2016 Honda Pilot Complaints

ENGINE — Filed 09/23/2026

Engine blew up and forced the hood open while driving, obstructing view, and then started smoking black smoke. The engine is ruined and all of the oil drained from it. Pieces of pistons were laying on the oil tray. The car had been inspected with an oil change within 1k miles.

ENGINE — Filed 06/24/2026

While driving at night, the 2016 Pilot, it started making a loud rattling noise then just died in the middle of the road and failed to start. There were no service or check engine lights on at the time of failure or at any point prior to the failure. We were stranded in the middle of the road at risk of getting hit by other cars. The electronic transmission would not go into neutral and we had no way of even pushing the car to the safety of shoulder. We had to tow the vehicle. The tow driver also had a very difficult time of getting the car into neutral, necessary to tow it. Having the vehicle towed to a local mechanic, they reported it being very difficult to start and when it did, it had a sever engine skip with a loud rattling noise which is indicative of a connecting rod/bearing failure. The car has 140000 miles at time of failure. We had ALL required maintenance performed as they were scheduled. Approximately 95% was performed by Honda dealers. In fact we had a Honda dealer perform an oil change and inspection a week before the engine failure. We have had some local shops perform several required oil changes and the timing belt / plug service. We have all receipts. We contacted Honda dealership who quoted $18,225 for an engine replacement. We contacted Honda Customer Support who refused to offer any assistance, goodwill or other forms of reimbursement.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 03/14/2026

Vehicle caught fire and completely burned up. It had no problems, had been serviced and recently inspected for emissions and safety in Virginia.

WHEELS — Filed 02/23/2026

Lug studs keep breaking i have had honda and other dealers change the studs over 8 times new studs new lugs and 60-90 days one-two are broken again

ENGINE — Filed 11/26/2025

When driving on highway, heard loud engine cranking sound, followed by sudden jolts of the car. Stopped the car in the road median and then noticed smoke coming out from under the hood. Passengers got out of the car and noticed fire under the engine; called 911 immediately, then police and fire engine arrived to extinguish fire. Towed the car to Local Honda Service center. Diagnosis from the service center mentions: "A CONNECTING ROD BROKE AND EXITED THROUGH THE ENGINE BLOCK/OIL PAN AREA ON BACK OF ENGINE. .... and ENGINE ASSEMBLY NEED TO BE REPLACED along with other fire damaged and water damaged parts/sections...." This looks to be related 2016 Honda Pilot Connecting Rod recall ( NHTSA recall# 23V-751 ). Car maintenance has always been done on-time at the Honda Service center (records available for inspection). There were no warning lights before the incidence. Insurance company has inspected the car for claim purpose.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 08/19/2025

I was pulling into a parking space. Hit the brake. Instead of stopping, the car accelerated, jumping a curb and barreling across into another business drive. It hit a sign and a stone garbage can, which caused the car to recognize a collision and automatically go into park which caused it to stop. If it hadn’t been for the stone garbage can, it would have gone through the store window where people were sitting. Luckily at that moment there wasnt a car parked in the space or something coming down the road. Because I didn’t understand what was happening , so I looked at my foot to see if I had pushed down on the gas instead of the brake. My foot was firmly on the brake. I talked to the local Honda dealership. They had never seen that issue before. They said they could do the diagnostic which I would have to pay for, but couldn’t promise it would show what happened. I also called Honda customer service. They started a claim, but also would do nothing unless diagnostics showed the problem and also said it may not. I was very fortunate that i didn’t kill or seriously harm someone. I am now scared to drive the vehicle. If I had not looked at my foot to see where it was placed, I would say possibly driver error; but I know it wasn’t. My foot was on the brake

ENGINE — Filed 06/05/2025

According to the Honda dealership of Winchester, West Virginia, an engine rod came through back of block and into oil plan, causing oil to leak on exhaust, which then caused the car to catch on fire. My daughter was driving and her safety was at risk. There were no warning signs about this prior to the incident. We had just driven the car from Nashville to West Virginia with no problems. I was told that there was a recall for this for 2016 Honda Pilots, but that my VIN was not included. This has cost me $215.31 in car rental fees, $169.38 in Uber fees, $1661.35 in auto transport and towing fees, $165.99 inspection from Honda. I'm still waiting on final costs for a new engine; I was quoted $12K from Honda; trying to find a cheaper alternative.

AIR BAGS — Filed 05/09/2025

Car hit pole head on, airbags did not deploy. Dash indicated SRS airbag failure

WHEELS — Filed 11/17/2024

The spare tire strap / carrier/ mount broke causing the spare wheel and tire to fall off the bottom of the vehicle striking the vehicle behind it.

AIR BAGS — Filed 11/17/2024

I was hit in the front of the vehicle in the driver side by a large deer while traveling at 55 mph and you could smell airbag smoke but there was no airbag deployment whatsoever.

ENGINE — Filed 11/07/2024

My friend drove my car and on the freeway the oil started leaking and the engine caught on fire and the car came to a complete halt. It has to be towed to the nearest Honda dealer and upon inspection found the following: DURING VISUAL INSPECTION FOUND HOLE ON THE BACK SIDE OF ENGINE BLOCK DUE TO CONNECTING ROD FAILURE CAN NOT DETERMINE CAUSE TILL FULL ENGINE TEAR DOWN UPON FURTHER INSPECTION FOUND COMPLETE INTERNAL DAMAGE AND METAL CIRCULATION OF OIL SYSTEM REC TO REPLACE COMPLETE LONG BLOCK ASSEMBLY Diamond Honda I looked online and saw the 2016 Honda Pilot had recalls on thai specific issue and called the headquarters. They said they don’t have any recalls test on this vehicle becuase not enough people reported a problem. It was very serious that the engine stopped in the middle of e freeway and caught on fire. I asked the rep how many incidences needed to be reported before they will open investigation and she didn’t say. I asked how many people. We’re indie before they will recall and she had no answer except to give me a case number and told me her manager will call me in the next two days but it’s been 3 and no one has called. Headquarter rep also mentioned that it’s 5000 passed warranty so too bad on my part. Dealer also said I didn’t do all oil changes at the dealer so it’s my fault. I feel like I got a lemon. I’m waiting to hear what the headquarters have to say and what they find out w the dealer. But I thought I should report this since it’s very serious.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 11/03/2021

In 2021, my 2016 Honda Pilot had routinely had restart issues from when going idle at stop. In some situations, it simply would not start again and had to be jumped off. I ended up getting the battery replaced multiple times, but on [XXX] I went to my vehicle to start up and it was dead yet again. I then hooked up a jumper and the vehicle instantly started smoking from under the motor. Within 20 seconds, fire had started under the hood and it caused extreme damage to my home. The car was also destroyed. There seemed to be some sort of electrical system issue. I was able to get my 1 year old daughter safely away and nobody was hurt. However, this caused extreme losses. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 02/05/2024

The contact owned a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH and approaching the red traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal to come to a complete stop. The contact noticed smoke coming out of the cowl of the vehicle. The contact then turned on the AC and smoke came through the A/C vents. The contact opened the windows. The contact stated that the smoke became thicker and brownish while pulling into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact then noticed that there was a hole in the middle of the hood, and there was a flame coming through the hole. The contact stated that the hood and the windshield became engulfed in fire within 3 minutes even though it was raining. The fire department extinguished the fire, and police officers arrived at the scene, but the contact did not know whether a fire department report and a police report were filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot, awaiting to be totaled. The local dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

ENGINE — Filed 12/10/2023

Hi Sir/Madam, Wish you are going well. I own a 2016 Honda Pilot Touring AWD . Recently on [XXX] while i was driving in it with my family to New York airport the engine suddenly started making some noise and before we could pull over the car to the shoulder the engine got fire , fortunately we escaped by jumping out from the car as soon as we were on shoulder. The car was then towed to the service station and after inspection the service station informed that this is a case of engine failure due to crank shaft connecting rod failure. For repair the engine needs to be replaced and the estimated cost would be around $7000. I checked for 2016 Honda pilot recalls and saw this latest recall XG1 and GG0 which describes the same issue . However, my VIN No. does not show any recalls. Request your kind advice as i am not in a condition to afford the repair, the insurance does not cover this and i am stuck as i cannot to go anywhere without car. Is there any way i can get the car repaired free of cost by Honda ? Do i need to file a lawsuit for that? A Recall law suit is possible? Can I include claims for defective vehicle and negligence as I got the vehicle serviced from Honda Service station recently and they didn’t checked/informed for this issue causing fatal safety concern for my entire family. Looking back for your kind advice. Wish you a wonderful day. Thanks & Regards, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 06/03/2023

Unintended Acceleration While at a standstill , on a hill, holding a foot on the break pedal , I lifted my foot from the break pedal to drift forward down the hill, (without ever getting near the gas pedal ) The car accelerated at a very high RPM. I pressed down on the break pedal to stop the car, but it was at such a high RPM rate that I was unable to stop the vehicle from hitting another vehicle in front of me, caroming off of it and my vehicle landed atop a hugh shrub suspending it several feet in the air. My vehicle was totaled and the vehicle it hit was severely damaged. There were no serious bodily injuries to any passengers in either vehicle. There are two issues here. The unintented acceleration, and the inability of the breaks to stop the vehicle.

SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 02/12/2022

There have been multiple times where the automatic emergency braking system engaged almost causing an accident with no car ahead of me. The latest incident caused a whiplash related injury to my daughter's neck. The tractor trailer behind me also locked up the brakes and luckily did so in time to avoid colliding with my car.

AIR BAGS — Filed 05/03/2021

GOT INTO A FRONTAL COLLISION AND THE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. SRS AIRBAG SYSTEM PROBLEM APPEARED ON THE DASH.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 01/25/2021

THE PUSH START BUTTON DOES NOT WORK, IT IS GIVING ME AN ERROR 'KEYLESS START SYSTEM PROBLEM'. I CHANGED THE KEY FOB'S BATTERY TO A BRAND NEW BATTERY AND IT IS NOT THE KEY FOB WITH ISSUES, IT IS THE BUTTON ITSELF. I HAVE TO KEEP PRESSING THE BREAK AND THE START BUTTON TO GET THE CAR TO START WORKING. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR 3 MONTHS AND IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE, I HAVE TO PRESS THE START BUTTON LIKE A TOY.

AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 12/05/2020

AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY ON IMPACT. DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH ON A RESIDENTIAL ROAD WHEN BRAKE'S LOCKED AND CAR DID NOT RESPOND, RUNNING DIRECTLY INTO A TELEPHONE POLE WHILE ON A HILL/SLOPE. CAR PICKED UP SPEED BEFORE IMPACT. AIR BAG SENSOR OR ERROR APPEARED ON IMPACT, CAR SMELLED OF SMOKE/BURNING. FRONT BODY AND FRAME HAD EXTENSIVE DAMAGE, IE. RADIATOR CAGE(?). AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND POLICE STATED THAT GIVEN THE IMPACT, THEY SHOULD HAVE. CAR IS BEING REPAIRED AND AIR BAG SENSOR CONTINUES TO DISPLAY WITHOUT KNOWN CAUSE.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 10/21/2020

SINCE BUYING THIS VEHICLE THE TRANSMISSION AND COMPUTER MODULE HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE DUE TO SIMILAR PROBLEM. WHILE MY SON WAS DRIVING AROUND A CORNER ON A CITY BLOCK SO TURNING LEFT AT 15 MILES PER HOUR THE TRANSMISSION SUFFERED A FAILURE AND ERROR MESSAGE AND ACCELERATED FORCING HIM OFF THE ROAD. DEALER HAS DENIED ANY ASSISTANCE.

AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE — Filed 02/03/2020

WE WERE HIT ON THE DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS SIDES OF THE VEHICLE BY ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT WAS TRAVELLING AT AN ESTIMATED 90-100 MPH, AND THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MY VEHICLE WAS TRAVELLING AT ABOUT 50 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE WHEN IT WAS STRUCK ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE FIRST. THE FORCE OF THAT IMPACT PUSHED MY VEHICLE INTO A LARGE BOX TRUCK ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE. THE POLICE STATED THAT THE AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED WITH THE EXTREME FORCE OF THE IMPACT.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE — Filed 01/13/2020

ON JANUARY 13TH, I LEFT MY HOME TO PICK UP MY SON, JULIAN, 3 YEARS OLD, AT PRESCHOOL. HIS PRESCHOOL IS APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES FROM OUR HOME. I PICKED HIM UP, AND DROVE THE SAME DISTANCE BACK TO OUR HOUSE, ARRIVING HOME AROUND 4:45PM. I HAD NO UNUSUAL WARNING NOTIFICATIONS OR ANY UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE DRIVING TO AND FROM THE PRESCHOOL. I PARKED THE CAR IN OUR DRIVEWAY. JULIAN AND I EXITED THE VEHICLE, AND WALKED TO OUR FRONT DOOR. AS WE APPROACHED THE FRONT DOOR I SMELLED SMOKE, AND LOOKED BACK AT THE CAR. I NOTICED A SMALL FLICKER IN THE PASSENGER SIDE LOWER HEADLIGHT. UPON CLOSER LOOK, I REALIZED THIS WAS IN FACT A FLAME. JULIAN AND I LEFT OUR BAGS ON THE PORCH, STEPPED OFF OF OUR FRONT PORCH, AND MOVED AWAY FROM THE HOUSE AND CAR, AND CALLED 911. AS WE WAITED FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE WATCHED THIS SMALL FLAME GROW TO FULL FLAMES, ENGULFING THE ENGINE, FRONT HOOD, AND FRONT OF THE CAR. THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED, AND PUT OUT THE FIRE. THE CAR WAS TOWED OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED WITH THE MONTCLAIR POLICE DEPT. OFFICER ANTHONY SWAN #232 PATROL DIVISION MONTCLAIR POLICE HEADQUARTERS, 647 BLOOMFIELD AVE., MONTCLAIR NJ 07042 ASWAN@MONTCLAIRNJUSA.ORG REPORT # 20-005325 I THEN CALLED OUR INSURANCE PROVIDER, USAA, FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT. THEY HAVE TAKEN THE CAR INTO THEIR POSSESSION AND INITIATED AN ORIGIN & CAUSE INVESTIGATION. WE PURCHASED THE CAR NEW. WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN A COLLISION. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED TWICE ANNUALLY. IT WAS SERVICED LAST WEEK. IT HAS ~30,000 MILES ON IT. THE DEALER THAT SOLD US THE CAR, PAUL MILLER HONDA, IN NJ, HAS BEEN UNRESPONSIVE, TELLING US TO REACH OUT THE THE NATIONAL HONDA OFFICE. I HAVE FILED A CASE WITH HONDA, AND HAVE BEEN TOLD SOMEONE WILL REACH OUT TO ME. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED.

AIR BAGS — Filed 09/06/2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HONDA PILOT. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, A DEER CRASHED INTO THE VEHICLE AND CAUSED SEVERE FRONT END DAMAGE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND THE PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT BECAME STUCK. THE CONTACT COULD SMELL A BURNING ODOR AS IF THE AIR BAGS HAD DEPLOYED WITHIN THE DASHBOARD. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM HONDA LINK INDICATING A REPORTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. MCKENNEY-SALINAS HONDA (4295 WILKINSON BLVD, GASTONIA, NC) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000.

STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 07/14/2019

I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE AS A "CERTIFIED PRE OWNED BY HONDA" AND FOUR DAYS AFTER THE PURCHASE THE CAR WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, IN "PARK" WHEN I HIT THE START/STOP ENGINE BUTTON AND THE VEHICLE DIDN'T START. ALARMS STARTED TO GO OFF SO I ASSUMED IT WAS THE KEY WAS STILL INSIDE THE HOUSE. AS I WENT INSIDE TO CHECK, MAYBE A FEW SECONDS, WHEN I WENT BACK OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE WAS GONE. I FOUND IT IN MY FRONT YARD. IT HAD ROLLED OFF WHILE IN PARK WITHOUT ENGINE ON. AFTER GETTING IT TOWED TO HONDA, DAYS LATER I WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE START/STOP ENGINE SYSTEM AND THAT IT ALSO NEEDED THE ENTIRE A/C SYSTEM REPLACED. ATTACHED YOU WILL FIND THE PHOTO I TOOK OF THE VEHICLE STILL IN PARK WHEN I FOUND IT IN MY FRONT YARD.

STRUCTURE,ENGINE — Filed 05/01/2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 HONDA PILOT. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD AND THE CONTACT SMELLED FUMES. ALSO, THE VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND IT TOOK NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, A PIECE OF THE FENDER ON THE FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES FRACTURED AND STRUCK A PERSON IN THE HEAD. ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AND REPAIRED BY MULTIPLE UNKNOWN DEALERS AND INDEPENDENT MECHANICS AND THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS REPLACED FOUR TIMES AND TWO INJECTORS WERE INSTALLED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURES CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000. THE VIN WAS INVALID.