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 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,967 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.
While driving the car, if I go over certain types of rough road, I.e. railroad tracks, the engine will stop and the car shut off. It is a momentary, less than 1 sec, shut down. It has happened at least 3 times in the last 6 months. I am driving 5 mph or slower as I am going over a rough bump.
My vehicle has been cutting off, all power including all computer screens/dashboard/steering, which last 2-5 seconds, then cuts back on. The RPM will rev up to the 4-6 thousand range and at times the vehicle will no go over 45mph. This has happened at 35 mph to 70mph. While in park, absolutely no gear engaged, the vehicle will lurch forward and backward as though it was in gear. My foot will not even be on the brake pedal and it will move. Last week the car was turned on, put in drive, I pushed the accelerator, the RPM's went to 4000 and the vehicle did not move. I looked down to make sure it was in drive, which is was, as I looked up the car lurched forward 2-3 feet. The emissions system, lane assist light come on randomly. It will tell me "steering required" even when I am driving and do not have the lane assist on. The dealer has replaced multiple parts, including "computer updates", the radar sensing system, but they cannot replicate the issue and have told me they cannot do anything about it. I have take the vehicle in at least 6-7 times in the last 2 months. The car is unsafe, still under warranty and the dealer told me "you are stuck with it". this car is a hazard to myself, my family and anyone else on the road. I have tried to deal with Honda corporate and they will not respond. I believe, from my research, this is an issue with this model that Honda refuses to acknowledge.
The car stalls intermittently when auto idle stop is engaged and car is stationary. Instead of the engine starting up again after take foot off the brake and press the gas pedal, the car stalls completely and have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. Sometimes have to try several times before car restarts. Dealer has been unable to find anything or replicate problem. First reported to dealer Oct. 2017, did software update, but happened again June and July.
The message "keyless start system problem" showed up in the information screen about a few weeks ago, it would come up intermittently, whenever I start the engine, and the message stays on the entire time the engine is runnning. When the engine is shut off, there will be a ding, and the message will stay on for a few minutes before going away. I took it to the local dealership, they had not encountered a message like that before, and could not figure out what was wrong. I already have over 42,000 miles on my vehicle, so the factory warranty has run out. Today I took it back to the dealership, since that message is still showing up, and I finally have the time to leave it for a few hours. The service advisor said now there is a code for that issue, but I would have to pay for whatever repairs needed to fix the issue. I feel that this should be a manufacturing recall issue, perhaps with the electrical system, or with the keyless start system, and that I should not have to pay for this repair. I'm afraid of what would happen when the issue gets worse, especially when I go on vacation, and the engine will not start because of an error with the keyless start system affecting the push button start. Again, the message does not come up everytime I drive. But today, on 6/28/2018, I have started the engine a total of 3 times while running errands around town, within 90 minutes, and this message has shown up every time I started the engine.
During extremely cold weather, all system failure indications scroll on the display. Happens intermittently and will reset itself over time. I renders the systems useless as well. Alarms include hill start assist, trailer stability assist, road departure mitigation assist, emissions, AWD and eps. Many of these systems are safety features and no longer respond until battery cable is removed or reset after time.
- Fort Peck, MT, USA
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On numerous occasions, beginning just months after purchase, I have had all of the indicator light turn on on my dash, including the lkas, collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control, road departure and various notifications for my bluetooth, radio and navigation come on. Also, my backup camera will have a black screen and then my maps will be gray with no information. My car will suddenly brake when there is no one in front of me and surge forward as I'm to coming to a stop and the RPM's will raise, it's like I'm sliding over ice for a short period of time. I also can't make phone calls using the system, as it won't recognize any of my voice tags. And instead will give me every contact in my phone book with a home number when I ask for it to call home. Recently the ABS is activating as I turn my wheels to the right while backing our of parking spaces, either on a driveway or flat surface. These may happen while driving or stationary and just turning the car on. It just isn't safe. I've had people slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me as my car decides to suddenly stop for no reason and have fear that I may rear end someone due to it lurching forward while stopping, so now I stop even further away from vehicles and objects - just in case. I'm also experiencing a popping noise coming from my speaker system that seems to occur whenever my ac compressor switches on or off or if I'm using my door locks, leading me to wonder if I'm actually having electrical issues. I've taken it to the dealer numerous times and they of course say that they can't duplicate the issues. So I show them all of my photos and videos. I'm not alone with many of these problems. I see others complaining of similar issues as well. Honda needs to repair our vehicles or buy them back. I've always loved Honda but after my experience with this vehicle, they may have lost my business.
On numerous occasions I have had all of the indicator lights on on my dash, including the lkas, collission mitigation, adaptive cruise control, road departure, and various notifications for my bluetooth, radio, and navigation come on. Also, my back up camera will have a black screen and then my maps will be gray with no information. My car will suddenly brake when there is no one in front of me and surge forward as I'm trying to come to a stop, like my brakes aren't working. I also can't make any phone calls using the system, as it wont recognize any voice tags and instead gives me every contact in my phone book that may have a home number. Recently the ABS is activating as I turn my wheels to the right while backing out of parking spaces. These may happen while driving or while stationary. It just isn't safe. I've had people slam on their brakes to avoid my car as it suddenly stops for no reason and have feared that I may rear end someone due to it lurching forward, so now I stop really far back from other vehicles. I'm also experiencing a popping noise coming from my speaker system that seems to occur whenever my ac compressor switches on and off, leading me to wonder if I'm experiencing electrical issues with this vehicle. I've taken it to the dealer so many times and they say that they can't "duplicate" this. So I show them the photos and the videos. I'm not alone with many of these problems. I see others complaining as well. Honda needs to repair our vehicles or buy them back. I've always loved Honda's but after my experience with this vehicle, they may have lost me as a customer. My family's safety is too important to leave in the hands of a corporation that cares more about their bottom line, than their customers.
On my 2016 Honda Pilot, all the lights come on in the dashboard ex; vsc, check engine, ABS, power steering. Took it to Honda and they performed a software update. Two days later the same problems occurs.
Two different times my car has sputtered while driving also when trying to accelerate. One time happen twice 2 weeks ago. Yesterday happened several times and transmission system problem light came on and emissions system light. Car jerked and sputtered very scary while I had my child in the car with me.. Honda currently reviewing problem.
Something is wrong with our vehicle when we try to accelerate it skips and sputters and does not pick up speed just happens in the economy state and also without the economy button
Engine stops won't restart multiple warning light flashing giving appearance of computer failure. Second incident. First incident dealer said no problem after checking battery. Second incident in traffic when failure occurred (5/25/17 approx 8 a.M) blocking intersection. Fortunately we were slowing to stop at light. Video of dash available too large to upload.
Surge while braking during parking caused vehicle to accelerate ahead and hit vehicle parked in front. This caused damage exceeding $1600. See Honda service bulletin 16-008. This bulletin was not brought to my attention until after this incident even tho my vehicle had been serviced by my Honda dealer only since II purchased it new.
Vehicle has electronic, keyless push button start. It also has a fuel, emissions feature where it shuts down when the brake is depressed, it doesn't idle at stoplights and automatically starts when lifting off the brake. I was driving the vehicle when I approached a red light. Depressed brake and vehicle light showed idle assist and vehicle engine shut off. When the light turned green, I lifted my foot off the brake and onto the gas. The vehicle did not start. All dash lights displayed and all error codes alternated on display. It also showed vehicle was in park. I tried to restart it again by depressing the brake and pushing the engine start button. Vehicle would not start and dials were twitching. Tried several times to start vehicle. The police arrived and wanted to push the vehicle to the side of the road since it was blocking the left hand lane on a 55 mile an hour road. Could not get vehicle in neutral. Call Honda dealership service department to ask how to put vehicle in neutral. They stated they didn't know how. Tow truck arrived and had to drag vehicle onto flat bed tow truck. Tow truck deliver vehicle to dealer. Dealer charged battery to restart vehicle. They ran diagnostics and stated it had no error code. They could not reproduce engine stop and stated there was no report of this happening to another vehicle. After I stated I was nervous to drive the vehicle again, they stated they could keep vehicle and drive it for several days to see if it happened again. Driving conditions: Clear day, 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Driving approximately 9 minutes, 55 miles per hour. 14,000 mile, less than one year old.
I was driving around town running errands. As I pulled out of a parking lot, my display panel showed emissions system problem and the engine light came on. Called dealer and they said it's not a big concern unless engine light was flashing and to bring it in after the weekend (was a Friday afternoon). Drove it 30 minutes home at 55-65 mph and noticed no problems. Drove it that distance and speed to take it to the dealer as well with no problems. Picked it up a few days later. Service notes indicate: Code P0328, knock sensor failure, replaced knock sensor and retested, ok at this time. After picking it up, was about 10 min away and trying to go from 60 to 68 and set cruise. Speed began to jump around, not staying at a speed for more than a second 70-60-65-68-63, etc. Engine light now flashing took off cruise and it continued. Turned around to head back to dealer. Car working fine for a bit, but then continued to jerk at different speeds (60, 40, 25). Was stopped at light and engine was still revving at 4 RPM. Stepped off brake and car accelerated on own to 25. Dealer notes: Code P2638, idle relearn, torque management feedback, performed relearn. Today, 6 days after picking it up, I was stopped at a stoplight. Eco button is on, engine idle is running, seat warmer and heater on. While I was still applying brake, the engine idle sounded like it was trying to kick off and the whole car shut off on me. All indicator lights came on, but the engine was off and nothing was running. Turned car off and back on, drove the 2 miles to the dealer, and left it with them.
On 3 separate occasions, our 2016 Honda Pilot elite has completely shut down while we were driving - twice on the highway and once in busy traffic. When this happens, the engine, transmission, power steering, etc. All stop working and the car displays every error you can imagine. I have posted a video here: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=btebmywy-is this is very scary because there is nothing you can do to get the car working again - luckily, we have been able to coast to the side of the road. When it first happened, we called Honda emergency roadside assistance and we had a tow on the way when we tried restarting the car several times in a row and that cleared the errors. Since then, we have used the same trick to get the car running again but it has happened twice in the last week - very scary! I have found other similar complaints online so it's clear that there's some kind of computer or electric problem with this model - it's just not obvious what triggers it. We are going to try to trade in our car for a different model because Honda has not been able to provide any help in spite of the fact that we have taken it to the dealer 3 times - I am very disappointed with their service on this.
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.
Two separate incidents in sacramento, ca where we experienced engine failure with our 2016 Honda pilate elite. The first incident occurred in May 2016 on a busy city street with our three young children in the car. While in motion, the car essentially shut down with the display screen showing a series of warnings indicating numerous system failures. There was no engine power but luckily I was able to coast the vehicle to a nearby parking lot. The dealer indicated there was no problem, just a computer glitch, and the only repair necessary was to reset the computer/software. The second incident occurred last week, only this time while driving on the freeway. We completely lost all engine power but luckily I was in the right lane and I was able to coast to the side and pull over on the shoulder. If I had been in the fast or middle lane with little opportunity to move over, there could have been a serious collision. Similar to the first incident, we were unable to start the car with the warning lights showing various system failures. We had the car towed to the same dealer who initially indicated they would just reboot the software again. So we pressed upon them to do a more thorough diagnosis since this is the second time its happened. They agreed to keep the vehicle and seek to identify the root cause of the problem. At this point no diagnosis has been made. We would have never expected this from a near brand new (purchased in December 2015 and currently has only 9,200 miles) Pilot elite loaded with safety and technology features. Again we experienced two separate incidents where the car immediately shut down while in motion with the most recent occurring on the freeway. And both times our three young children were in the vehicle. This is a huge safety risk and I certainly hope Honda does its due diligence in diagnosing and addressing this issue.
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!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Newark, OH, USA