Problems owners report
Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 2016 Honda Pilot, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.
- Engine775
- Electrical system581
- Unknown or other292
- Power train201
- Fuel/propulsion system173
- Structure54
- Engine and engine cooling45
- Vehicle speed control39
- Electronic stability control (esc)37
- Service brakes29
NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 20 injuries and 0 deaths reported
Compared with other years
NHTSA ODI complaints by model year
Fatal crashes in the US
From 2020 to 2023, 50 2016 Pilot vehicles were involved in crashes on US public roads in which someone died; 17 people died inside them, and 3 of the vehicles rolled over. This is a count, not a crash rate: it grows with the number of cars on the road.
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), crash years 2020–2023 (public domain)
New York safety inspections
At its first New York inspection the 2016 Honda Pilot failed the safety check 1.57% of the time — 20% less often than the average 2016 passenger car (1.97%). Median odometer at inspection: 89,924 miles.
NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count
Crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-star results for 2 variants; 2 of 2 rated variants score five stars overall. Rollover risk is the estimated chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
| Variant | Overall | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Honda Pilot SUV AWD | ★★★★★ | 16.4 % |
| 2016 Honda Pilot SUV FWD | ★★★★★ | 17.5 % |
- Electronic stability control
- Standard
- Forward collision warning
- Optional
- Lane departure warning
- Optional
- Best overall rating
- 5 / 5
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), api.nhtsa.gov · US federal work, public domain
Fuel consumption
Official Canadian test results for 3 variants: combined 10.8–11.3 L/100 km (about 21–22 mpg US), CO₂ 253–265 g/km.
| Variant | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot · Sport utility vehicle: Small · Regular gasoline | 12.4 | 8.8 | 10.8 |
| Pilot AWD · Sport utility vehicle: Small · Regular gasoline | 12.4 | 9.3 | 11.0 |
| Pilot AWD · Sport utility vehicle: Small · Regular gasoline | 13.0 | 9.3 | 11.3 |
Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls in Canada
5 Transport Canada recalls for the 2016 Honda Pilot.
| 2026275 4 Jun 2026 | Structure Issue: On certain vehicles, the suspension mounting points on the rear subframe could rust. As a result, rear suspension components could fail. This could lea… |
| 2023603 8 Nov 2023 | Engine Issue: On certain vehicles equipped with a V6 engine, the connecting rod bearings could wear prematurely and become damaged. If this happens, the engine could… |
| 2021725 25 Nov 2021 | Structure Issue: On certain vehicles, the hood latch striker could separate from the hood. If this happens, the hood could open while driving. Note: A loose or vibratin… |
| 2016278 3 Jun 2016 | Fuel System On certain vehicles, the fuel tank may have received insufficient welds during manufacturing. Over time, the insufficient welds may separate and allow for fuel … |
| 2015474 16 Oct 2015 | Brakes Certain vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 135 - Brake Systems and Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 126 -… |
Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Recalls
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, which can result in rear suspension component failure.
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.
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.
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.
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.
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.
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 will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic stability control systems", number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "Tire pressure monitoring systems".
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.
Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words
Service bulletins
What Honda told its dealers about the 2016 Honda Pilot: known faults, fixes and updates.
| Bulletin | Summary |
|---|---|
| 11011045 | 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. |
| 11007647 | 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. |
| 11005272 | 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 hours) and accelerating while cornering. |
| 11002716 | 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 hours) and accelerating while cornering. Moisture accumulation in the intake manifold during long drives gets drawn into the combustion chamber while cornering, causing misfires. |
| 11002701 | 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. |
| 10253299 | 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 passengers power window inop from either the drivers window switch, front passenger's window switch, or both. Customer may also report that the other window switches are still operable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind. |
| 10252076 | 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 passengers power window inop from either the drivers window switch, front passenger's window switch, or both. Customer may also report that the other window switches are still operable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind. |
| 10251156 | 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 passengers power window inop from either the drivers window switch, front passenger's window switch, or both. Customer may also report that the other window switches are still operable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind. |
| 10251149 | 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 passengers power window inop from drivers master window switch. Customer may also report that the other window switches are still operable. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind. |
| 10245550 | Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. Typically, the customer can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting Park and pushing the ENGINE START/STOP button. |
| 10242219 | Service Bulletin - The vehicle's transmission temperature can become too hot due to automatic transmission fluid deterioration causing high foaming and low viscosity. During extended high load driving, the automatic transmission fluid will foam and cooler flow rate is reduced. |
| 10234629 | Service Bulletin - The engine will not crank on initial startup after precipitation and sub-freezing temperatures. Water can enter the starter motor, and when temperatures drop below freezing, the water will freeze inside the starter motor. This will prevent the starter from cranking the engine. |
| 10234579 | Service Bulletin - There is a loud buzzing or whining when adjusting the drivers or front passengers seat forward and backward. This is due to the issue that the flex cable in the seat adjustment mechanism is not correctly lubricated. |
| 10232977 | Product Update - Honda is conducting a product update to your 2019-22 Passport, 2016-22 Pilot, and 2020-23 Ridgeline. Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. |
| 10232975 | Warranty Extension - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. |
| 10232973 | Warranty Extension - Warranty Extension reimbursement form for engine idle stop repairs made before the warranty extension notice date. |
| 10232960 | Service Bulletin - The engine will not crank on initial startup after precipitation and sub-freezing temperatures. Water can enter the starter motor, and when temperatures drop below freezing, the water will freeze inside the starter motor. This will prevent the starter from cranking the engine. |
| 10232959 | Service Bulletin - The headlight seal may become damaged from a misadjusted hood. Damage to the headlight seal may lead to moisture condensation building up in the headlight. |
| 10231048 | Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. Typically, the customer can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting Park and pushing the ENGINE START/STOP button. |
| 10229678 | Dealer Message - During development, the idle stop enable criteria was mis-set allowing idle stop to improperly engage while battery health is low. Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and engaging idle stop, the vehicle may not automatically restart. In most cases, the client can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting Park and pushing the Start button. |
| 10229676 | 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 ENGINE START/STOP button. NOTE: If 23-008 Product Update: PGM-FI Idle Stop Software Update is applicable to the VIN, the PGM-FI software must be updated first before the warranty extension applies. Honda is extending the warranty coverage for valve adjustment and starter replacement related to this cond |
| 10229675 | Service Bulletin - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engages, the vehicle may not automatically restart. Typically, the customer can immediately restart the vehicle by selecting Park and pushing the ENGINE START/STOP button. |
| 10215508 | Service bulletin - The MIL comes on with DTC P2422 (EVAP canister vent shut valve stuck closed malfunction). Dirt may be clogging the EVAP canister vent tube. |
| 10215491 | Service bulletin - One or more accessory running board lights are flickering or not working. The running board light assembly is faulty. * Denotes Required Fields TSB ID : TSB Date : Calendar for date entry assistance Source : All Manual EMAIL MCA Portal |
| 10213542 | Service bulletin - The MIL comes on with DTC P2422 (EVAP canister vent shut valve stuck closed malfunction). Dirt may be clogging the EVAP canister vent tube. |
NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)
NHTSA investigations
Engine failure
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Engine failure
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation