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.

2016 Honda Pilot electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 8 of 26)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #370

Apr 162022

Pilot

  • 81,000 miles

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

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.

- Graham, NC, USA

problem #369

Jun 082018

Pilot 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the AutoStart function failed to engage temporarily when attempting to drive from a complete stop. However, the AutoStart feature was designed to engage automatically while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. However, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Lutherville Timonium, MD, USA

problem #368

Jun 012018

Pilot

  • miles
The engine in my vehicle fails to restart after coming to a complete stop. My car stalls out and can take several attempts to try to restart the car. This has been very dangerous. It can occur whether I'm stuck in traffic on a major highways or even just at a stop sign. It always occurs when the start/stop function is engaged. I have taken the car to the dealer multiple times to deal with this issue and even tried to get the start stop function removed. Unfortunately, they have never been able to fix the problem.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #367

May 062022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Was driving the car in a parking lot (thankfully) when the dashboard lights started randomly flickering and clicking like crazy. Then the battery completely drained. The car wouldn't start at all. When I tried to restart the engine the lights would go crazy, flashing every single emergency warning light on the dashboard and clicking sounds for a few seconds then dead again. Had to get a tow truck and finally was able to jump it and drive to the dealer. I've seen so many reports of this same issue occurring with this same model. The dealer told me that its due to a faulty keyless control module that only the dealer can replace for $800 plus labor. The bill is over a $1000 with tax included. The part is on national back order so they said my car will be in the shop for probably 3 months at least. And I spoke to multiple mechanics who said that they can't fix it because the dealer won't sell them the part. I've been without my car for a month already and dealer says no word on the part and it's not covered which sounds crazy because I'm reading of others having this same issue.

- Stockholm, NJ, USA

problem #366

Jan 012022

Pilot

  • miles
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.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #365

Jun 072021

Pilot

  • miles
On multiple occasions the car will stale and not restart when the auto engine off engages. It is left me stranding in the middle of traffic several times. The vehicle has been taken to Honda for service on many occasions and told there is nothing wrong.

- Flemington, WV, USA

problem #364

Jan 102022

Pilot

  • miles

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

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.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #363

May 102022

Pilot

  • miles
alarm going off intermittently, dash board glitching when car is off and parked.

- Oakland , CA, USA

problem #362

May 232022

Pilot

  • miles
Dash Lights flash, alarm sounds and Battery drains randomly.

- Milltown, NJ, USA

problem #361

Apr 012022

Pilot

  • miles
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.

- Gallatin, TN, USA

problem #360

May 202022

Pilot

  • miles

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

Random triggered alarming caused during flickering and clicking of dashboard lights leading to battery drainage. Many reports of this same instance occurring with this particular model. It appears to be a faulty keyless control module that now many Americans have had no choice but to pay $800 to replace in the absence of what obviously should be a recall at this point.

- Lake Butler , FL, USA

problem #359

May 192022

Pilot

  • miles
Keyless start/stop button does not work. Honda dealership says it is not active recall but switched was replaced at 88000 miles.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #358

Feb 012021

Pilot

  • miles
The Pilot defaults to the automatic engine shutoff when the brake is pressed. Several times, my car would shut off at the stop, but not restart when I took my foot off the pedal. When I'd go to restart the car, pressing the Start Engine button would just turn on accessories - it would never engage the gas/ignition. I'd have to give it a few minutes. I took it to my dealership who replaced the push button ignition. I had googled the issue and saw others had the same issue and warning message about the brake mitigation system, I saw that it was likely related to the brake booster/vacuum hose. I brought it back to the dealer the following month as the shut off had happened again and explained again about finding the brake booster as the issue. They replaced the part and the stall out hasn't happened again. It was never a consistent issue. I don't know what caused it to shut off, as it happened in cold or warm weather. Having to press the brake really hard is not a natural step in driving, so I'm thinking there's something wonky with the system. Even when I remote start my car, I have to press the brake pedal extremely firmly to have it remain started when I go to drive. Otherwise, the car will just switch to the accessory mode. This is a risk because the car defaults to the auto engine shut off when in traffic. If a car is unable to restart when the brake pedal is released, accidents can happen

- Nashua, NH, USA

problem #357

Apr 232022

Pilot

  • miles
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.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

problem #356

Apr 282022

Pilot

  • miles
Vehicle stalls and shuts off at a stop when engine idle stop is enabled. All lights on dashboard are illuminated and vehicle automatically sets to N gear. Upon attempting to restart engine, It takes several attempts to put vehicle back into P gear and start engine by pressing the push start button as well has having foot on the brake pedal. After doing so, the vehicle will start up right away and can be driven off normally with no warning lights illuminated on dash. This issue has happened numerous times. When engine idle stop is disabled, it does not happen. Battery has been replaced as well as push start button switch per service bulletin 20-117. Software update for TCM/PGM has also been performed as per set DTC P2638 (torque management feedback signal A range/performance) U1211 lost communication with shifter, U0404 invalid data received from shifter. Dealership has not been able to duplicate the problem.

- Milpitas, CA, USA

problem #355

Sep 012019

Pilot

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would stall upon the depression of the accelerator pedal with either the Collision Mitigation Failure or Shift to Park and Restart Vehicle messages were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer several times for the same failure; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated that upon disabling the auto idle-stop feature, the failure did not occur; however, the feature had to be manually disabled each time upon the start of the vehicle. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer and was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. The VIN was not available.

- Mountain View, CA, USA

problem #354

Mar 312022

Pilot

  • miles
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

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #353

Jan 012022

Pilot

  • miles
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

- Salina, KS, USA

problem #352

Apr 152022

Pilot

  • miles
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.

- Zanesville, OH, USA

problem #351

Apr 012022

Pilot

  • miles
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

- Orchard Park, NY, USA

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