slows dramatically - or will rev at 4500-5000 rpm. ON THE INTERSTATE! DRAMATICALLY UNSAFE. I've reported this to my dealer, Penske Honda in Carmel, IN - and they can't resolve any issue or see a stupid "error code". This has happened three times in past 3 years. IT"S TERBBYLY UNSAFE. Car goes from 80 to 60 and engine and transmission go on the blank.
Power train, Sep 11, 2023
When driving vehicle between 20 to 60mgh the vehicle judders. The vehicle almost feels like it's going to come out of gear. The vehicle also seems to not speed up or react to the accelerator. This being an SUV that my wife and kids drive everyday seems to be a very high safety issue for our family. If this vehicle does not accelerate in time or shift in time it could potentially put my family in harm's Way. And the other vehicles involved as well. The dealership has inspected and acknowledged that there is a problem with the transmission shifting or shuttering. But they only say that the transmission needs servicing. I service the transmission at the Honda dealership 10 months ago and it's reoccurring again. A 10-month transmission service and it reoccurs seems to be excessive. Attached is a Honda service bulletin that I found and mentioned to the dealership and American Honda. They mentioned to me that my VIN number is not covered by this Service Bulletin. The bulletin States all VIN Bulletin # 17-015, #16-091 February 18, 2017 A judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch may be felt while driving between 20 and 60 mph. The problem is typically diagnosed as a bad torque converter. American Honda investigated the judder and found that the torque converter was not causing the judder and the transmission is not damaged by this judder. The judder was caused by deteriorated transmission fluid. The transmission fluid deteriorates quicker than expected when it is exposed to intermittent high heat loads under specific driving conditions. A software update is available to maintain the transmission fluid temperature within the desirable range under all driving conditions and eliminate the potential for this judder. There are two bulletins referring to this subject: x 17-014 - 2016–17 Pilot: Judder from the Torque Converter Lock-Up Clutch. American Honda customer service says that my VIN # is not cover by this Service Bulletin # 17-015, dated February
Power train, Electrical system, Aug 3, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while at a stop light, the vehicle shut off with the "Shift to Park and Restart Vehicle" message displayed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a software update was performed on the transmission but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that an update on the started software was needed. The update was performed but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Power train, Jul 28, 2023
while driving on highways and streets, car would jerk and transmission downshift or not work, causing a grinding noise within the car. pilot would just shut off and slowing decrease speed by itself. happens many times already and is a safety concern for people who purchased this vehicle. Pilot transmission needs to be recalled before it causes death for people who drives this vehicle.
Power train, Engine, Jul 6, 2023
Car left us stranded at busy intersection. Auto start system failed to restart vehicle. Car would not restart even after placing car back into park.
Power train, Jun 8, 2023
Transmission has continued to have ongoing kickback issues from 1st to second gear and 2nd to 3rd gear. As well as multiple hesitating accelerations from a stop to go. Safety is at risk due to intersection turns which require acceleration that the pilot transmission at times can’t produce.. no warning lamps to show there are issues with the transmission. Have taken it into a shop only to hear “ 2016 honda pilots have transmission issues, kink wasn’t worked out until 2018” which is never a good answer.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, May 15, 2023
When coming to a stop and the engine idle stop is activated the car will sometimes die. The car will then need to be shifted into park after a complete reset of the system in order to start. Very dangerous.
Power train, May 5, 2023
Torque converter on transmission failed at 86,643 miles. This is a common problem on most Honda Pilots
Power train, Jan 26, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationed at her employment parking lot, after starting the vehicle with the auto start, she was unable to shift into reverse. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and had to restart the vehicle four times before being able to shift into reverse. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the Drive (D), transmission fault, and sensor failure warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that she continued driving to her residence while experiencing the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Power train, Jan 3, 2023
The transmission has problems accelerating at all speeds. It jumps and jerks anytime when accelerating at all times. This causes safety concerns for everyone in the vehicle and on the road next to the vehicle as the transmission could fail at anytime putting all passengers' lives at risk. The problems started while the vehicle was under warranty, and we took the vehicle to a certified Honda dealer to get it looked out. They stated there were no problems when they inspected it. We took it back a few months later for the same issues while the vehicle had exceeded the time frame but not mileage of the warranty and they told us we would have to cover the cost of the transmission repair/replacement. We took the 2016 Honda Pilot to a local AAMCO repair shop. They stated the transmission would have to be replaced for $7500. Multiple warning lights came on, but the dealer stated those were just an electrical issue, they repaired those issues but failed to repair the transmission.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Dec 8, 2022
1) Engine failure - Several times our 2016 Touring has stalled at a stoplight. It takes time to start back up. I have to turn on hazard light, and it is getting worse every occurrence. This has happened since I bought new, and when it happens, all of the lights come up on the dash. There is a investigation in the state of California, but nothing in Ohio yet. 2) I just had to replace my drive shaft that goes from from to back on center bottom of the car. They said the rear is failing, and that may be part of the problem with sluggish acceleration. 3) Transmission: Sluggish acceleration is this ZF 9 speed (outsourced) by Honda issue. I will be accelerating on the freeway, and all of the sudden, it would down shift to like second gear, causing me to slow down suddenly. Dangerous if cars are behind in rush hour. I also had 4 incidents where I could have lost my life because I could not accelerate (the gear would not engage). Dealer informed me that all of the updates are uploaded, and it should be okay. But it's not okay when you are carrying your children, spouse, or co-workers. I have informed the dealer many times that this car is not safe. I personally ran a business as Tier 1 supplier to Honda and visited many Honda factories. Nothing ever got done. It will be too late before they can help us. All of the data and information is at Honda Marysville (Ohio) dealership. All of my services (including oil change) are done there.
Power train, Dec 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle at lower RPM’s between 1,500 – 1,800 RPM, the vehicle intermittently surged and hesitated to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who reprogrammed the PCM and replaced the transmission fluid however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Power train, Oct 5, 2022
Around 60,000 the transmission started to shift erradically. The key indicator is the tachometer is not steady. My mechanic suggested to change the transmission oil which I did. It resolved the problem, except now at 68,300 thr problem has returned.
Power train, Engine, Sep 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the vehicle would not properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the engine heater coil, the fuel injectors, and the camshaft however, the failure recurred. The fuel injectors were replaced a second time however, the vehicle continued to experience the hesitation while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Sep 15, 2022
For years, dating back to 2018, our 2016 Honda Pilot Elite auto on/off switch operations has been failing. Vehicle will not restart the engine after its engaged the auto start off. Engine and all components including electrical are off. Dashboard indications light up and essentially we are stalled, at risk of not being able to drive. It requires to place the car into park and restart the engine. This is serious safety issue that could result in being struct by another vehicle without being able to move. I have been taking the car to several authorized Honda service dealerships to address the issue. They have replaced multiple times the auto on/off switch, battery, adjusted values and updated software with no resolution. One dealership claimed to disable the auto on/off switch but this is NOT feasible. With the latest inspection, another local Honda dealership contacted Honda Corp Tech Line for assistance. Once again they instructed the dealer to perform all the potential fixes above and to ignore a code P2638. After investigating this online, Honda and NHTSA have opened an investigation June 2022 on this issue after 220+ complaints. There is no known fix, yet Honda Corp Tech Line informed local dealer to conduct value adjustments yet again, at a labor cost to us.
Power train, Aug 24, 2022
Vehicle rpms will vary and not be steady on light to medium acceleration between 20 to 60 mph. Rpm guage needle will bounce up and down slightly while accelerating. Torque converter seems to not be locking up resulting in judder. No engine lights or warnings. Dealer was able to confirm the same thing and isssues went away when replaced and flushed transmission fluid. But the problem slowly returned 20k miles later..
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Aug 23, 2022
My 2016 Honda Pilot Touring stalls out at a red light while using the auto stop-start. It happens occasionally when I take my foot off the brake and put my foot on the gas. Instead of coming out of idle with the engine starting up again, the car would stall completely and I would have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. I took the car into the dealer and they told me that there was no software update and that they couldn’t do a update anyways because check engine light wasn’t on. Also have a issue with transmission not switching gears smoothly on take off. Jerks on take of. Once again they told me transmission was fine and there was no software update and that they couldn’t do a update anyways because check engine light wasn’t on.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 10, 2022
The auto start/stop feature of the vehicule has stopped working on several occassions. We would be coming off the highway and or off a red light and the car will stall of the auto start/stop function is on. This has happened a few times in a very busy intersection or street.
Power train, Electrical system, Jul 27, 2022
Multiple times the idle-stop feature has caused my car to stall out at an intersection. The idle-stop will engage, but when I take my foot off the break (or move the steering wheel), the car does not start again, instead it will try to start but then turns off completely. At that point I have to re-engage the break, put the car in park, turn off the car and then try to turn it back on as normal. When this happens at a green light it's very stressful and dangerous as cars are behind me. This has happened probably 10 times in my ownership period, it is always worse when it's hot outside since so many parts are running (including the AC). I have brought the car in to fix this a bunch of times, they never find anything wrong at the dealer. The last time they replaced the starter button at no charge saying that this piece was known to be faulty. It has happened once or twice since replacing that part.
Power train, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Jul 25, 2022
Ocassionally when stopped at intersections my 2016 Honda Pilot touring edition will go into idle stop mode and not restart. Upon trying to proceed the engine will try to start and stall out. The engine goes dead and I am unable to accelerate out of the intersection. The info dash system indicates the vehicle was in Neutral and that I needed to shift to Park to Proceed. After putting the vehicle in Park the info dash system instructs me to start the engine by pressing the Brake and pushing the Start button. This action is not possible when the vehicle has stalled out as described above and continues to prevent the driver from accelerating out of the intersection. The only solution I found that works is to remove my foot from the brake and power down the vehicle completely. Only when the vehicle is completely powered down is it possible to restart the vehicle by pressing the Brake and Pushing the power button. This event has happened 4 times in the past 3 months on my Pilot. The mileage on my Pilot is ~125,000 miles.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 18, 2022
The engine begins to idle rough, after a few days of driving a lot of cluster lights come on starting with check engine light, VSA as well as others. Disconnecting battery works to clear the the codes, engine will appear to idle ok but after a week of driving it will start idling rough again, then the cluster lights will light up as before. I believe this is due to Service Bulletin 20-100 or Service Bulletin A20-100 which states that issues with the fuel injectors were found relating to quality control. The TSB listed above states that if your vehicle is affected by these symptoms your warranty will be extended to 10 years of manufacture date or 150,000 miles. Our Pilot currently has under 80,000 miles on the odometer.
Power train, Jun 20, 2022
Transmission has hard shifts and jerking when accelerating at a normal rate and approaching your designated speed. This occurs almost daily as the problem persist and started occurring approximately 36,000 miles. I also had an issue when I was trying to accelerate up a mountain where the transmission did not want to switch to a lower gear and accelerate. Instead the gear was stuck and I had to remove my foot from the gas pedal and try again. I have taken the vehicle too two different dealerships and they could not replicate the problem. One dealership checked the transmission cooler and stated it was in good condition. I believe they cannot replicate it because every time a technician takes the vehicle on a test drive they accelerate at a high rpm level which the vehicle will not replicate the issue. Now it is doing it through more than one gear change. Feels like the transmission is going to break at any point