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:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,825 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Honda Pilot:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2016 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 8 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #120

Jun 272020

Pilot

  • 50,600 miles

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

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.

- Bolivia, NC, USA

problem #119

Jun 222020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
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!

- Cicero, NY, USA

problem #118

Jun 222020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 62,000 miles
Only had the car for 3 weeks from a dealership and while I was driving the check emission lights come on been looking at reviews and they are not good.

- Cornelia, GA, USA

problem #117

Jun 152020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 50,000 miles

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

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.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #116

Jun 042020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 116,006 miles
When the engine idle stop is engaged the car will occasionally not restart. It takes multiple tries to restart the vehicle. Most of the time it happens in traffic which is a potential safety hazard.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #115

Jun 032020

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 92,000 miles
Moonroof shattered from the center of the moonroof while driving on Pennsylvania turnpike on work commute at approximately 10 a.M. 06/03/2020. This was approaching the willow rove exit and vehicle was already beginning to slow as the off ramp was coming up in a mile. Nothing hit the vehicle that could be determined.

- Bristol, PA, USA

problem #114

Aug 132019

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 67,000 miles

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

For Honda Pilot 2016, the problem is that the transmission that causes the transmission fluid to overheat. The overheating issue leads to a 'judder' in the transmission. The car accelerates in a very jerky way especially between 30 and 50. This is a big safety issue if you are trying to pass someone. As soon as the vehicle reaches 80,000 miles Honda will no longer cover the so-called 'repair' which is to flush the burnt transmission oil multiple times. Honda is aware of this problem.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #113

Apr 212020

Pilot

  • 59,800 miles
Keyless start system problem error.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #112

Apr 022020

Pilot

  • 92,500 miles
Car stalls and does not restart. Car has auto idle stop feature. When I come to a complete stop, the car completely dies and cannot be restarted. No emergency light, no lights on dashboard, cannot lock car, cannot put into neutral, must be towed. Car first started stopping at stop lights in city streets in 2017. Would take a few attempts to restart. Brought to dealer to state my concern that it would happen in the freeway and they checked and said everything was fine. On 3/19/20, driving in the freeway, I had to stop for traffic. Car died completely. I couldn't even turn on the emergency light. I had to open my door a little bit, stick my arm out and wave for oncoming traffic behind me. Semi trucks were quickly changing lanes to avoid rear-ending me. It was the most frightening incident that has ever happened to me. Car was towed to dealer and they said it was a transmission sensor error and claimed to have fixed it. 4/2/20 as my daughter and I were exiting the freeway, the problem occurred again. We stopped at the light at the end of the exit when the car just stalled. Again totally dead. It's just a parked car that cannot be restarted. Car was towed to dealer. I don't know what's wrong with it. The dealer's attempts to fix it did not work. The dealer was closed when we dropped it off tonight. This is a very dangerous situation. The car just dies and will not restart. There is not even a way to turn on the emergency blinking lights to alert other motorists of a stalled car. Had this incident happened in the dark, my daughter and I could have been seriously injured or killed.

- Moreno Valley, CA, USA

problem #111

Jan 152020

Pilot

  • 1 miles
2 week ago, I am getting an "keyless start system problem error" when ever I want to start the car. Later on the message has stopped but now the car wont lock upon exiting like is used to do before this error message. I checked the configuration setting and auto lock upon exiting is enabled.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #110

Jan 202020

Pilot

  • 58,000 miles

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

The car is around 58K. The keyless start system problem message is displayed. I replaced and all batteries of the fob and reset every thing to the factory setting, but problem still persists and the walk away auto lock is also no longer functioning after the keyless start system problem message was displayed.

- Schenectady, NY, USA

problem #109

Nov 052019

Pilot

  • 54,000 miles
Keyless start system problem

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #108

Jan 012020

Pilot

  • miles
Keyless remote system issue, apparently this is a very common issue with these vehicles after 36,000 miles. I'm unsure if the error will cause the car to just shut off while driving in traffic or make it just not start when I try to start it. This appears to be an issue that should have been addressed via a recall if the issue is this common. There is no option with this vehicle to actually use a key to start it, it is all remote.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #107

Jan 242020

Pilot

  • 65,810 miles
Suddenly receiving a 'keyless start system problem' error message. I had parked on a neighborhood street in 70 degree weather at sunset and the next time I got into my car, there was the error message when I turned it on.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #106

May 172019

Pilot

  • 12,000 miles
We have had several issues but the most pressing is that the car will suddenly stop responding under acceleration. This has happened 3 times once very nearly caused a very bad accident with a big rig whilst we were entering a freeway. The car will suddenly not respond to throttle the gauges seem to reset and then the car will go. Similar to how the auto stop idle function works except we were not stopped we were under acceleration. We have also had several instances where the vehicle will not start after the idle stop has activated at a traffic light forcing us to turn off the vehicle and then restart it. We have take the car to the dealer several times but they have been unable to recreate the issue and assure us that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle... beyond the problems listed above the car frequently has electrical safety issues with the auto brake and collision detection, I cant even count the number of times that the car has suddenly braked out of no where, no obstacles or anything to trigger it, just decides we need to brake. These "safety features" should really be reviewed and tested better before being put into a production vehicle.

- Claremore, OK, USA

problem #105

Nov 222019

Pilot

  • 87,000 miles
While driving my 2016 exl Honda Pilot AWD, it began displaying multiple codes such as hill start assist, road departure, emissions system, power steering, and, tsa. I took it right away to a nearby auto zone and the code they gave me was P0304 cylinder misfire. When I took it to hendrick Honda the codes were no longer flashing. But they ran the diagnostic and performed regular maintenance on the car and I informed that their was a $1,500 repair charge for fuel injectors. After researching this problem I found out that their was service bulletin 18-025. This service states that the probable cause is debris from the high pressure pump or the fuel inceptor machining process can cause interval wear or clogging inside the injector which requires replacement of the fuel injectors. This is a big safety concern for me and my family. A failing fuel injector could leave us stranded or stall out on a highway. In addition, it lowers gas mileage, increases emissions, and can lead to a host of other dangerous failures in your vehicle. It is my hope that Honda will be required to issue a recall for their faulty fuel injectors.

- North Charleston, SC, USA

problem #104

Oct 012019

Pilot

  • 44,000 miles
For the past 2 months my car sometimes says key remote problem when I push the button to start it. I have 46000 miles on it.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #103

Dec 192019

Pilot

  • 54,217 miles
An error stating "keyless start system problem" appeared on my dashboard. I also noted the car was accelerating roughly when it shifted into higher gears. A second error message and the engine light came on, stating "emmisions system problem" my mechanic followed the Honda troubleshoot recommendation instruction sheet, and removed the diagnostic code, but two days later the errors reappeared. Upon taking the car to Honda's service center, I was told the fuel emmision problem can be fixed and is covered under our warranty, but the keyless start system problem is not covered (as my car has 54,000 miles and the 3 year warranty/36,000 miles does not apply). The repairs will now cost over $350 to replace the components, plus labor. There are many posts about this problem... should be a recall issue.

- Matawan, NJ, USA

problem #102

Dec 232019

Pilot

  • miles
I've had multiple issues including faulty fuel injectors, faulty collision mitigation system, faulty homelink transmitter, audio bluetooth that resets on its own and now the latest one is a keyless start system problem. In addition, I continue to have this issue that when I am driving the car sense something in front (where there is nothing) and it breaks, also driving in highway or above 50 and try to press breaks, the steering wheel shakes. My car has a little over 36K miles and all these things have happened since 34K miles.

- Coppell, TX, USA

problem #101

Dec 212019

Pilot

  • 49,000 miles
Moonroof exploded while driving at highway speeds. There were no signs of wear and there were no chips. There was a loud pop and glass started falling down from the moonroof. We were lucky not to have gotten hurt. My children had glass all over their car seats.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?