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:
3 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,036 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.
When I start my car, I get "keyless start system problem" error on the dashboard. This error comes sometimes and then goes away for days and then comes back. Showed it to dealership and they didn't find anything wrong. I see lot of people reporting this error on Honda forums. The car functions properly otherwise but I don't know what is causing this and if there is any major problem with it.
Repeated message for keyless start system problem. Vechicle turned off at intersection while in drive, , driver required to put in park turn vechile off then on again. While doing research this happens to a lot of owners of this vehicle. Even though several people got it supposidly fixed, problem and error message persisted.
I have a 2016 touring model. I purchased it used from gladstone Honda (now swickard) in 2017. In 2018 my battery suddenly died during errands. I had the car jumped and replaced the battery from a local auto supply store. Last year, we started hearing an occasional weird clicking during idle-stop. Now, this year, when in idle-stop at a stop sign or stop light, often the car shuts off, slips into park mode, flashes error messages and will not immediately start again when pushing the ignition button. Sometimes, I have been on a hill and the car rolls backwards. There is no way to permanently disable this feature, so unless you remember to disable it every time you start the car, the safety malfunction repeats itself. It's terrifying and dangerous.
Idle stop engages while stopped. When time to move the car shuts itself off and doesn't restart. Have to put the car in park and hit the start button sometimes twice before it will restart. This has happened multiple times over the past 4-5 months.
2016 Honda Pilot ex-L. for months, the vehicle has been showing a keyless start system problem error message in the instrument cluster. I have replaced the batteries in both fobs and I have checked all of the fuses, and the problem still persists. This appears to be a common issue with Honda Pilot.
- Cary, NC, USA
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I have had a check engine light come on almost constantly for the last year stating 'ignition system problem.' I have taken it the the dealership I purchased it from on 4 occasions. They 'fixed it' and said it was just a faulty sensor. The light has now come back on and I have to return the car yet again.
The auto engine idle stop is malfunctioning and causes the car to stall in the middle of intersections. While sitting at a red light the idle stop will come on and shut the car down. Normally releasing the brake will start the engine back up. However, on Saturday evening the car died and took several minutes to start back up. I had the battery inspected to make sure it was not a battery issue and they said the battery tested fine and was an issue with the system. Honda has indicated this a known problem they are unable to repair.
II started having a "keyless start system problem" error showing up on the dash. At about the same time the walk away lock system stopped working as well as the locking button on the tailgate. The error message would come and go but now it is on consistently. I have to push the start button 3-4 times to get the car to start and now I am having trouble turning the car off. The vehicle is stationary when these problems occur, but the error message stays on all the time now. I am worried I am going to be somewhere and not be able to start the car or turn the car off.
While stopped at a stop light, my auto idle setting kicked on as usual. When it was time for me to release the break and step on the gas, my car stalled. I was unable to or my vehicle. I could not put car in park, neutral, etc. All the dashboard lights came on, and I was instructed to step on the break and place my car in park. I attempted to do this but my car refused to shift. I also attempted to press the ignition button to cut the car on and it did not work. My car remained stalled for approximately 60 seconds. I was in a busy intersection with an ambulance coming towards me and I was unable to move my car. This is the 4th time this has occurred. My car is fairly new with only 53K miles. I took my car to the dealership and they were unable to find an issue. This is a serious safety issue! what if I'm on the highway in traffic and my car stalls after being in the auto idle position" what if I'm crossing over a train track and my car stalls" this is a safety issue Honda needs to fix! I googled the issue and others have had this same issue.
#1 keyless remote entry has not worked for over a year now, dealership wants to charge $300. Automatic lock feature is not working any more. Based on my research it is a known issue that Honda keep guessing on and charging for replacing, with no real fix. #2 when driving, all of the sudden all engine lights start coming on, break, power steering, vehicle stability...all of them one by one. At the time my Pilot started "pulling", and RPM gage was jumping up and down. A few days later took it to the mechanic and this time, it only had the engine light on and a code P0304 was detected. Changed all spark plugs and coils, engine light went away for a week. Again, driving on the highway all lights start coming up again and the same "pulling" happens. This is definitely not safe to be driving on. Other Honda Pilot same year drivers are having the same issue.
Error message "keyless remote system problem". the automatic lock feature is no longer working. Based on my research, dealerships service technicians are guessing how to fix this problem charging as they experiment on guessing the fix. One customer was able to have the dealership contact Honda, which resulted on a no charge to the customer. This needs to be on a recall for 2016 Honda Pilot.
Vehicle shutdown after start when moving from park to reverse. Keyless start system problem appeared. Emissions system warning reappeared after having it cleared at Honda dealership 2 days earlier.
I was driving on a dual two lane highway at 55 mph. At a cross road a traffic light was red, and I stopped the vehicle. The automatic idle stop shut off the engine for 1/2 to 1 minute, before the traffic light turned green. When I took my foot off the break, the car should have started, but it didn't.. many of the dashboard lights came on, the car shifted into neutral. The cars around me moved forward and several honked, because I wasn't moving. Other cars were approach me from behind at speed. I tried to turn the ignition off and restart it. Nothing happened because the shift was in neutral. I exited the car and pushed it to the right turn lane just ahead and pushed the brake to stop once I was out of the driving lane. I put the car in park with my foot on the brake and tried to start the engine 2 or 3 times before the starter turned the engine over. Several cars went by at speed, and luckily no one wanted to turn right. The car is just over 5 years old and I am very familiar with its operation with the automatic idle stop feature, but this time it surprised me. I had replaced the battery after 2.5 years of driving, and it is only 1 year and 10 months since it was replaced. I have read anecdotal accounts of similar incidences by other 2016 Pilot owners who had no reason for the incident. The car did not have any further problems that day, because I cancelled the idle stop feature for the trip home. I feel I could easily have become a statistic along with my wife had the traffic been moderately greater that evening. Other have registered complaints about this problem on this website. I am having the battery replace tomorrow, even though the dealer hasn't yet evaluated its condition.
2016 Honda Pilot randomly get a keyless start system error message when about to start vehicle and while driving. Dealer wants $110 just to do an electronic diagnosis. Many complaints on internet about this same issue. Could leave driver stranded if vehicle does not start or shut off unexpectedly. Some state could result in driver/occupant not being able to exit vehicle if failure occurs. Very unsafe situation!
I am getting a keyless start system error. I had a problem where the car would not restart at a busy intersection. Seems to be a common issue on this year/make/model.
This is a recurring problem! when the car is stopped and the auto engine idle is on, when I lift the brake to press the accelerator, the car shuts off the engine completely, puts itself in neutral or park, and requires me to put the car in park and restart (press brake and ignition button). So when I'm at a red light that turns green, when I attempt to go by lifting the brake and pressing the accelerator my engine quits, just as the folks behind me are ready to move forward while the engine of my car is still off.
At stop light, engine dies and cannot restart. Very dangerous, this happened yesterday and today. The car was serviced for same issue on Jan 4, 2020. Was told needed software update. Eventually it starts but I am stuck at intersection for a few minutes until it will restart.
Remote system start error message received and then the vehicle wouldn't start. I was stranded at a gas station and had to be towed. Originally diagnosed as battery after I received a jump. We replaced the battery and had no issues for about 4 weeks. Now the error is back. Seems to be a recurring problem for 2016 Pilot based on my research. This needs to be a recall issue for Honda to fix!
I am getting a keyless start system error. This could cause the car to not start or stop. I have seen hundreds of reports of this happening on these year/make/model and there is something faulty in these switches.
The following error code appeared several days ago; keyless start system problem. Honda informed me that the push button starter required replacement. I installed the new unit as instructed, and the error message went away. Today (two days later) the error message re-appeared. I have since noticed that there are many problems reported online by Honda vehicle owners about this issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Trumbull, CT, USA