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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2016 Honda Pilot — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 1,714 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

1,714

Complaints

filed with NHTSA

Involved a Crash

owner-reported

Involved Fire

owner-reported

Injuries

across all reports

Years to Avoid

Honda Pilot — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Honda Pilot

111 complaints

2011 Honda Pilot

293 complaints

2012 Honda Pilot

171 complaints

2013 Honda Pilot

271 complaints

2014 Honda Pilot

116 complaints

2015 Honda Pilot

109 complaints

2016 Honda Pilot AVOID

1,714 complaints

2017 Honda Pilot AVOID

933 complaints

2018 Honda Pilot

440 complaints

2019 Honda Pilot AVOID

913 complaints

2020 Honda Pilot

492 complaints

2021 Honda Pilot

444 complaints

2022 Honda Pilot

164 complaints

2023 Honda Pilot

146 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 773 reports

Electrical System 580 reports

Unknown Or Other 291 reports

Power Train 201 reports

Fuel/propulsion System 172 reports

Structure 54 reports

Engine And Engine Cooling 45 reports

Vehicle Speed Control 39 reports

In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Engine And Engine Cooling ODI 11633307 12/31/2024

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a loud knocking sound coming from the engine compartment with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact diagnosed a misfire in cylinder #3 and replaced all the spark plugs and coils; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer wh…

Electrical System ODI 11385776 12/31/2020

KEEP ENCOUNTERING KEYLESS REMOTE START PROBLEM. PROBLEM DOES NOT RESOLVE. TAKES SEVERAL TRIES TO GET CAR STARTED.

Power Train ODI 11292247 12/31/2019

FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS MY CAR SOMETIMES SAYS KEY REMOTE PROBLEM WHEN I PUSH THE BUTTON TO START IT. I HAVE 46000 MILES ON IT.

Power Train ODI 11292303 12/31/2019

1. KEYLESS START SYSTEM PROBLEM ERROR WARNING 2. TRANSMISSION OR THROTTLE ISSUE: JERKY OR CHOPPY ACCELERATION WHEN AT LOW OR MODERATE ACCELERATION BETWEEN SPEEDS OF 20 TO 50 MPH OR DURING CRUISING AT SPEEDS OF 20 TO 50 MPH. BROUGHT IT TO DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES FOR ISSUE, FIRST TWO TIMES UNDER WARRANTY, AT WHAT TIME THE SOFTWARE FOR THE TRANSMISSION WAS UPDATED WHICH RECTIFIED I…

Engine ODI 11633076 12/30/2024

Honda service determined there is a failure of the number 5 cylinder connecting rod bearing. This could pose a safety issue if it had continued to be driven. We have also seen through news and online forums that this is a known, systemic issue.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2016 Honda Pilot, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2016 Honda Pilot reliable?

Owners have filed 1,714 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda Pilot, most often about engine. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.

Which Honda Pilot years should I avoid?

The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.

Where do these complaints come from?

Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.

Do complaints mean a recall is coming?

Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.