general problems of the 2016 Honda Pilot - part 1

Complaint regarding franchise dealer recall non-compliance & misrepresentation (#26v-365). My vehicle is currently held at an authorized facility, [xxx], general manager Honda (downtown [xxx]), under an active manufacturer dispute (Honda corporate case #xxx). On Friday, xxx service manager [xxx] verbally stated on a voice line that the mandatory structural safety repairs for rear subframe recall 26v-365 were 'fully completed' on my vehicle, and used this claim to demand immediate asset removal under threat of a $150 daily storage fee. Less than two hours later, at 4:30 pm, an agent named [xxx] from the exact same service department called to schedule the identical 'free safety recall service. ' this represents a severe, documented misrepresentation of federal safety recall compliance records by a certified franchise dealer to pressure a consumer during an active dispute. The vehicle has never had a signed work order authorized by the primary owner for this recall. I request a formal manufacturer audit of this facility's recall tracking logs. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Hondal recall s/b 26-031 subframe this vehicle is 10 years old and was purchased / driven entirely in the northeast / NY - where the vehicle is most susceptible to underlying rust and corrosion issues and potential failure of suspension components. Vehicle was delivered to authorized Honda dealer / service center for scheduled inspection and required repairs on July 17. However, Honda service could not complete and remedy this safety recall on my vehicle due to unavailability of parts. Specifically, the subrame requires repair/reinforcement, but the bolts are seized and removing them will cause damage to the control arm bushing. Dealer advised they are unable to obtain control arm parts from Honda due to back order. I was advised my vehicle is not the only one they have where unavailbility of repair parts is resulting in inability to complete the safety recall.

Vehicle flashing warning signs for multiple system functions including battery and mechanical, forcing driver to pull over, unable to put vehicle in neutral to tow. Took vehicle to Honda dealership in phoenix, az dealership unable to recreate issue. Stated it was cleared as a certified used Honda. Continued to have reoccurring issues, less than 2 months later vehicle engine completely seized. Honda refused to take responsibility for engine failure despite documented recurring issues with this make and model.

Speedometer quit working. Then comes on intermittently and then quits again.

Summary of issue the vehicle developed an engine/emission warning light and failed mechanically without any crash or impact. The car drove fine until about one week ago. I have driven the vehicle normally and performed regular maintenance. Events and observations a warning light appeared indicating engine and emission problems. I took the vehicle to two separate mechanics: mechanic a diagnosed engine damage and catalytic converter issues. Mechanic b diagnosed engine damage and a possible fuel pump problem. I am not a mechanic and cannot independently interpret technical findings, but both inspections indicate serious engine-related failures. The vehicle has approximately 80,000 miles and was purchased for more than $20,000 less than two years ago. No collisions, impacts, or abuse occurred that could explain the failure. I believe this is a potential manufacturing defect. I contacted a Honda dealer about the problem; they stated it is not a manufacturing defect and declined to accept responsibility for repair. I believe the dealer is avoiding responsibility. Requested action I request NHTSA open an investigation (or add my report to any existing investigation) into this vehicle’s engine and related components to determine whether a safety defect or noncompliance exists. I request guidance on next steps and that this complaint be considered in any recall evaluation.

When driving vehicle shuts off for no reason. Then I have to put my four-way on and turn my vehicle back on. It has already happened four times, and no one seems to know what the problem is or what is causing the issue.

Auto idle stop function causing car to not start back up. Could be at a stop sign, in a left turn lane, in the middle of an intersection waiting to turn. Very stressful and unsafe driving conditions. This has been ongoing for years. Dealership has blamed it on the battery, which has been replaced theee times (one of those times under warranty), dealership has looked at the car multiple times. Also made recommended Honda repairs per the issued safety bulletin. But it continues to happen.

We had road issues recently and the care stalled on thanksgiving. We ended up having it towed to 2 mechanics, the final mechanic determined that this issue is a recall for other Hondas. Ours is not listed. I called the recall hotline and they will not fix the car under the recall because they did not add our VIN number to the recall. They informed us we could pay for the repair and keep our receipt for reimbursement if/when the VIN number is added. I was not happy with this outcome as if it's a problem with other vehicles why are we not being added. The recall is "a manufacturing defect in the connecting rod bearing that could cause the engine to seize and fail, leading to stalling while driving. ".

Unknown - the hydraulics of the power tailgate in the 2016 Honda Pilot are defective. After opening, it randomly starts 1 long continuous beep while the power tailgate closes - and it will not stop. I have had multiple items crushed. I have known other owners of the 2016 Honda Pilot where the hatch closed on them and trapped them in it. This is a huge safety issue! I am afraid when my teenage son opens the power tailgate that it will happen and trap him! it has happened since the purchase of the vehicle, which was brand new off the Honda dealer lot, in 2016. Honda dealer blew me off multiple times. They cannot "recreate" the issue - but it is random, however it does seem to happen more often once the air temperature is below 40 degrees.

Three times at a stop light my car goes into the engine idle stop mode and when the light turns green my car won’t get out of the mode. I have to put it into park and restart the car to go. I have almost been hit twice.

Engine developed noises while driving and seized up. Prior to engine seizure, auto start/stop was having issues where it would not restart after stopping at a light or stop sign. Rear unibody rusting really badly due to cheap quality metal?.

My 2016 Honda Pilot has continued to have engine restart issues with the automatic engine stop feature after taking it in for the initial recall. Upon telling this to the dealer, they said the recall work was already done and won’t address it further. They only did the software upgrade and did not tell me about the 2nd stage of repairs available. The issue is random but happens commonly, and seems to be worse on hot days. It also can sometimes struggle to restart after putting it in park after the auto restart fails.

Ais is failing. Car stalls out multiple times. Sometimes car will not even start when turning trying to turn on the first time. Weird instances occur all of the time: screen going black, radio going to full volume and not able to turn down, screen not working at all. Reached out to Honda several times with specific dates of incidents, and they ignore.

When the auto idle feature is on, the car will often completely turn off when at a red light or in stop & go traffic. When it is time to move again, I cannot go. Cars are honking at me to move, but the car will not start. I have to put the car in park, completely turn it off, and restart it. This sometimes happens on the interstate in heavy traffic, which can be extremely dangerous. My car’s engine light had been having a warning sign “emissions system problem”. I took it to the dealer, and told them about the auto idle problem & the light, but they could not find anything wrong. A few months later, my engine failed & they said it wasn’t covered under the recent recall so I had to pay $7,000 for a new engine. Now a few months later, the auto idle problem is happening again & the emissions system problem light is back on again. The new engine is only a few months old.

While stopped at a busy intersection, the “auto idle” feature turned the car off. When the foot was removed from the break, the car is supposed to turn back on and go. This time the car made a sound like metal grinding on metal, then the car automatically shifted into neutral. It would not shift back into drive. We had to put the car in park, turn it off and restart. Fortunately there was no one behind us at the light, this could have ended very differently since we were unable to move when the light changed.

There was a small ticking/knocking noise that started the week before I took my Honda Pilot in to the dealer. I took the car in for regular service and told them about this noise. Under further inspection, I was advised by the Honda dealership that the piston connecting rod bearing had failed causing damage to the motor. I had to pay to replace the motor at my own expense. This is a safety issue as I did not really have a warning that anything was wrong with the vehicle and the engine could have seized up and caught fire while I was driving putting my family and other vehicles in harms way. It is my understanding that Honda had a partial recall on this issue in which my VIN was not covered. I was not notified that this was even an issue for the 2016 Honda Pilots and I should have been notified and and this should have been fixed before it occurred. The dealer reached out to Honda corporate to request coverage of this cost and they denied it even though this is a known issue with this motor.

Pilot has auto start/stop problems. When it stops, if the exact pedal procedure isn't followed the car will lurch forward and stall engine. After that is it difficult to restart. This situation creates a dangerous situation as the vehicle fails to pull out in traffic under power. Very poor design by Honda and should be permanently disabled for driver/occupant safety.

Our stop/start feature consistently causes the car to stall instead of restarting the engine. This leaves us stranded in or at intersections while waiting for the car to respond to pressing the park and restart buttons. This regularly takes enough time we have narrowly avoided being hit multiple times from suddenly not being able to move. Because it can turn off at any time you are fully stoped we have been caught after having to make a complete stop in the middle of an intersection and then still being stalled when the light changed. Honda has experienced the problem and has only been willing to change the battery. A fully charged and new battery does temporarily reduce the number of occurrences. This has only been inspected by Honda because we have not had an actual accident yet. There are no other warning lights on the car at any point. This is a regular and known issue that they have failed to fix.

The atf warmer failed. This allowed engine coolant and transmission fluid to mix. This caused the engine and transmission to overheat. No warning messages appeared up until the transmission overheated. A warning appeared about the transmission, but not about the engine. Honda says that they do not think my VIN was impacted by this known issue. And, yet, my car has a textbook defective atf warmer with 100% overlap in symptoms with a known service bulletin issue (17-035 from April 7, 2018).

Our 2016 Honda Pilot elite sputtered as we tried to accelerate and then the engine died. It is available for inspection upon request. The engine stop unexpectedly while driving limiting control of the vehicle. The problem has been reproduced for an independent service center. The Honda service center, and two independent service centers are unable to determine the cause from the vehicle codes. There were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms prior to the engine dying.

Transmission slipping and motor making a grind sound since like 120k and dash problems and paint chips every were paint is coming off on its own. I did not about that I can do a complete here.

This accident happended about three months ago. While I was driving on highway, all of suddend, most the signals popped up like firework, awd/vsv/eps/tsa and hill start asssitance and etc. My Pilot just like lost power and hardly to be speeded up. This was really scarily on the highway. Then I managed to drive to my friends' garage. My friend, who owns a garage, helped me to diagnosis the issue and failed to find anything significant (see attached) . He then cleaned up a the signals above, and let me drive home. Amazingly after a the error signals cleaned up, my Pilot was running normally. So couple of weeks later, I sent my car to davishonda, a dealer close to my home, to have a close check. Unfortunately, the report shows that everything is normally. At this moment, I am so surprised how could that happens to my car. My gut feeling for this accident is this one is mostly the software issue than hardware issue. So how in some particular conditions the software has some hacuup. But this could rely on your investigation. Maybe this is only one or two cases. But for me I still feel no comfortable to drive this car around, since I feel it is not that safe any more. Hope you guy can find some answer for me.

Paint chips all over pealing.

I just purchased this vehicle this year if any components failed I do not know of it.

When at a stop at an intersection the engine auto idle/stop feature will engage and when you let off the break the engine comepletely dies and you have to put car in park and restart the car. This is extrememly dangerous when at intersections and in turning lanes.

Keyless entry malfunction. Vehicle not starting at times. Replaced battery. Error lights on dash. A known issue by Honda.

The a/c in my 2016 Honda Pilot is blowing hot air. On my first visit to the dealer, dye was added to detect the leak at a cost of $422. Upon returning to the dealer a second time, the dealer replaced the a/c condenser at a cost of $1,075, which did not solve the problem. Upon returning to the dealer a third time, the a/c condenser was replaced again, and that also did not solve the problem. Upon returning to the dealer a fourth time, the dealer now recommends replacing the a/c evaporator at a cost of $2216. I believe these parts are defective, as Honda has already issued service bulletins extending the warranty to 10 years for the a/c condenser in certain vehicles. This new warranty extension applies to the accord, accord hybrid, clarity, civic type-r, and insight. [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] according to the service bulletins "this warranty extension covers vehicles that have a defective a/c condenser from the factory. The a/c condenser was not manufactured to specification. As a result, corrosion may develop in the form of tiny holes in the condenser tube walls that allow the refrigerant to leak out. " see (warranty extension: 2019–21 insight a/c condenser) I am requesting that the 2016 Honda Pilot be included in the warranty extension, as I am experiencing the same issues for the expensive repairs. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

For the last few years the idle stop feature has resulted more than one dozen times of me being stuck at a stop light and not being able to get the car started. It will idle off and when I lift my foot off the break it will have trouble starting back up. If I wait a minute or so it can sometimes start back up but at least four times it has required a jump start to get it started again. It’s extremely stressful and scary to be at a light and stuck there with people honking and having to get out of the vehicle in a busy intersection to try to jump start the vehicle. I try to remember to turn off the feature every time I start the car but I forget sometimes. After the latest time being stuck with a toddler and trying to get someone to stop to jump start my car I am sending in a report.

Idle stop feature caused the car to fall dead and go stuck into neutral while at a stop sign and getting ready to pull off into traffic to make a right onto the feeder of a busy freeway. I had to place the car into park then press the ignition button to turn the car back on then shift back to drive before being able to pull off.

At high rate of speed on two lane road the hood would lift when another vehicle coming from the other direction. Was driving cross country when this first happen. Call the local dealer who looked up by VIN an showed no recall. They wanted me to come in and pay out of pocket repair. I feel this should be a recall because if you look it up by year it shows there is a problem with either the hood or hood latch.

A few years ago, I reported a problem with my car's auto idle stopping, causing the car to stall, and taking a few minutes to restart. Honda offered to update my software to fix this issue, which I did last March. Today, driving, the car stalled again. The issue has not been fixed with the software update. Again, after stalling, the car needed to be put in park and started again. This took a few minutes. I was in traffic, and numerous cars behind me honked and were frustrated. A few weeks ago, we drove the car on a very slow, crowded freeway. I was extremely concerned the same thing would happen. I have three teen drivers. We were so concerned about this issue that we purchased a new car for them (we would not have otherwise). This cost us a significant amount of money. I am anxious each time I drive our Pilot. I am concerned that some day someone will rear end me, or I will encounter road rage over not being able to move when cars are lined up behind me. Please, please require Honda to deactivate the auto idle feature or recall this vehicle. I do not feel comfortable selling it to someone else, but really don't want to drive it. Thank you.

I have a 2016 Pilot (touring), and about a month ago, I started experiencing static in the audio. It begins faintly in the background and gradually increases in volume until it completely overtakes the audio, leaving only static. The issue persists regardless of the audio source selected.

Keyless start system problem message has recently started appearing on the screen when I start the vehicle. The key fobs do not appear to work to their proper capability either. The locking feature when walking away does not work. Vehicle has continued to drive properly for now but other reports show the vehicle may shut off while driving. Some research shows a recall but local Honda dealership does not see anything regarding this. This needs attention as it appears to be an ongoing issue.

The auto idle stop system sometimes stalls car instead of re-starting it. It is still in gear when it stalls and can roll on its on. You expect it to start up the way it should and for you to accelerate but it stalls and rolls on its on. You need to put it in park, shut it off and restart it. Not very safe if you were stopped in traffic.

On several occasions in 2024 1 - 2 months apart I have been stopped at a light in my 2016 Honda Pilot I have around 150,000 miles on it. The car will stall out and I can barely make it to the side of the road. All the dashboard lights come on vehicle stability assist problem, power steering system problem, emissions system problem, road departure mitigation system problem, trailer stability assist problem, hill start assist problem. I had the catalytic converters changed about 2 months ago at a cost of $3,000 and this is still happening. Once the battery is disconnected the codes go away and the car drives fine for a while, but not this last time. We had aaa come out and put a new battery, they aaa service drove off, I pulled out 3 feet and the car cut off again and all the lights came back on and the car would not move.