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.
Auto restart has turned my vehicle off at a stoplight and then not restarted the engine and put the drivetrain into neutral. This has happened multiple times now. Also the car shifts into gears that either slow my car up when I'm trying to accelerate and speeding my vehicle up when braking.
The vehicle is equipped with an auto shut off and restart feature. There are many instances when the vehicle shuts off at a stoplight or in a parking lot and then does not restart automatically as it should. The vehicle must be powered off and on multiple times before the vehicle will restart. There seems to be a faulty sensor or some thing. The Honda dealership has provided no explanation except it's a battery issue which it is not connected as we have replaced the battery. I am concerned that when I am in traffic at a stoplight if I have forgotten to press the button to disengage the auto restart then I'll be stranded while trying to restart the car. It has become more frequent the last 18 months.
The "auto idle-stop" is automatically engaged on this vehicle. Whenever it is "on" the car will stall and shut down when stopping in traffic or at lights. Have brought to Honda, they say it cannot be fixed and its very dangerous.
The engine auto/stop feature had failed 3 times in rush hour traffic. The feature turns off the engine when stopped in traffic and does not turn back on and disengages the car.
Recurring problem with idle stop feature causing car engine to shut off completely (even when disabled), resulting in an error message and requiring the car to be turned off and on. This is a safety issue while driving, especially if in an intersection while turning. Https://https://www.piloteers.org/threads/elite-shuts-off-at-stop-light.157005/page-13
- Riva, MD, USA
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Auto shut off when stopping at a red light will not restart engine. Had orange red light on dash saying you must put in park and press break to and press start again. Also radio went off for a few seconds also. It also has been hesitant to accelerate after auto shut off starts engine several times just in the last few weeks
Check engine light came on while driving, quickly followed by a flashing oil light. Pull over and turn vehicle off. Check oil and there was plenty. At this point, the car will not turn over. Had it towed to the mechanic. They manually got the car to start but the engine is knocking and there is zero oil pressure. Engine is now needing to be replaced. Vehicle has 105K miles on it. Recently had the water pump and timing belt replaced at 103K miles. Regular oil changes and maintenance have been completed since it was purchased.
Car would not start after going into auto idle stop.car went into neutral by itself.had to put in park and it took several attempts before car would start.
While changing lanes (car in motion 65 mph) in the city, warning lights in the instrument claster started to appear. Engine lost power ( could not accelerate) had to change lanes in traffic almost got hit by semi trucks. Managed to drift to side of the road, car went into neutral and could not get into park. Used parking break to keep car from rolling. The instrument cluster finally made up its mind and settled on emissions error. Before that in was showing all sorts of errors. Turned off the car waited a few minutes and was able to drive home. Very scary with kids in car.
Honda 2016 touring shut off when stopping at traffic light or intersection, it does not auto restart from idling-stop mode. It took couple of tries to press the break and push the start button for the car to start. I also noticed the radio turned off and the car put itself to park. It started couple months back, and getting more frequent.
It happened to myself w/ my child in my car & then my spouse driving my car alone. However the same problem is known to Honda but until someone is killed, they are refusing to acknowledge, the camshaft shutting off all controls while driving on a highway is completely dangerous. As an experienced driver, I was able to avoid a collusion on a major highway surrounded by tractor trailers going 65mph. Although the Honda dealer has replaced the camshaft twice on my 2016 Honda Pilot with less than 46,000, I am fearful this will happen again. We are left with a balance to pay off, the safety of our family while driving this unsafe vehicle and just cut out losses. However, this will not solve the problem for those who cannot afford to purchase another vehicle. I had a 2006 Honda Pilot with very little problems for 10 years, 95K miles on it. It was why I purchased another Honda Pilot. However, I spent a lot more money. This 2016 Pilot was $30K with the $10K trade in. We maintain all our vehicles as well as garage keep them to protect them from the harsh pa winter elements. As a driver for over 32 years and zero accidents, I do not want to be the cause of a serious accident because Honda is neglecting to acknowledge this new german made engine as well as the transmission is a significant problem. There have been other problems like this one that began one yr after purchase I brought to immediate attention of the dealer. I am sure they report these findings to the manufacture as well. The remote key stopped working, several interior outlets for charging has stopped working, a dome light doesn't work, the garage door opener can't be programmed anymore and other features are no longer working. It is a dangerous car to drive with the risk of starting on fire as well as stopping abruptly like it did for me in 2018 and 2021 for my husband. Vinart lv Honda emmaus,
Twice in the last week my Honda Pilot has shut off when auto-idling at a stop light. The car should remain in drive but when I looked down it had shifted to neutral. The first message on the dash briefly flashed 'crash mitigation problem' and then instructed me to put the car in park and push the engine start button. After this incident, I turned off the crash mitigation system. A couple days later (today), the same thing happened. No crash mitigation system flash but instructions to put the car in park and press then engine start button. Both times the engine was on and in drive. Auto idling was enabled. I have only owned this car for two months.
Over the past few years, I have had issues with my car shutting off when at a stop after the auto off feature engages and does not turn back on. I have to put the car in park and manually restart the engine to continue. This was happening at least a couple times a month. I took it to the Honda dealer and no problem was found according to the dealer. I began to get in the habit of disabling the auto off feature every time I started the car and this seemed to avoid this problem I was having. Two days ago, however, when I was driving, it began to shut off every time I was idling at a red light (8 times in one day) even with the auto-off disabled. And when I got on the freeway, driving at about 55mph, the engine shut off and I had to emergently coast over past the fast lane into a narrow inside shoulder. I had my young children and elderly parents in the car and it was a very scary and dangerous experience for us. We were thankful able to restart the car and get off the freeway with the car shutting off two more times in the middle of the street while driving at slow speeds (10-20 mph) before arriving at a gas station parking lot. The display cycled through many error messages ie emission systems problem, power steering system problem, transmission system problem, emissions system problem, hill start assist problem, etc. I am very concerned that we have got continued to have problems with this vehicle shutting off which is very dangerous.
When driving a warning came up that I have an emissions problem with the engine light on. Just had oil changed and just purchased this car 6 months ago.
Three times the car has stalled and shut down after stopping at a red light on a busy city street while the auto idle feature was on. When the light turns green and your foot comes off the brake the car shuts off and puts itself in park. The car will not start and each time we tried to start it all the different warning messages cycle through on the dash such as hill start assist, trailer stability assist, road departure mitigation etc. The first time the car finally started. The second time it would not start and a tow truck had to be called. Since the car would not go into neutral the car had to be dragged onto the flatbed tow truck. The third time the battery was jumped and the car finally started. The battery has been test each time and it is fine. This has caused a very dangerous situation for my family by being stuck in busy intersections. Our local Honda dealer said they don't know why it is happening and will need to run tests. I have read hundreds of complaints online so I know it is a known issue. Honda need to recall and fix the problem.
We have an ongoing issue with our auto-idle feature malfunctioning that began at about 20,000 miles. I have written a complaint here before, as have many other 2016 Pilot owners, however nothing appears to have been done to date. This is a significant safety feature when the auto-idle is engaged, foot is taken off the brake and the car completely shuts off, often times not starting back up without a jump start. The car completely shuts off, warning lights flash all over the dash and no matter what you try the car will not start back up.this has happened to my wife with our 2 daughters numerous times. Fortunately, there hasn't been an accident, but my greatest fear is one time there will be. Naturally this always seems to happen at busy intersections. We have taken the vehicle into Honda dealership where we purchased the vehicle too many times to count. They have replaced the battery, replaced the start/stop switch, cleaned out multiple error codes. Nothing has provided a permanent fix. We just had to have our transmission replaced at 70,000 miles! the problem reared it's head again today. This time my wife had to press the brake, the gas pedal (both with all her might) and press the start/stop button at the same time. Something isn't right. I'm convinced we have a lemon, however the dealer seems to think we don't have a case for that. Honda has to step in and take accountability. There are far too many 2016 Pilot owners having this same issue for Honda not to realize the valid safety concern we all have. Take a look at piloteers.org and you will find a ridiculously long list of frustrated 2016 Pilot owners all struggling with the same problem. I am urging you to take action to correct this problem. We purchased this vehicle for the safety features, however "safe" isn't something I feel knowing my wife and daughters are in this vehicle multiple times per day.
The auto shut off feature turned the engine off at a red light - and would not turn the car back on once the brake was released. We needed to jump the Pilot to get it to turn over again. As this happened at an intersection on a state highway, we were very lucky to not be rear-ended! very unsafe and the mechanic said there is nothing wrong with battery!!
Problem with the auto stop/start feature- the engine stops but doesn't always start. It tries to start but doesn't. pressing the start button (ignition) doesn't always work right away. Seams you have to put the transmission in park, and press the start button (sometimes 4-5 times) before the engine starts. This is nerve racking and dangerous when you are in traffic- say at a light, or trying to cross over oncoming traffic. The time is takes sometimes to re-start the engine is about 10-15 seconds. This problem is intermittent. (doesn't always happen). It's not the battery. I had a new battery replacement. I also tried using a trickle charger to "top off" the battery incase it wasn't fully charged. No luck.
I was stopped at a red light and my engine turned off from the idle/stop feature. However, when I released the brakes this time, the car did not turn on as it normally does. Instead, the whole vehicle turned off and it took me several tries to turn the vehicle back on. This has happened to my wife on several occasions. I replaced the car battery and it happened again a month after. My Pilot would not turn on again after releasing the brakes.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbus, OH, USA