2016 Honda Pilot Complaint Log

Last Fall I was driving, exiting freeway, I slowed down before I got to traffic light, then my vehicle stalled. I looked down and push the drive button (i had the auto idle-stop on), then pressed on gas, but car would not move. I pushed the start button twice and nothing happened. After a few minutes I pushed the start button gain and the vehicle started. I was in the middle lane and thankfully no one was behind me when this happened. Similar issue happened to my husband last week after car was picked up from Honda dealer for Transmission fluid exchange ( I in passenger seat). We were exiting the freeway going into another freeway, we slowed down because there was bumper to bumper traffic when the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was on auto idle-stop on. My husband pushed the park button, then the drive button but noting happened. Then pushed the start button twice and the car started again, he pressed on the gas and the car moved.

In 3 occasions my Pilot was stopped waiting for the light to change and all of the sudden the engine died and refuse to turn itself ON as usual. The first time it happens in Miami, Fl. The second time in our hometown of Teaneck, NJ and the third time it happens in New York City (Manhattan) The first time the car re-started after 5 minutes trying (more than 5 times). The second time the car died and 5 took about 5 times to restart again. The third time, we had to use our battery jump starter because the battery died. After the car turned on, all the systems were fine, including the battery.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the Auto START/STOP function had failed. The vehicle would suddenly stall and shut off. The contact stated that the failure recurred at various speeds and also while the vehicle was idling. The vehicle would also shake and jerk. The contact would restart the vehicle and turn off the Auto START/STOP function. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000.

The vehicle is equipped with idle stop if I don’t disengage it when the vehicle is started. At a stop when the vehicle shuts down if completely shuts down and then you have to shift into park. To restart the vehicle. My radio/ gps unit also goes black and shuts off while I am driving and reboots.

On the highway I can see the hood is vibrating and air is getting under it. I had a recall for the hood latch and believe I completed that service but am concerned that it’s still not safe.

AUTO IDLE SYSTEM FAILS. AUTO IDEL TURNS OFF ENGINE AT STOPS AND FAILS TO RESTART ENGINE WHEN FOOT IS REMOVED FROM BRAKE. MUST RESTART CAR. ERRORS ON DASH WHICH MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH ISSUE: CHARGING SYSTEM ERROR AUTO ENGINE IDLE STOP SYSTEM PROBLEM KEY FOB ERROR

This error keeps popping up. Honda won’t fix it. Keyless start system problem error. This is an known error with the specific 2016 Honda Pilot model. I see 100s of people online with the same error. But Honda won’t fix it for free.

Unknown. Background: Driving vehicle and engine warning came on. Looked up code and it was due to injector failure. Dealership changed injectors and reprogrammed. Now vehicle gets nowhere the gas mileage and the start/stop has stopped. That doesn't bother me as bad due to it shut off at light one day and would not start back for about a min. Then started and went it's way.

Driving the vehicle started to quickly lose power for about 15 seconds and it stalled while at speed on an interstate. Luckily I was in the right lane and was able to pull out of traffic onto the shoulder. The car had all the lights flash on the dashboard. The check engine, the hill assist, the oil, power steering, etc...i mean all the lights. I turned the car off through its power button and waiting about a meeting and attempted to restart the vehicle. It would not restart. I repeated this action. After two more failed attempts i went and opened the hood to check to see if there was a visible problems or potential a lose sensor connection. The engine looked ok. The main sensors were connected. I again tried to restart the car. The car started and drove about half a mile before losing power again. I repeated all of the above. Again. After about 45 mins the vehicle started even though nothing had actually changed. I didn't do anything. I took the car with the check engine light still on to autozone where they plugged the computer in to tell me my fuel pump wasn't working. Code P0087 registered. The next day the computer cleared itself and has been running. My mechanic said Honda had released a TSB pertaining to the fuel pump with new lines. Unfortunately there is a nation wide shortage of those parts so my car cannot be fixed. I feel unsafe. I dont know if the car will work or not. Its terrifying

2016 Pilot stalled at a stop sign after releasing break and pressing the gas. The engine had been off due to the auto stop/start function and did not restart upon release of break.

I own a 2016 Honda Pilot which had an unexpected and unexplainable engine failure related to an engine bearing in February of 2022 with only approximately 69,000 miles. Fox Honda, in Grand Rapids, MI could not identify the cause of my engine failure beyond a failed bearing, and I paid over $7,000 related to a replacement engine. I attempted calling Honda, and was told that my vehicle was not within the reported VIN’s. For the current recall. I find the sudden unexplainable failure of an engine bearing in my vehicle and the subsequent recall related to an engine bearing failure in vehicles of the same make, model and year to not be coincidence.

I received a letter in the mail from Honda North America in early 2022 stating that my vehicle/vin was covered under an extended warranty on emissions systems problems. HONDA TSB 20-100. I took my car in to the local dealer, dealer performed a software update, 2 days after software update, all warning lights turn on in dash and do not go away. Check engine light, Power steering problem , hill start assist, vehicle stability control, trailer assist, traction control. Took vehicle back to the dealership. The service advisor takes the car back and when I return a few hours later he states that his technician informed him the injectors must also be replaced when the software update is done. Then I am informed that due to previous salvage history (from 2017) the vehicle emissions warranty extension will not be covered by Honda and I will be required to pay roughly $1,500 for this repair. The TSB states that all 2016 Honda pilots are covered. The faulty injectors were an issue from the factory on every single last 2016 pilot that was produced. The dealership caused these lights to come on and now wants me to pay to fix the additional issues they caused.

Engine stops completely when I make a stop at the signal. I think this is due to the engine shut down idle function. When the engine shuts down completely, the car doesn't start for 5 to 10 minutes. This happened at least 10 times in 6 months on the middle of the road.

Engine doesn't start after idle stop. not able to reproduce the issue when we want. engines stop on highways could be a safety issue. Not inspected by the mechanic. check engine light was on briefly and went away when I completely turn off the car and restart again.

Like most modern cars, the 2016 Honda Pilot has an engine “auto idle off” feature where the engine shuts off when the car comes to a stop. This car has been giving us problems for several years where when you lift your foot from the brake to re-start the engine, the engine struggles to restart or fails to restart at all. When this happens, the driver has to act quickly to out the car in park, and restart the car by pressing the start button. This process does not always go smoothly and you could find yourself in a be panic trying to restart the car while drivers behind you are growing impatient. We had the battery replaced by Honda and they also replaced the engine start button (due to a recall). The issue still persists and is a serious safety issue. When we ask Honda to address this, they simple give up and say there are no error codes and there’s nothing they can do. This problem represents a huge risk for being rear-ended at a stop light/stop sign.

Warning light message for keyless start system. Doors won’t lock. Car won’t start at times. I’m afraid I will get stranded.

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.

2017: transmission replacement UW 2021: Vehicle stopped/ lost power on I44 at a speed of 70 mph. I immediately pulled over and called Roper on a recorded line per roper Honda. Took it to roper- needs a new motor. 2021: motor replacement Not UW 2024: vehicle was called in about hatch defect . Apparently, Roper reports that it is fixed yet- it IS NOT. I was unaware of the rods recall. That would explain why I need another motor. 2025: motor is knocking. Not UW 2025: AIS: vehicle has stalled at busy intersections after an idle stop. Scary when you have a car full of kids and your car doesn’t want to go. Now the car will just loose power and not start at a stop light regularly. I paid $43,000 for a vehicle that may have all the bells and whistles but it is complete trash to say the least. I have records of all of the work, issues, and roper has recorded calls that could be supenaded. ROPER HONDA JOPlIN MO

Automatic Brake light comes on at random times while driving at higher speeds. Afraid that one of these times it will stop the car at high speeds.

Fuel lid keep looked or can't be closed.

It’s happened a few times now, but at a stop sign or light the auto shut off will kick on, and the. The engine will shut off and not turn back on. I was just stuck blocking traffic when my car refusing to restart after the idle shut off. It’s very dangerous. It took serval tries to get my car to restart and I was very panicked someone would hit me.

There have been multiple times where the automatic emergency braking system engaged almost causing an accident with no car ahead of me. The latest incident caused a whiplash related injury to my daughter's neck. The tractor trailer behind me also locked up the brakes and luckily did so in time to avoid colliding with my car.

Our 2016 Honda Pilot recently had dash panel flickering, relays clicking and alarm going off after car was locked up. Reading more about this issue, it seems that a lot of people with the same year 2016 Honda Pilot were having the same issue. Reference this website link -- https://www.piloteers.org/threads/2016-pilot-electrical-issue-possible-keyless-control-unit-panel-relays-flicker-alarm-goes-off-unexpectedly.169315/page-2. Unfortunately, the manufacturing has failed to communicate this to the public, and we had to let our autobody Honda dealership about this widespread issue. A resolution that was explained by some on this website was replacing the keyless control unit, which by the way is on a nationwide backorder. Which is peculiar? This is apparently an issue with this specific model year, and Honda not addressing the issue is a problem. The customer shouldn't bear the responsibility of paying for this electrical or component issue with their vehicle. It seems like this could be a potential safety issue too, if for some reason this affects the computer system of the vehicle. It definitely is not safe, as the alarm is triggered for no reason when the doors are locked! That is an insurance issue, if you can't lock your vehicle because of threat of it being stolen.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that on several occasions while at a complete stop, the vehicle would stall upon acceleration without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they informed him that the battery was likely the cause of the failure. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the auto Start/Stop switch which was under NHTSA investigation. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The contact stated that a maintenance check showed that the battery was actually fully functional and had a full charge. The stalling issue still affects the vehicle.

stop-start fuel saving system don't work properly.

Rod bearing failure,,, vehicle year was subject to recall for this specific problem but my VIN not included in recall…I did talk to Honda representative also

We are new with this vehicle and a couple times now we couldn’t open the drivers door to get out. When you put the car in gear it auto locks which it should. But however after parking and shutting the car off the drivers door wouldn’t unlock. My wife even got out went are to try and open it and it wouldn’t open but after several try’s and panicking it finally opened. Now this has happened a couple times already. I keep checking for a recall on this cause I pray there is never an emergency/accident and I can’t exit the car and being elderly I can’t climb over the console to get to another door. Cause it’s only happens to the drivers door only. I did just get a recall in the mail today for the hood which I will take care of.

The engine to my vehicle has just over 108,000 miles and the rod bearings have shown signs of failure according to the dealership my car was taken to for diagnostic tests. The dealership has advised the engine had oil starvation. The car is regularly serviced at the dealership I originally purchased from. My safety and the safety of my family was at risk because the engine rods could have blown through the block and possibly explode into the cabin of the vehicle if we continued driving. The vehicle did not indicate any signs of oil starvation through the onboard diagnostic. The vehicle is still at the dealership pending further inspection at the original dealership that I purchased from. There was no indicator on the cluster to indicate otherwise for low oil.

We just bought a 2016 Pilot that has the auto stop/start idle feature a week ago. It has already stalled twice- once in a drive thru and once at a light. It was really scary both times - the engine shuts completely off and I had to put it in park & restart the engine. It took a few tries to restart it. I have 2 little girls and this seems really unsafe. I looked it up and found several other reports of this happening, but was surprised to find no official recall yet.

Multiple times the vehicle wouldn’t start. The start stop switch is the culprit after 7 months of dealing with it and taking it to dealership finally. Car will cut off at stop light but won’t turn back on. Takes like 4 tries to get it back on. Also at 126k or 128k engine had a knocking sound and needed replaced and it cost $7000 the air conditioning doesn’t work and this is very upsetting this isn’t why I buy Hondas. The start stop event happens everyday and every time I start the car and don’t deactivate the start/stop system

After Honda Idle-Stop feature engages at a stop light the car won't restart without putting car into park, turning off, and then turning back on. It often takes several attempts to restart the car before it works. This leaves the passengers at extreme risk of injury from collision.

On Jan. 11, 2022 my engine was replaced at Schlossmann's Honda due to connecting rod failure as stated in the dealer's service receipt. Yet my VIN is NOT included in the recall for this issue for reimbursement. How do I get Honda to reimburse me for this failure?

My 2016 honda pilot has been experiencing a problem with the auto idle stop (AIS) feature. Randomly when the AIS engages the vehicle will shut off completely and switch to neutral. It displays a message to put in park and apply brake and press start. This does not always work and can take several attempts to restart the vehicle. This happens when in the middle of the road in traffic making it very hazardous. This has occurred more than 20 times over the past 4 years. I have had the battery replaced 3 times, yet the problem continues.

It shows keyless start system problem. Car has 61500 miles.

Vehicle died when auto start/stop was activated at a stop sign. The vehicle had to be jumped to restart. My wife and 8 month old baby were in the vehicle alone in heavy traffic and nearly caused an accident.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V932000 (Structure, Latches/Locks/Linkages). The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and had recall repair completed. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the hood was still vibrating and seemed as if it would open inadvertently. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

My 2016 Honda Pilot is experiencing the same exact issue that is reported for Honda Service Bulletin 19-057 first issued 2019 and again in 2020. I reported to Honda Corp. and the dealer we purchased the car from. They both came back after numerous inquires that my car did not qualify for this bulletin as my VIN was not part of this. Not sure how this is possible, if you look at my car the pictures noted on the Service Bulletin could literally be mine. Would it be possible to inquire and have Honda investigate further as to how our car does not qualify for an issue that is occurring for the 2016 Honda Pilot in White Pearl already but not other VIN numbers? Just doesn't seem fair. Thank you for your time

No accident. Keyless warning light on. nothing wrong with vehicle. you tube full of same complaints. some cars are covered and some not. have replaced batteries etc etc

For the last 6 months (or maybe a bit more) my 2016 Honda Pilot Touring does not successfully re-start after it's auto-idle-stop feature kicks in at stoplight or in stop/go highway traffic. This maybe happens 20% of the time, but more likely on a hot day or when AC/radio all running high or uphill start. When this happen car stalls and needs to be completely restarted which takes 30 secs and a requires a "reboot" by pressing the start button 2-3 times. To add to the annoyance you cannot permanently disable the auto-idle-stop feature. Instead every time the car restarts it is on by default and the user has to manually turn it over ever time. This is happening with the original 2016 battery from new dealer purchase. The dealership claims it's an old/weak battery issue, but the car has no problem starting on a fresh cold start. This is a safety issue if the car stalls and the driver needs to quickly restart to escape danger, collision, etc.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, the START/STOP feature failed to operate as needed while at a complete stop. The contact stated that the vehicle would shut off upon releasing the brake pedal with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic on several occasions where several electrical components were replaced. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that they had no knowledge of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. Making it necessary to restart manually.

There is no way for the driver of the car to put the transmission into neutral if needed with an electrical/battery failure. According to Honda, there is a special mechanical device that tow truck drivers would have that physically attaches to the engine to shift the car into neutral. In addition, the honda mechanic that I talked to today said even if the average driver had one of these devices, they would not recommend they use it due to likelihood of causing damage to the engine or transmission. This is fine if the car is already in park, since it would most likely be located in a parking lot, residence, etc. The two times that would be a safety issue and could very easily cause an accident would be if the car was in drive, stopped at a traffic light with the engine off due to the Auto Start/Stop feature, and suffered a battery failure, preventing the engine from starting. Now the car would not be able to start, but more importantly couldn't even be pushed off to the side of the road and clear the intersection, since there is no way to move it into neutral. Another example could be with an alternator failure while driving, where the battery then surges and drains itself, with the engine and car now shut down. If you are unable to move the car to the side of the road as this is happening, maybe stuck in traffic or stopped at a traffic light, the car is now unmovable until a tow truck driver arrives and installs this mechanical neutral unlock device. There should be a way with an electrical problem to be able to place the car into neutral and move it. Otherwise, this turns a routine auto problem (that has had an acceptable solution) into a true safety issue, both for occupants and other vehicles and their operators.

Throughout last trip I noticed the transmission would make jerking shifts. While on the interstate during a pass travelling at 73 Mph the transmission down shifted and made a loud banging sound, engine lost power but was revving high, I could not accelerate to get away from surrounding traffic. A transmission error come up as I maneuvered the vehicle out of the road to avoid being hit by other vehicles. The AWD error came one and later an emissions error. Once the car was out of the road safely I was able to engage the e-brake then put it into neutral then park. AWD and emissions error remained on. After a minute turn car off then on, emissions error remained on and the car could operate. This scared the family as we could have been rare ended in traffic. Honda dealership in my town could not diagnose the issue. This is the second time this has happened.

When I started my car, my rear window imploded/shattered. There was no evidence of tampering, no sudden change in temperature, no previous cracks in that window.

Two incidents occurred: 1) On 12-6-21, while travelling in the high speed lane, my wife's car shut down causing her to become stranded on the side of the highway. The first system report from the incident can be found attached as indicated permanent transmission codes of P0716 and P0700. Our body shop consulted with a Honda dealership, neither could pinpoint the issue, but they were able to get the car running. 2) On 1-21-21, at a stop light, the car shut down and ran through all the error codes on the dash . My wife was able to turn car on, but could only put it into neutral. The second system report indicated permanent transmission codes of P0730, P07A6, P190B, P286D and temporary transmission codes of P0730, P07A2, P07A6. My wife discovered a thread of comments about others who experienced the issue and they said a new battery fixed the issue. A new battery was put in the car but it only drove in reverse. Our body shop consulted with the same Honda Dealership discovered Honda Service bulletin 19-004, which mentioned a transmission software issue, much like my wife experienced the first time, not the second time. Our body shop indicated the only fix would be a new transmission, which was confirmed by a Honda Dealership.

For the last couple of months, the transmission has had gears slipping out of gear and takes a few seconds to find the gear to accelerate up to speed. I've taken it to the dealer twice to address the issue but it's still causing an issue.

On 11/29/21, 1 block from home, the engine started making a very loud knocking noise. I was able to turn around and drive back home but no faster than 20 MPH. After having the car towed to Schlossmann Honda, the diagnosis was: Full engine seizure, cylinder 3 connecting rod broken, piston damaged bank 1 cylinder head, metal contamination in bank 2 cylinder head, scoring on bank 2 camshaft and cam journals. Replaced short block assembly and both cylinder assemblies. This happened at 101,587 miles, which was 1,587 miles after extended warranty expired. Repair was not covered but after pushing with Honda Corp, they agreed to charge me an $8,000 deductible for the repair.

The car on prior occasions would not start and it would show emission alert as well as other alerts, have the car for servicing and they started checking and replacing everything. Same problem happened 2 weeks ago but resolved on its own. Today while driving, all the emergency lights came on including emissions malfunction, as well as other malfunction and then accelerator was not working, D was flashing and started making clicking sounds in transmission. Luckily we were close to a fire station house and stopped there, where the car was not going into park, was not changing any gears to reverse or neutral and when turned on, all emergency lights were flashing and could not even get it into neutral to push it away as it seemed to be transmission wheel jammed. Also a burning smell came from the engine when we attempted to restart and put in gear and the transmission clutch made horrible sounds and the car was revving up on its own. If we were on a major Highway this situation could have been a disaster with the family in the car , as the car was stalling on the road and could have resulted in a crash, loss of Life or injury to others. The novel is an elite 2016 pilot and has given my wife recurrent similar issues but we’re lucky it happened in a parking lot. The dealership always states the problem is assessed and fixed but at year 5 and only 75000 miles this is a disappointing situation. We bring this to the notice of NHTSA as this could be a life threatening issues for family owner drivers

On November 27, 2021 at approximately 12 noon, while driving on I95 south in North Carolina. We came to a slow crawl then a stop. The vehicle stalled and wouldn't turn on. After following vehicle instructions on the dash to depress brake and turn vehicle on for approximately three minutes the vehicle finally started up. This is a very dangerous situation for anyone I had my family with me. While looking this up I realized that it is more common then I thought. This should not be occurring. No dealer nor Honda has defined the issue let alone pinpointing it. We need answers and a solution before someone dies. Please help.

When on the road and you stop at traffic light with auto stop and go the car shuts off completely. It won’t start afterwards and car needs to be placed in park and turned back on. Though this isn’t an immediate solution. The car has been brought in multiple times into dealer. Changed battery couple times and problem persists regardless of what they do and they continue to say they don’t see anything. Though it still continues and is completely dangerous.