2016 Honda Pilot problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (568) · Electrical System (268) · Power Train (171)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Honda Pilot model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
735 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (8)
Suspension:rear 2026-06-04 · campaign 26V365000 · 965,561 vehicles
Defect: American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points,
Risk: Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) in
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2023-12-18 · campaign 23V858000 · 2,490,460 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:hard Parts Internal/Mechanical 2023-11-13 · campaign 23V751000 · 248,999 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.
Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early Apr
Latches/Locks/Linkages:hood:latch 2021-11-29 · campaign 21V932000 · 724,826 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.
Risk: A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.
Fuel System, Gasoline:storage 2017-03-30 · campaign 17V219000 · 136 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KE8.
Fuel System, Gasoline:storage:tank Assembly 2016-06-09 · campaign 16V417000 · 39 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2015 Acura MDX 2WD and MDX 4WD vehicles, 2016 Acura MDX 4WD vehicles, 2015-2016 Honda Odyssey vehicles, and 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and 4WD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that were manufactured with insufficient welds which may separate and allow fuel to leak out.
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tanks, free of charge. Owners may contact Honda/Acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. The recall began on July 29, 2016. Honda's numbers for this recall are KA9 (Honda vehicles) and KB0 (Acura vehicles).
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2015-10-16 · campaign 15V668000 · 35,406 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to September 8, 2015 and 2016 Pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured May 7, 2015 to September 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps wil
Risk: If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began on December 11, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JV7.
Seat Belts:rear/Other 2015-07-06 · campaign 15V424000 · 1,358 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to June 5, 2015. Due to an assembly issue, the third row seatbelt may be trapped between the rear seat and the rear sideliner.
Risk: If the third row seatbelt is trapped, the occupants may not be restrained properly, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and repair the rear third row seat belt, free of charge. The recall began on August 6, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-310-783-2000. Honda's number for this recall is JS7.
Service bulletins (365)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2025-07-07 · A23-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 customer can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting park and pressing the engin
Structure:body 2024-11-22 · A24-048 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Engine 2024-09-04 · A16-013 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Engine 2024-07-20 · A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 (specifically near or below freezing temperatures). usually after a long drive (around 2 hour
Engine 2024-06-19 · A24-085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 (specifically near or below freezing temperatures). usually after a long drive (around 2
Visibility/Wiper 2024-06-19 · A18-080 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 365 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Lane Departure: Assist“i have a series of dashboard warning lights that have went off due to failure of this camera-based (lkas) unit. they are labeled as: 1) lane keeping assist problem 2) auto matic cruise control problem 3) traction control problem 4) abs - braking system failure. these issues, imo, are enough to suggest a recall is warranted. please advice. i …”
2026-10-28 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i have been having issues with my 2016 honda pilot and i looked on experian and it stated that there is a recall. there are two different recalls, the first one says fuel injector/w software update the date is 11/24/2020 and recall # w8v. also recall for start/stop switch that the recall date was 12/9/2020 and recall # y93. i bought my car in 2024 …”
2026-10-28 · Engine“hello, while driving, the engine developed a distinct, heavy metallic knocking sound coming from the bottom end. i took the vehicle to an independent repair shop for inspection, where the mechanic drained the oil and cut open the oil filter. the filter pleats contained significant metallic debris and bearing shavings, confirming internal connectin…”
2026-10-28 · Engine“ connecting rod spun a bearing/ rod knock verified le customer's concern regarding an abnormal engine knockır oise. conducted a diagnostic inspection and confirmed pronounced metallic knocking noise originating from the ower engine assembly. used a mechanic's stethoscope tr isolate the noise to the crankshaft/connecting rod area technician verified…”
2026-10-24 · Engine“while driving our 2016 honda pilot on the highway approximately three weeks ago, we experienced a sudden, loud clunk from the engine, followed by catastrophic engine failure. the failure occurred unexpectedly while the vehicle was traveling at highway speed, creating a serious safety concern. following the incident, we learned that the engine had…”
2026-10-22 · Engine“the engine has developed a severe internal engine knocking/rattling noise while running. this symptom matches the defective crankshaft and connecting rod bearing failures detailed under nhtsa campaign 23v751000, presenting a severe risk of sudden stalling and complete engine failure under load.…”
2026-10-22 · Engine“i am writing to report a severe internal engine defect on my 2016 honda pilot that poses a sudden stalling and safety hazard, identical to the failures covered under nhtsa recall campaign number 23v-751. my vehicle is currently experiencing a distinct metallic rattling/knocking noise coming from the lower engine block. this noise is highly noticeab…”
2026-10-21 · Fuel/Propulsion System“my 2016 honda pilots has given me trouble lots of people call it the christmas lights effect, all the dashboard lights turn on in the middle of the highway and my truck jerks and turned off , they now about this dangerous trouble and has not put any recalls on this matter, had to spend 3,000 dollars had to replace the fuel pump and the fuel injecte…”
2026-10-19 · Air Bags“an airbag warning light recently appeared in our 2016 honda pilot. believing it might be a faulty sensor, we scheduled a service appointment with our local honda dealership. during the inspection, we were advised that the airbag was not properly seated and requires replacement. this vehicle has not been involved in any recent accident or other eve…”
2026-10-16 · Unknown Or Other“driving home late tuesday night october 13, 2026 the car made a severe noise, pulled to side of the road turned car off. the car would not start, the car was towed the next day to the honda dealership it was bought from. the car had just been in the honda shop for routine maintenance. there was no warning lights. the safety concerns being on the si…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.