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 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,837 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.
Engine repeatedly fails to restart after automatic engine idle stop. Failure is unpredictable but seems to occur more frequently when the ambient temperature is high (summer) and the engine has been running for a while. Failure to restart disables the vehicle in a vulnerable position, particularly to rear end collision from another vehicle in the same travel lane. The dealer has not confirmed nor reproduced the results despite five or more visits for the problem. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than the dealer. There is no warning prior to failure. Multiple warning indicators appear after the engine fails to restart.
idle-stop feature. When the idle-stop feature activates as the vehicle is stopped at a traffic signal, the vehicle fails to restart when the brake is released and accelerator pedal pressed. I turn on the emergency flashers. The vehicle usually restarts within 3 minutes. I am afraid I will be rear-ended at high speed as I am stopped at a green traffic signal. This also causes others drivers to swerve around my vehicle causing unnecesary danger. This happens weekly.
Honda has a known issue with its emissions. A warranty extension Service Bulletin 22-002 has been issued to replace fuel injectors up to 10 yrs 150,000 miles but they do not identify other malfunctioning components that also need replacement. My vehicle has the MIL with codes P0420 and P2096 for the past year. I had the fuel injectors replaced and O2 sensor replaced in August of 2022 but the MIL continues to report the same codes. Next I am being told to replace the catalytic convertor which should also be covered under warranty but is not. I have a Honda Pilot 2016 Elite 101,000 miles.
This problem is the auto stop/start mechanism. This has been going on for at least 3-4 years. The car will automatically stop when we are at a red light or a stop sign, but then will not start when you press the gas. The vehicle is completely dead. It is completely cut off. It has powered down. You are in the Drive gear, so you must have the presence of mind to switch the vehicle to Park, put your foot on the brake and press start. It's very frightening if you are at a big intersection. This happens every time you drive for any distance. It doesn't happen at every intersection; it's an intermittent problem making it worse. We try to remember to disable the auto stop/start when we start but sometimes we forget. There is NO WAY to permanently disable the feature or we would. It's a scary pain.
- Kitty Hawk, NC, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while making a turn out a parking spot, the vehicle would not auto start, and the collision mitigation warning light was illuminated. The contact shifted the vehicle into park and restarted the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted and stated the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The car consistently stalls out when we stop and the auto idle begins. When we remove foot from break the car doesn-€™t restart and takes a few minutes of turning it on/off before vehicle resumes functioning. Honda says nothing is wrong but it has been an issue since purchase. It is more likely to occur when ac is running. I have to manually turn off auto idle every time I turn on vehicle to prevent stalling.
My car (2016 Honda Pilot Touring) SHUTS DOWN due to the auto shut off feature at least once a month and I am very nervous to hand it over to my daughter in a next year when she is old enough to drive. I have been stalled out at intersections...it is irresponsible of Honda to not issue a recall. People are going to get into accidents if they can't start their car in the middle of intersections! Why is this not being recalled. I understand it will cost Honda a substantial amount of money to correct, but it has to happen. What if you have an older battery that is losing its charge. Does this mean that WE are to blame for getting into an accident because the battery is not brand new and can't handle this auto shut off feature? It's totally unacceptable! I realize we can turn the feature off...but what happens if my daughter (new driver) forgets to push that button EVERY time she gets in the car. I'm sorry...I know some will say it's the driver's fault for forgetting but the potential of that mistake is real and the possibilities could be devastating.
With Auto Engine Idle Shut Off on, the engine shuts off when idling at a stop, but does not restart when taking foot off the brake. It takes up to a minute to shut everything off and restart the engine. Only happens occasionally, but it's dangerous when it does because the cars behind are try to go.
The automatic start/stop function works intermittently when I come to a complete stop or turn off the car for a short amount of time. Most of the time, when I make a complete stop, the Honda Pilot won't automatically restart. I have to put the Honda Pilot in park and restart the engine, which still doesn't work. I have to wait a significant amount of time before reattempting the ignition. If I disable the automatic shut-off feature when I turn on the Honda Pilot, the SUV drives like normal. However, there is no permanent vehicle setting to disable the automatic shut-off. Lastly, the SUV usually won't restart even if I make a short duration stop, such as pump gas or running inside a store. At first this was a rare occurrence. Over tha past year, the Honda Pilot has gotten worse. Now, it's an everyday occurrence.
Beginning in the summer of 2020, intermittently when the auto idle was engaged the engine will not restart but will stall out and requires multiple efforts to restart the engine. It does not happen every time auto idle engages. It seems to happen more in the summer months. It has happened while at traffic lights, stop signs and while idling in heavy traffic. The safety of myself and my family is at risk due to having to put the car in park and go through several rounds of attempting to restart the engine. Just before the engine turns off, there is a flash of a warning light for the collision mitigation system. I took it to my local repair shop. They thought it might be the ignition switch and replaced it. That did not help. My local repair shop based upon their knowledge from other pilot owners said it was an ongoing problem and suggested I take it to the local dealership. The local dealership told me there was nothing wrong and acted like I was crazy. The issue has happened when my husband and brand new teen driver have driven the car. Now upon entering the car we turn the auto idle off to ensure our safety.
Engine failure in the middle of the intersection while my 16 year old drove home from work. Car has always seemed like it had a transmission issue and seemed like something was not right but Honda did not seem concerned. Now engine failure.
When car stops due to Auto Idle it then stalls and gos into neutral shutting of engine completely With collision warning coming up. Then have to shut car off, put into park before it struggles to restart. I have documented on 2 other occasions with NHTSA and to be honest if I was to document this every time you would have 100-€™s of reports from me. This vehicle is dangerous due to Auto Idle. I try to over ride it if I remember but that-€™s not always the case. I have taken it to Hoehn Honda in Carlsbad CA multiple times but to no avail can they fix it. As a consumer I-€™m trying my best to take safety seriously as this car will kill someone. When will Honda or the goverment take this seriously. The defect in this car the auto idle needs to be looked at or recalled.
The engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. Vehicle must be placed in park and attempt to restart. Sometimes restart does not happen for several tries. Has happened 10-15 times over the last 3 years, since around 30,000 miles, and dealership has tried investigating and have failed to remedy after 3 separate visits. Date indicated in this report is the latest occurrence.
When coming to a stop the vehicle engine-€™s automatic stop/start system stops the engine then multiple warning lights are on and the vehicle fails to restart automatically. Driver must work through a series of steps while sitting at an intersection or stoplight resulting in a vulnerable position.
1) Engine failure - Several times our 2016 Touring has stalled at a stoplight. It takes time to start back up. I have to turn on hazard light, and it is getting worse every occurrence. This has happened since I bought new, and when it happens, all of the lights come up on the dash. There is a investigation in the state of California, but nothing in Ohio yet. 2) I just had to replace my drive shaft that goes from from to back on center bottom of the car. They said the rear is failing, and that may be part of the problem with sluggish acceleration. 3) Transmission: Sluggish acceleration is this ZF 9 speed (outsourced) by Honda issue. I will be accelerating on the freeway, and all of the sudden, it would down shift to like second gear, causing me to slow down suddenly. Dangerous if cars are behind in rush hour. I also had 4 incidents where I could have lost my life because I could not accelerate (the gear would not engage). Dealer informed me that all of the updates are uploaded, and it should be okay. But it's not okay when you are carrying your children, spouse, or co-workers. I have informed the dealer many times that this car is not safe. I personally ran a business as Tier 1 supplier to Honda and visited many Honda factories. Nothing ever got done. It will be too late before they can help us. All of the data and information is at Honda Marysville (Ohio) dealership. All of my services (including oil change) are done there.
The vehicle does not restart when at a stop. the auto idle shut off will not work. This has happened multiple time since we purchased the vehicle. It has been to the dealer multiple times with this problem. When it happens, you must put the vehicle in park and restart the engine. This causes a problem for traffic as sometimes it is very hard to restart.
I have had multiple time of my vehicle's auto stop start feature failing to START after being engaged. When you come to a stop, the car turns off. When you lift off the brake to go the engine cranks for a second, but does not start. The screen says "shift car to P". I am often stuck at an intersection and traffic gets upset we are not moving. There is no warning light or lamp. I have had the vehicle repeatedly serviced by the dealer. They said they cannot replicate the issue. The battery has been replaced several times.
The engine completely stopped working while driving on the interstate. The engine only has 130,000 miles on it and I am now facing a $15,000+ repair on a known issue with the Pilots.
SEVERAL times when stopped the auto shut off for the engine does not restart and engine completely turns off with the car in drive and me unable to move. This leaves me at an intersection while cars are trying to go and I have to restart my car. I have been almost hit when cars coming up to the intersection assume I am going to be moving soon. I have brought this up to my Honda Dealer several times. One time they claimed it was my battery so I paid to have my battery replaced only to have it continue to happen. The last time I was in the Honda Dealer they said they have had a number of complaints and Honda has no solution. I asked if they could disable the feature so that I didn't have to worry about it happening. They said no. I have to manually disable it every time I start the car. There are no indicators or lights showing that there would be a problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Canon City, CO, USA