CarComplaints.com Notes: It's worrying when the top category for 2016 Honda Pilot problems are transmission problems. Owners report jerking when accelerating. Also as the first model year of the redesigned 3rd generation Pilot, it's not a good sign.

Honda released a TSB on October 29 2016 that's possibly related. The TSB deals with a "a judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch ... while driving between 20 and 60 mph" due to deteriorated transmission fluid resulting from "specific driving conditions". In the TSB, Honda states they are developing a software fix to try to keep the transmission fluid temperature within spec.

We are keeping a close eye on this defect trend because if certain driving conditions can affect transmission shifting in the first year of ownership, we'd hate to think what 10+ years will do.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,624 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Honda Pilot drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 8 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #20

Dec 122016

Pilot

  • 4,046 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car is throwing fault codes for transmission, check engine, electrical. The car suddenly goes to "engine limp mode". hard shifting, shuttering and loss of power. Random occurrences. Has been to dealer 3 times for same issue. Issue occurs from a start or at low speeds 20-35mph while in motion. The hard shifting is causing long term damage to the drive train.

- Incline Village, NV, USA

problem #19

Dec 112016

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 12,500 miles
Vehicle mileage 12500 miles transmission replaced, but the new transmission is having the same problem as the first. Chirping and grinding when shift up or down from 3 to 4 or at 30 miles per hour while moving.

- Spring Lake, NC, USA

problem #18

Nov 082016

Pilot

  • 5,000 miles
I backed out of a parking space at work, and when I braked and pressed the drive button, the car did not shift. After several tries the car went into drive. I drove out of the parking lot onto a side street. However, after accelerating up to the 20 mph limit, the car apparently jumped down to 2nd and had to be shifted back into drive. After a block or two, I stopped at an intersection, waited for the light to change and accelerated after turning left onto a city street. After about six blocks I braked, turned left, then right in to a parking lot. I continued across the parking lot at about 10 mph until I neared a parking space. As I began the left turn into the space, I applied the brake and slowly entered the space. I continued to turn at a slow speed with light brake pressure when suddenly the car surged forward and crashed into the front of a parked vehicle, damaging the front of both vehicles.

- Deer Park, TX, USA

problem #17

Dec 072016

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We bought a new 2016 Honda Pilot ex-L AWD in November 2016 (manufactured in Oct-2016) and experiencing some transmission issue when eco button is on. When driving around in about 30 mph, seems the transmission has difficulty in shifting gears as if it cannot decide if it needs to move up or down the gear. Then it seems to get stuck in the lower gear and feels like as if the gears are grinding. I can also feel the gears grinding in the acceleration pedal. At this point, I am able to smell metal burning through the air conditioning - seems like the transmission is getting overheated. With eco off, I have observed that the gear shifts smoothly and swiftly.

- Eden Prairie, MN, USA

problem #16

Dec 062016

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 24,000 miles
I was driving with my family inside the car I would say between 35 - 45 miles / hour then I step on the gas just for little bit what happen the revolution went up to 3000- 4000 RPM & stays there for a while I hear like engine noise sound & feels like it went to stall so at this point. I look at dash board still on drive mode when I step on the gas im not speeding up the RPM remains on 3000 4000 RPM car slowing down I haveto go to the side of the road I press the drive button it went to sports mode the revs climb even higher so I press it again to go to regular drive mode that's the only time the revolution came down to less than 2000 RPM engine noise subsided. So I think the car unexpectedly randomly shifting to neutral while U driving I happen to me 2 -3 times. This is Honda Pilot touring model with nine speed zf transmission. I call Honda usa mention what happen because I read that there was alot of complained about thistransmission issue. In the article & forum I read it was stating that software update recall to fix the problem but Honda customer service just advise me to bring the car to service I think they aware of the problem but told me that there is no recall to fix the transmission issue according to Honda usa customer service. All this event happen when the car is in motion in the city street. Thanks

- Natick, MA, USA

problem #15

Oct 212016

Pilot 4WD 6-cyl

  • 800 miles
We bought a new 2016 Honda Pilot AWD ex-L in October 2016 and are experiencing some pretty serious transmission issues. The first incident happened about a month ago before the vehicle even had 900 miles on it and it has re-occurred numerous times since then and we only have 2,000 miles on it. It appears that if you decelerate rather quickly from let's say 50 mph+ to zero, that when you re-start from zero, the transmission is all out of sorts. When you hit the gas at zero (after the fast deceleration) the vehicle will be very hesitant/slow to start (almost as if you're starting in a higher gear than 1st) and then when you get to about 25-30 mph, the vehicle will slam into that gear and shake the entire vehicle. That 'slamming into gear' issue will continue every time you drop down or accelerate to that 25-30 mph range during that driving session. The only way to get the issue to stop during that driving session, is to stop the vehicle and re-start the engine. It's almost like it resets the transmission or the computer that runs the transmission' there are no check engine lights/warnings that come on and it's a hard issue to duplicate, but the only thing that seems to make it occur sometimes is fast deceleration from a high speed down to zero (I.e. coming off an off-ramp and hitting a stop light, or driving on a 50mph type road and then hitting a stop light). There's obviously a major transmission flaw and the continued "slamming into gear" when this issue occurs, can only be doing more damage to the transmission and feels like the engine is on the verge of locking up.

- Barre, MA, USA

problem #14

Feb 052016

Pilot

  • 11,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While the car was in motion on a country road, warning messages came on stating that the car should not be driven, and then the engine suddenly shut off. Car coasted to a stop. Could not restart the car for 5 or 10 minutes, but it finally started again. After taking it to the dealer twice, the diagnosis was that coolant had mixed with transmission fluid, thus the transmission had to be replaced.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #13

Nov 112016

Pilot

  • 19,000 miles
2016 Honda Pilot touring - chirping sound appeared at 19,000 miles followed by shuddering and difficulty shifting between 28-32 mph. Got diagnosed at the dealership - transmission cooling unit failed, leaking transmission coolant into the transmission unit. Dealer is currently replacing with a remanufactured part. The transmission manufacturer zf friedrichshafen ag has recalled the transmissions. Honda usa is now responsible to recall the vehicles which they have not done. Honda is unsympathetic and can only recite the warranty. I feel my vehicle is unsafe to drive and the value has been substantially impacted.

- Cocoa Beach, FL, USA

problem #12

Sep 112016

Pilot

  • 839 miles
While merging onto the highway going approximately 20mph, the car seized up, brought the car to a near stop and would not accelerate. It did this 3 times. No warning lights on the dash, no notice of something malfunctioning. This car was built on August 19,2016. I purchased it on August 25 only 839 miles on it when incident occurred.

- Purvis, MS, USA

problem #11

Sep 022016

Pilot

  • 22,500 miles
On September 2, 2016 while ascending up a winding 2-lane highway (highway 18) to lake arrowhead, our year old 2016 Honda Pilot touring (with a zf 9-speed transmission) began decelerating rapidly from 55 mph to 20 mph. My wife was driving with our 4 children and was able to pull to the side of the road. She pulled over, turned the car off and a sheriff stopped. The sheriff recommended she try to continue to drive to get the car off the highway since they were in a very dangerous area. My wife started the car and proceeded to ascend to the nearest off ramp and when numerous warning lights came on and the car rapidly decelerated once again. This is the second time something like this has occurred. In December 2015, a similar issue occurred while driving straight up a hill on a 4 to 5 lane freeway from san diego to los angeles. In that case, the 2016 Honda Pilot jerked violently before decelerating. My wife immediately pulled the car to the side of the freeway and had the car towed to pacific Honda. Honda determined that our Pilot was unsafe to drive and needed an entirely new transmission and replaced the transmission in the 4-month old vehicle. Honda reassured us the car was now safe. It is now 8 months later (our car is just 1 year old), and our car is now sitting at rock Honda in fontana, California. Honda is now determining the next course of action. We have the name and badge number of the sheriff who assisted my wife if helpful. This is a very dangerous situation and should be rectified immediately.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #10

Sep 022016

Pilot

  • 5 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle has a lurching jolt when at a stop and go into 1st/2nd gear. Very noticeable downshift when breaking as well, with more lurching jolts.

- Copperas Cove, TX, USA

problem #9

Jul 282016

Pilot

  • 20,055 miles
Transmission was making a beeping, whistling noise when shifting gears on city street. My car was not a year old and transmission was replaced with re-manufactured. It is still not running as before problem. I am hearing noise such as sounding like rake being drug on concrete and whistling noise. Dealership says there is nothing that they can do. No lights are on, nor were they on before. Only 12,000 additional miles given with part.(not exceptable to me).

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #8

Jul 012016

Pilot

  • 1,750 miles
The vehicle started making noises when shifting gears and the local dealer asked me to stop by a week later for diagnosis. This made me believe that it may not be a big issue as the dealership did not find it alarming after knowing about the symptoms the car was displaying. When I was driving the next day, the dashboard started displaying error messages like emission error and transmission error, started jerking and slowed down abruptly coming almost to a halt. While on the highway with 70 mph as max speed, I managed to take the vehicle to the side and on the shoulder. I was traveling with family, including children, and it was a very agonizing experience. A few days later, the Honda dealership where I left the vehicle fixed the issue by replacing a cap which was causing leak from the transmission. Part number 06233-5J4-000 was replaced.

- Bloomington, IL, USA

problem #7

Apr 222016

Pilot

  • 132 miles
I have a 2016 Honda Pilot touring auto with the 9 speed transmission. When coasting downhill or when down shifting using the paddle shifters the car abruptly accelerates. This is a serious safety issue as acceleration should not be the result of downshifting when approaching a curve or going downhill.

- Poncha Springs, CO, USA

problem #6

Feb 042016

Pilot

  • 1,700 miles
2/4/16: Backed out of garage, put car in park, lowered garage door. Was about to exit vehicle to adjust passenger side mirror, car surged forward, crashing through garage door. Brakes would not stop vehicle as it was crashing through the garage; immediately applied emergency brakes, car finally stopped against shelving in garage and wten became wedged in garage. Car experienced severe damage to front, hood, top, sides and could not be removed from garage until garage doors were removed by garage door company the next day. On 2/5/16 took car to Honda dealer. Said they needed time to investigate, would need until Monday, 2/15 when manufactuere's rep could be there; gave loaner vehicle to use in interim. Car still had dealer tag, one month old. On 2/17, received a call from service manager stating that Honda rep's investigation found nothing wrong with vehicle and that I would need to look to my insurance company to repair vehicle. I was told to return loaner vehicle that day, which we did. There was over $2,000 damage to home; and $8,836 damage to vehicle. I find it amazing that Honda could find nothing wrong with vehicle. I know for a fact that the car was in park and nothing would make it stop. The car is brand new - Honda knows that something is wrong; there are other vehicles that have had the same problem. I will not feel safe in the car for one minute when the repairs are completed (taking 24 days to repair). And, it is a damaged vehicle with the dealer tag still on it!

- Lilburn, GA, USA

problem #5

Feb 032016

Pilot

  • 600 miles
2016 Honda Pilot surge while trying to stop on a city street and 2 times ended up part way in the intersection. No warning lights on dash. Had Pilot about a month. Only drove about 500 miles. Concerned, so keep longer distances in traffic. Setup an appointment today with local dealer to inspect per his schedule in 4 days.

- Frankfort, KY, USA

problem #4

Jan 312016

Pilot

  • 19,000 miles
9-speed transmission in the "touring" trim level of 2016 Honda Pilot has an electronic push-button shifter. This shifter intermittently fails to respond to firm button pushes. This is especially problematic when shifting from forward to reverse or vice versa in parking situations. On several occasions, after coming to a complete stop and firmly depressing the shifter button to reverse direction, the vehicle has accelerated in the original direction upon release of the brake. This has necessitated emergency braking to avoid collision. No warning message or chime is generated during these failures, the vehicle simply fails to acknowledge or respond to the button press. Dealer service has been unable to replicate or repair the problem.

- Verona, WI, USA

problem #3

Jan 312016

Pilot

  • 19,000 miles
Vehicle surges forward when 9-speed automatic transmission shifts during coasting or light braking. Surging routinely occurs at moderate speeds ( 35-45mph ) when coasting downhill on a secondary highway. Surging has also occurred at parking lot speeds, and has necessitated emergency braking to avoid collision. Honda motor company has acknowledged similar behavior in another model that shares identical engine and transmission with this vehicle ( aside from differences in tuning ), the 2016 Acura MDX, and a software repair campaign is underway for that vehicle. At this time, no software repair has been announced for the 2016 Honda Pilot touring. Several repair attempts have been made by a local Honda service department, with no improvement.

- Verona, WI, USA

problem #2

Nov 012015

Pilot

  • 900 miles
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.

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #1

Nov 042015

Pilot

  • 3,000 miles
I write to you to convey my safety concerns regarding a new Honda 2016 Pilot. My attempts to resolve my concerns with american Honda motor co., Inc. Were met with tepid reluctance and a cavalier neglectful attitude. 1.at high speeds (55-75 mph) the vehicle oversteers and during emergency avoidance maneuvers becomes unstable. Twice while avoiding dear on interstate highways, I have almost lost control and was seriously concerned about rolling the vehicle over. I own and have driven a 2003 Pilot for over 180,000 miles and never experienced this sort of issue. I believe the suspension is incorrectly designed and that unexpected and unnecessary rollovers are imminent. 2.the 'auto idle off' feature turns the engine completely off at certain times and under certain circumstances. It takes between 900 and 1,300 milliseconds to recover power to the wheels when this happens. Unlike hybrid vehicles (from which this feature was taken), there is no alternative electrical motor to provide torque to the drivetrain while the engine restarts and as a result, there is delay in accelerating. In the vast majority of times, this is of no consequence however in a small fraction this delay increases the risk of collision. About once per week, I experience a delay in entering dense traffic within short interstate merge lanes. This delay of about one second is enough to remove my margin of error and increases the risk of collision during a merging maneuver. While there is a switch to defeat this feature, it resets every time the vehicle is turned off and remembering to override it every time is inconsistent with human memory and performance.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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