Honda Pilot Complaints (2016)

1,724 consumer complaints on file.

#11470439June 22, 2022
ENGINE
The vehicle has what is called "auto idle," which means that when the brake is fully depressed under certain conditions (ie a stop sign or a red traffic light), the engine turns itself off. The engine is supposed to start again when pressure is lifted from the brake. However, during the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022 (which makes me believe the use of the air conditioning is involved in this problem), the car stalls out after the auto-idle is engaged rather than the engine restarting as it should. It has taken me several minutes to then get the vehicle to turn off so that I can try to start the car once again to move out of the way of traffic. Last week this happened on a busy highway. The cars that were stopped immediately behind me all went around me while I was trying to get my car restarted, leaving me totally exposed to being backended by someone going fast and not realizing that my car is inoperable in the middle of a busy highway. This has happened approximately 10 times over the last three summers. I have had it investigated by Honda in Bel Air, MD, who informed me that while my battery was new and therefore working properly, it simply isn't giving enough charge to the car to restart after the auto-idle is engaged. This is completely unaccepable and someone is going to get hurt unless Honda addresses this problem. Yes, the system is availble for inspection. Yes the dealer confirmed the problem. No the vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. No, there were no warnings, messages or other sypmtoms prior to the failure (i.e. the car completely stalling out).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470319June 21, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I purchased a brand new 2016 Honda Pilot EX. After the salesman pitch about adding top-notch safety, I paid extra for the Honda sensing package (include Collision mitigation braking system) as it was not a standard in 2016. Currently my SUV has less than 14000 miles. The Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) has been warning and applying brakes when it should not for many years. Recently I drove on a highway that had construction for about 3 miles on a clear day. The car was the previous day and had nothing obstructing the camera on windshield or the radar behind the Honda badge. One lane was closed and there were flat surfaced traffic barrier (similar to cones) has been setup for the entire construction strip. About half into the construction zone, my SUV instrument panel had a warning that read "Collision Mitigation System Problem". When I noticed the warning sign is not disappearing after restarting several times, I disconnected the battery and connected it after a day. The warning sign did not go away. Then I took the SUV to the dealer from whom I purchased the vehicle. They washed the car but the warning sign is still active. The warning sign cannot be turned off using the physical button for the CMBS on the dash. Searching through the internet, I see that this is common problem among Honda owners. Many owners who experience this issue report that when they took the SUV to the dealer, they reported that the CMBS was overwhelmed by the construction barriers and the only way to fix this is to recalibrate the CMBS at dealer that costs about $500. However, this is only a temporary fix until the SUV drive through a construction site. I purchased Honda sensing for the safety of my family. Instead Honda has provided defective system that fails when driving through a construction site. Construction sites are common occurrence in everyday driving. Honda sensing CMBS is a good money maker for dealers as they get to recalibrate the system for high fee.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470329June 21, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the brake pedal was released however, the Auto STOP/START feature failed to operate as designed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the ignition switch was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470033June 20, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving with the intention to turn left at a major intersection. I was the first car to pull into the left hand turning lane. I put my blinker on and pushed down on the brake waiting for the light to turn green so I could make the left hand turn but the car just shut down. At first I thought it was the auto engine on/off feature but I tried to lift my foot off the brake and the car did not restart. I tried to put the car in park and turn the car completely off (then on again) to see if that fixed the issue but the brake pedal was completely locked and I could not push it down. I ended up having to call the police and a tow company to tow my car out of the intersection. Both the police and the tow company tried to start the car with no luck. They could not even start it to put it in neutral and had to flat bed the car. There were not warning lights or messages on when this occurred. Although no one was hurt, it was an extremely busy intersection where this occurred and I was with my 4 year old daughter. While waiting for the police I had to cross multiple lanes of traffic carrying my daughter because it didn't want someone to rear end my car with her in it. It was also during the start of rush hour and caused a huge traffic back up. My car was subsequently towed to the Honda dealership where I purchased the car and they were able to start it the next morning multiple times with no issue. When they checked for error codes, nothing popped up. The battery was tested with good results. They requested other services be performed: brake system service, fuel system service, etc. but I was told these were unrelated to the break down. I ended spending close to $400 in towing fees and over $800 these additional services. I saw there was an official investigation into the Honda Pilot's start/stop feature and I believe this sounds very similar to what I went through.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11470124June 20, 2022
POWER TRAIN
Transmission has hard shifts and jerking when accelerating at a normal rate and approaching your designated speed. This occurs almost daily as the problem persist and started occurring approximately 36,000 miles. I also had an issue when I was trying to accelerate up a mountain where the transmission did not want to switch to a lower gear and accelerate. Instead the gear was stuck and I had to remove my foot from the gas pedal and try again. I have taken the vehicle too two different dealerships and they could not replicate the problem. One dealership checked the transmission cooler and stated it was in good condition. I believe they cannot replicate it because every time a technician takes the vehicle on a test drive they accelerate at a high rpm level which the vehicle will not replicate the issue. Now it is doing it through more than one gear change. Feels like the transmission is going to break at any point
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469828June 17, 2022
ENGINE
When I'm driving this vehicle and stop at an intersection, the auto stop/start feature shuts my engine off. When I attempt to start driving again, the auto stop/start feature attempts to start my engine, but instead the car completely dies. This has happened to me three times this week alone! All three times I was running the air conditioning in the vehicle. This does not seem to occur asoften if I am not running my air conditioner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469612June 16, 2022
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Auto stop/start feature will leave vehicle disabled and stranded at lights , and or in the middle of busy roads. Has happened to my wifes 2016 honda pilot 5 times now. Luckily 3 of those times were in parking lots , but twice on a busy highway with kids in the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469511June 16, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Multiple times the vehicle wouldn’t start. The start stop switch is the culprit after 7 months of dealing with it and taking it to dealership finally. Car will cut off at stop light but won’t turn back on. Takes like 4 tries to get it back on. Also at 126k or 128k engine had a knocking sound and needed replaced and it cost $7000 the air conditioning doesn’t work and this is very upsetting this isn’t why I buy Hondas. The start stop event happens everyday and every time I start the car and don’t deactivate the start/stop system
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469512June 16, 2022
ENGINE
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages. The engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. The Vehicle stalls out, must be put into park and the start button must be cycled a few times before engine will restart. This has been occurring continuously for a year now.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469293June 15, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Honda has a "stop / start" feature that when stopping at a stop sign or traffic light, with brakes applied, stops the engine. Once you take foot off brakes, the engine should restart. On four occasions, the engine did not restart. This is a fuel saving feature, however, in each case I'm stuck in traffic while trying to "restart" my Honda Pilot.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469152June 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The engine idle-stop feature did not restart. It is available for inspection. The safety of my two small children and myself was at risk as we had to get out of the car at a busy intersection. It has not been reproduced by a dealer or a service center. The vehicle and the parts have not been inspected by authorities. It happens without warning. While at a red light, when I take my foot off the brake it shuts off completely.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469207June 14, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
My 2016 Honda pilot stalls when my car turns off from the auto idle engine. If I do not manually turn the feature off EVERYTIME I turn my car on my car will stall out when i lift my foot off the brake. It has progressively taken longer to turn the vehicle back on (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) I have been to honda 2x for this issue & their "fix" has never resolved the issue. They will not admit they cannot fix it, even when I showed them a video of exactly what happens when I try to get my vehicle back on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469233June 14, 2022
ENGINE
When stopping at a stop light the auto idle start stop will not start up immediately as it sometimes has a lag and the audio in the car also completely shuts off. The car stalls out. Have brought car to dealership and since they can’t “recreate” the problem they’re acting like there is no problem. There is definitely a problem. This vehicle has been doing this on and off for sometime now and I have to remember to turn OFF the idle/stop function button every time I start up my car in order to avoid stalling in the middle of traffic. Very unsafe, dangerous and scary.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468917June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The stop/start feature fails to restart engine and I have to shut off the car completely to restart again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468918June 13, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
Stop/start feature fails to restart the car. I have to turn off the car completely to restart.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468927June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
I bought this car used in May 2022. My wife is the primary driver and this incident happened to her three times and myself once. When stopping at a red light, the engine turns off to save fuel with the auto start stop feature. We normally turn this off, but sometimes when we forget, the auto start fails to start the engine leaving us stuck in traffic trying to start the car at a green light. It takes multiple attempts to restart the car. This wouldn't be an issue if we could turn off the auto stop start permanently. We don't like the feature anyway, sometimes it causes the car to lurch forward when removing your foot from the break while the engine is starting.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469001June 13, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Pilot has an auto start/stop function that turns off the engine when the car is stopped/idling. When the driver releases the break pedal, the engine is supposed to turn back on. The engine would very frequently fail to turn back on after idling. This happened many times at traffic lights and while stopped in traffic. It's much worse than stalling out with a manual transmission vehicle, because the engine does not turn back on quickly. The whole system (including battery power to the car) needs to be turned off and turned on again. This is a safety issue because the engine has failed to start while in traffic on the interstate, where cars are quickly accelerating, and the failure for the car to accelerate with traffic could lead to a collision. It also poses the risk of leaving the driver stuck in a dangerous location without the ability to move the car. I took the car to the dealership and they told me my battery was dying, and they charged me to replace the battery. So far, I haven't experienced anymore engine stalling with the new battery. The car has not been inspected by anyone other than the local Honda dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. The failure first started in 2020, but only happened a few times. Since then, the problem increased in frequency, until I finally took it to the dealership and had the battery replaced.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11469087June 13, 2022
ENGINE
Engine stops completely when I make a stop at the signal. I think this is due to the engine shut down idle function. When the engine shuts down completely, the car doesn't start for 5 to 10 minutes. This happened at least 10 times in 6 months on the middle of the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468912June 12, 2022
ENGINE
There have been many instances of the vehicle failing to restart after a complete stop at a stop light. In these situations, the vehicle's auto stop-start system engages and turns the engine off. When the brake peddle is disengaged and the engine is supposed to start, the engine fails to restart. There are some errors on the dashboard but nothing was captured on the vehicle computer when I took it into the dealership. When the engine won't restart it takes a minute or two of blocking traffic before the engine will start up. I have to turn off the vehicle and then restart sitting in the lane hoping none will crash into me. I have also taken the vehicle into the dealership numerous time to no avail.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11468758June 11, 2022
ENGINE
On 6/11/22, while driving on I-94 in downtown Chicago in heavy traffic the vehicle engine turned off as part of the auto shut off/on feature. The vehicle would not start button. back up and was stranded in the middle lane. The engine would not start back up, even after putting in park, pressing the brake and holding the start button. After 10 minutes or so I was able to get the vehicle re-started by pressing the brake and holding the start button for 10 seconds. Totally an unsafe situation being in the middle lane in downtown Chicago! This has happened at least 7-10 times previously.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Honda Pilot