2016 Honda Pilot problems & reliability
1,699 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda Pilot, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
10 complaints report injuries (20 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Honda Pilot vehicles were involved in 50 fatal crashes with 17 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 767 | 45% |
| Electrical System → | 579 | 34% |
| Unknown / Other | 290 | 17% |
| Power Train → | 200 | 12% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 170 | 10% |
| Structure → | 53 | 3% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 45 | 3% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 39 | 2% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) → | 37 | 2% |
| Service Brakes → | 29 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 27 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 704 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 50,336 miles (middle 50% between 35,000 and 78,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Engine warning light came on, then all warning lights came on, then the engine just stopped. Honda dealer confirmed it was due to a failed crankshaft and might be covered under a current recall, 23V-751. We spent over $10,000 in diagnostics, purchasing a rebuilt engine and installing the rebuilt engine. The issue was…”
Engine · filed Sep 9, 2026
“My vehicle's fuel injectors failed, triggering a check engine light with code P0430. This matches a known manufacturing defect described in Honda's Technical Service Bulletin 20-100, which states injectors on affected vehicles may not have been manufactured to proper specifications, causing internal wear or clogging…”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Sep 8, 2026
“The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle lost automotive power, and the battery, oil, and information warning lights remained illuminated. Several minutes later, the vehicle was restarted, and the contact continued driving. Another failure occurred while…”
Engine · filed Sep 8, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Engine failure
Preliminary Evaluation PE25008 · opened Aug 20, 2025 · open
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engineering Analysis EA25004 · opened Mar 26, 2025 · open
- Engine failure
Recall Query RQ24013 · opened Nov 8, 2024 · closed Aug 20, 2025
- No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 · opened Jun 3, 2022 · closed Mar 26, 2025
Technical service bulletins
365 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda Pilot. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and engaging idle stop, the vehicle may not restart automatically due to excessive cylinder pressure and/or low cranking torque. Typically, the…
A23-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 7, 2025
Service Bulletin - The AWD warning light is on potentially due to water intrusion into the rear differential pump motor connector area that corrodes the terminals.
A24-048 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2024
Service Bulletin - Drivers may experience a chirping sound coming from the engine area with the engine warmed up due to the high pressure fuel pump is making a chirp.
A16-013 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 4, 2024
Service Bulletin - MIL flashes and vehicle will not accelerate, low power. After cycling the ignition, the symptom does not return with no stored DTCs. This issue is more common in regions with cold weather…
A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 20, 2024
Service Bulletin - The MIL flashes and vehicle will not accelerate, low power. After cycling the ignition, the symptom does not return with no stored DTCs. This issue is more common in regions with cold weather…
A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 19, 2024
Service Bulletin - The A/C does not blow cold air, and the lower corner of the condenser around the receiver/dryer cap is stained due to a poor O-ring compression against the receiver/dryer barrel wall.
A18-080 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 19, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2023 Passports, 2016-2022 Pilots, & 2017-2023 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the front passengerâ s power window inop from…
ATI&04082024905 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 8, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2023 Passports, 2016-2022 Pilots, & 2017-2023 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the front passengerâ s power window inop from…
ATI&03212024904 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 21, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2023 Passports, 2016-2022 Pilots, & 2017-2023 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the front passengerâ s power window inop from…
ATI&02292024902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 29, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2019-2023 Passports, 2016-2022 Pilots, & 2017-2023 Ridgelines with a customer complaint of the passengerâ s power window inop from driverâ s…
ATI&02202024901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2016 Honda Pilot has 8 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2016 Honda Pilot?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 50,336 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.