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:
4 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,483 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.
The component that failed was the connector rod bearing in cylinder 4. It is not available for inspection. Our safety was put at risk because the connector rod bearing failed while my family and I were driving at 80mph (legal freeway speed) on the freeway. We lost power and the engine shuddered and the car shook while we navigated to the shoulder. The vehicle was inspected by the independent service center. There were no symptoms that I noticed prior to the failure. It was sudden, and occurred on my Pilot on just 112,546 miles. The problem was confirmed by an independent service center.
Driving at highway speeds when I notice a light rattling noise from front of car. Soon, light rattling turns to loud rattling and the check engine light comes on blinking. Slowed down and exited freeway as soon as possible and stopped at nearest gas station (right off freeway). Had vehicle towed to nearest Honda dealership for investigation of the problem. Upon investigation, service tech reported connecting rod damage to the crankshaft - recommend replacement engine.
Connecting rod failure, needs complete engine rebuild. 102,0000 miles. I was able to exit the highway and get to the dealership so there wasn-??t a safety issue for me. I saw that this issue was a recall but my vehicle was not on the list so I thought I would submit. Dealership said I need a new engine. I bought it in 2020 at a dealership as a certified used Honda. I have service history with the dealership. No explanation was given as to what caused this. Check engine light started flashing and lost some power on the highway.
Been having engine issues for a while. All the way back to around 32,000 miles. The display says something about rods locker arms or something like that. I've also had an issue with throttle position sensor which was repaired however technician didn't tighten up a boat and I lost the oil pressure. The car was repaired at the end of 2017 in the beginning of 2018 but I've had the issue ever since so I typically don't drive the car too far since that incident. Some of the repairs should be in the Carfax however issue shows up from time to time on my display. I've also had to have some steering control module replaced in 2021. And I just got a transmission service to have the torque converter flush and reprogrammed because of constant jerking when accelerating.
The connecting rod bearing seized up. Connecting rod broke and puncture through the engine housing. No recall notice was received from manufacturer about the issue. I was driving on the highway when my car made a sudden stop and smoke came from the hood along with a slight metal sound. There have been no professional inspector yet. My brother in law is a car mechanic and found the problem for us. When the car came to a stop there was no indicating of any signs. I did try to start the car again and that is when all the lights came one.
Had a knocking noise coming from the engine of our 2016 Honda Pilot. My fear of "rod knock" was a reality. Piazza Honda of Pottstown, PA confirmed that it was likely a failed rod bearing(s). Honda of America (corporate) is supposedly giving some good will money to help offset the cost. The dealership initially said that it would cost around $9000 to repair it (that's without "good will"). They have had our Pilot for over 2 weeks now and the new estimate today is $17,280. It's all over the internet that these Honda/Acura J-Series V6 engines are having premature rod bearing issues.
In 2021, while driving on a highway all vehicle warning lights came on. Engine ran at high rpm and low speed. Honda said is was a software update. Charged for update. This seemed to resolve issues. Car is regularly maintained and transmission fluid changed 2/1/2024. In 2024, the vehicle warning lights (in multiple & varying groups) began coming on and off at various intervals. The car stalled while at a red light on at least two occasions. When I was not near home I would stop at AutoZone for computer readings; misfiring of cylinder 2, random multiple misfire detected, system too rich bank 2. Car was at Honda for 2nd software update and lights were off at pickup. Lights started again. The mechanic found the vehicle was sending upwards of 100 codes. Repairs were made (and paid for) at local shop 2 separate times. Car is now at Honda diagnosed with engine failure due to bent rod. Honda will not offer goodwill on vehicle. However, the car has a "soft" recall for fuel injectors which seems to be the likely culprit. KBB in early '24 was $16k. Honda wants $18 k for repair and nearly $1k for diagnostic fee.
2016 Honda Pilot AWD EX-L Vin: [XXX] Mileage: 72,475 Connecting Rod Bearings failing on 3.5 liter, V-6 engines, leading to complete engine failure. Affected Model Years: 2016 through 2020 The engine in my vehicle is the Honda J35, V-6 which was the subject of a NHTSA mandated recall of approximately 250,000 Honda and Acura vehicles in 2023. I have observed a pronounced engine knock when the vehicle is at idle, that intensifies when the car is driven. I brought the car to a Honda dealership (DCH Honda of Nanuet) where it was confirmed that the connecting rod bearing problem was the cause. The dealership advised that a bearing replacement would not be feasible, and that an engine replacement would be necessary (see attached). I contacted American Honda and advised them of the same and a case was opened for me. (Case # [XXX]) But I was advised that there was no recall on my vehicle and no current, applicable warranty. I am presently awaiting a call from a Honda Case Manager on my request for financial assistance to defray the quoted cost of $8,057, plus applicable sales tax for the dealership to replace the defective engine. Based on the documented history of this problem and the associated potential for an accident that this is a considerable safety issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
This vehicle was recently recalled for the START / STOP in 2023 after complaining about it since 2017. The vehicle was repaired which resulted in starter and all related components associated with the recall. I questioned the repair as if you can't duplicate the failure (turn it on and turn it off) how do you know you have it fixed. They assured me they replaced all the associated components. Guess what the same problem is happening again. Start/Stop system is not working properly again post recall and software update. The US Government should go after Honda on this as it is truly a safety issue when your car dies at a stop and go light and then you have cares approaching you from behind at 55mph.
the car had developed a light ticking sound intermittently for the last three that seemed to go away randomly then the engine stalled and won't start due to seized engine
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while his son was driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who detected an engine knocking sound and determined that the engine was faulty and needed to be replaced. The engine was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.
My Auntie was on her way to a sports game driving about 70 MPH when she heard a loud bang then sounded like metal in a blender and chirping. After that the engine had no power what so ever luckily she was going down hill carrying enough speed to safely move to the shoulder cause before hand she was going over an under pass and there-??s nothing but the barrier so she couldn-??t move over till the top of the hill. If that engine had locked up completely she could have been killed at worst. The thing is that we took the vehicle to Honda 2 weeks prior to see if the vehicle was affected by the bearing recall and they said no the best they could do is give me honda corporate phone number to make a complaint which we did. I-??ve also read online about fellow honda owners having these engines failing and not being covered which is a $6000 dollar job that-??s half the vehicle's price which is insane that is what the mechanic quoted us to replace the engine. She still has the vehicle parked cause the repair is expensive. So these v6 engine have to be looked into cause so many families could get hurt.
While driving a 2016 Honda Pilot, the vehicle began to lurch, and engine failed by what appears to be rod(s) failing within the engine, penetrating the engine casing leaving a large hole in the casing. The RPMs went fully to the right before the engine seized. The hood smoked significantly, likely due to oil through the hole in engine. Luckily the driver was in the right lane of a 3-lane interstate, and was able to pull over to the shoulder and exited the vehicle on foot as the cabin began to fill with smoke. The Pilot was towed to a Honda dealership that night and repairs were assessed in the morning. The technician took photos and a video of his findings. He noticed oil leaking from the engine block and ran a scope up and he observed and documented a very large hole in the engine casing with metal appearing to fold outward, an indication of impact from inside the engine, likely from a rod failure. The engine was seized and could not be cranked by hand. The repair would require using a used engine block and rebuilding the engine. The cost of the repair was significant and so we sold the Honda Pilot to the Honda acquisition team. The fair market value for this Honda Pilot was noted as $16,916 via KBB.com as run by Honda based on the VIN# and mileage. Due to the damage, the price of the vehicle offered to us was only $2,500 (a $14,416 loss in value). We assumed this was a very rare incident, however the very next week we saw an article that NHTSA was investigating Honda for this exact issue. A recall was issued for model another model year, but the recall did not include the 2016 model year. The particular investigation is NHTSA RQ24013. In our instance, there were no warning lamps and our oil changes were current. There was an ongoing vibration issue we first observed at around 6000 miles that we correlated with specific RPMs and documented. To our frustration, Honda service never was able to find and fix the issue and we lived with this issue until the failure.
My vehicles engine will stop running sometimes while the car is at a complete stop and sometimes while it's in motion. Sometimes the vehicle restarts immediately and sometimes it struggles to restart. The problem happens sporadically sometimes going weeks between occurrences. This has caused me to be stalled in busy traffic and has also caused more dangerous situations where the vehicle loses power while in motion. I have taken the vehicle to a dealer and a local repair shop and neither were able to reproduce or confirm the problem. They each performed what they thought could be helpful maintenance procedures but these did not seem to work. Other than the local repair shop and the dealer nobody else has inspected the vehicle.
My Honda Pilot started having a jerky-hesitation-lack of power at certain RPMs and make a loud clicking noise during acceleration. I had my mechanic look at it when I took it in for inspection. He said that the rod bearings were causing the noise and that the engine needs to be replaced. He advised me to check for any Honda Pilot recalls that might apply because he said rod bearings should not be an issue. Although there is a recall from some 2016 Honda Pilots for rod bearings, but my VIN number is not within the recall numbers. I called Honda and they said that the recall only applied to cars on the assembly line at a certain time. They recommended getting a diagnoses from a certified Honda service center, and maybe I could get what they call a "good faith" repair. The Honda service center would only say they hear "lower engine noise, " and that to say it was rod bearings they would have to charge me $600 to drop the oil pan. I didn't because I can't afford it. However, at the bottom of the invoice, they gave a quote for replacing the rod bearings. I was able to find out about the rod bearings before something dangerous happened, but I am also unable to afford a new engine in my Pilot right now. So, I am barely driving it (only when I have no other choice-we have 3 children and are primarily using one car right now). The Honda dealership told me that because I bought my Pilot used and don't have the service records, that I wouldn't qualify for the the "good faith" repair anyway. I just saw a news article that you were opening an investigation into 2016 pilots for problems with rod bearings, so I wanted to file this report, even though I have been lucky enough not to have an accident because of it. I am attaching both my regular mechanics' invoice, as well as the one from Honda.
Was driving on the highway when I heard a loud, banging, crashing noise coming from the engine, followed by clunking repeating noise. I managed to safely pull off and get the car towed to the repair shop. The repair shop said that the engine was completely damaged and not repairable as per the invoice. There is already a recall for this issue for the same year make and model of the car but honda said it does not include my particular VIN number in the recall. The mechanic said that in their opinion, it is the same issue. I am kindly requesting that you review this and extend the recall to include other Vin numbers that are currently not included for this make model and year of car.
Engine started to make noise at around 130,000- difficult to get diagnosed- engine noise went away - engine started to run rough at around 147,000: changed plugs and coils along with air filter- engine power returned momentarily but then the engine started to get noisy - diagnosis was engine failure due to possible rod bearing letting go. Vehicle ran so rough- it was parked. 151,000 miles - regular maintenance and oil changes.
Car keeps hesitating to accelerate, stalled a few times & is burning through gas extremely quickly. Error code "engine emissions problem" came up, believe this is part of the recall
Around October 1, 2024 we were driving home and our entire dashboard lit up. The car still drove but lost all power. Concerned we would cause an accident as we were in a busy section of town, we immediately turned around and limped it to our independent mechanic. Upon inspection by the mechanic the following day, we were sent a list of codes. The mechanic also sent a video of the engine, explaining it sounded like a blown engine. He advised replacing the engine. The mechanic, who was previously a Honda technician, said he had rarely seen a Honda engine blow with so few miles. Given his experience and expertise, we moved forward with replacing the engine on October 9, 2024.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Nampa, ID, USA