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.
Had an issue related to the remote starter that caused the whole car to shut down. When we got the car jumped by AAA, I noticed a shudder in the transmission around accelerating at 30 mph. We took the 2016 Honda Pilot to the dealer, and they replaced the transmission fluid. After the technician did further tests, the dealer said the torque converter was bad and requires a whole new transmission. Honda would only cover 50% of the $8000 dollars to replace.
I informed the dealer that this isn't the first time we had a transmission issue with this car (we bought it used in 2019) and that there was a service bulletin update that was done to the car at that time. The dealer said unfortunately that is all that they could do and the transmission would need to be fully replaced. We did not move forward with the fix as the car is still drivable and is not worth that type of repair. Having to replace a transmission on a 6 year old car is ridiculous. This is an issue with the 2016 Honda Pilot not wear and tear. I will keep driving the car until it fails and never buy another Honda again. This car already has had a few recalls and is a lemon.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Had an issue related to the remote starter that caused the whole car to shut down. When we got the car jumped by AAA, I noticed a shudder in the transmission around accelerating at 30 mph. We took the 2016 Honda Pilot to the dealer, and they replaced the transmission fluid. After the technician did further tests, the dealer said the torque converter was bad and requires a whole new transmission. Honda would only cover 50% of the $8000 dollars to replace.
I informed the dealer that this isn't the first time we had a transmission issue with this car (we bought it used in 2019) and that there was a service bulletin update that was done to the car at that time. The dealer said unfortunately that is all that they could do and the transmission would need to be fully replaced. We did not move forward with the fix as the car is still drivable and is not worth that type of repair. Having to replace a transmission on a 6 year old car is ridiculous. This is an issue with the 2016 Honda Pilot not wear and tear. I will keep driving the car until it fails and never buy another Honda again. This car already has had a few recalls and is a lemon.
- Chris B., Woodbine, MD, US