112 complaints reported

2016 Honda Pilot ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
112
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

May 2023

1. When Engine Idle Stop is engaged vehicle cuts off or stalls when you let up off of brakes. - Honda could not tell me why it was doing it. - no warning -car cut off completely in the middle of traffic at a stop light during rush hour. I was able to get it to cut back on after 2 minutes. - I fear for the safety of my family while in this vehicle. 2. Malfunction of stereo system cause a continuous screeching static sound through speakers. GPS and all other voice function stop working at this time.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2023
May 2023 Crash

Unintended Acceleration While at a standstill , on a hill, holding a foot on the break pedal , I lifted my foot from the break pedal to drift forward down the hill, (without ever getting near the gas pedal ) The car accelerated at a very high RPM. I pressed down on the break pedal to stop the car, but it was at such a high RPM rate that I was unable to stop the vehicle from hitting another vehicle in front of me, caroming off of it and my vehicle landed atop a hugh shrub suspending it several feet in the air. My vehicle was totaled and the vehicle it hit was severely damaged. There were no serious bodily injuries to any passengers in either vehicle. There are two issues here. The unintented acceleration, and the inability of the breaks to stop the vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Mar 2023
Dec 2022

The engine's idle-stop feature shut off my car while stopped at a busy intersection in urban traffic, and took 15 seconds to restart the automobile. The idle-stop feature kicked in when at an intersection. When I took my foot off the brake to accelerate forward, the car instead turned off. The dashboard prompted me to shift the car into park, put my foot on the brake, and press the engine ignition button. I did so, but the car did not restart, even when I repeated the process 2-3 times. Finally, on the fourth time, the car restarted.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2022
Oct 2022

A couple of times, while sitting at a stop light, the auto stop feature has failed to restart the car, resulting in a need to completely turn the car off and restart it in traffic. We have also had it occur when stopped at a stop sign and not having the car restart, as we've attempted to pull out in to traffic. We have not taken it to a dealer or service center, and have elected to turn the feature off to mitigate the system failure. There are zero indications that the car won't restart. Occassionally, when we forget to turn the auto start feature off "when it does work correctly" radio audio drops out while the car restarts. This problem has been ongoing for about three years.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2019
Oct 2022

When car stops due to Auto Idle it then stalls and the engine completely cuts off. Then having to restart the car. This has happened to me an immense amount of times, in streets, freeways and it is going to kill someone. I have on. numerous had near misses where people have barely avoided rear ending me. I have reported to dealer, American Honda and nothing has been done. Every time it has gone into dealer for this they just say they can not replicate it. It is a Lemon and a dreadful defect in this car. something has to be done before someone is killed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Oct 2022

My 2016 honda pilot will not restart after it idles at a stoplight. This has happened multiple times and is happening more frequently (twice today). Both times today I was in a line of traffic and was in fear that someone behind me would hit me. The dashboard message said to put the car in park but that did not work. I had to turn the car completely off and restart it. The second time it took me three tries to get the car started. The guy behind me was very angry, gesturing and yelling. Road rage is scary too. I had the car looked at several months ago due the same issue and they could not find anything wrong when they ran diagnostics. I cannot recreate the problem on demand. It is sporadic. And scary.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Oct 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the auto start /stop feature cut off and the vehicle shifted to neutral. The vehicle shut off and failed to restart. All the instrument cluster warning lights were illuminated. The contact disengaged the auto start/stop feature. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired as of yet. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 91,400.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2022
Oct 2022

Today was the second time my car has shut down at a traffic light in the last 2 months. The auto engine stop kicks in and the car shuts down. It took multiple combinations of pressing the start button and turning on/off the car before I could get it to restart. I’ve recently replaced the battery so I don’t think it’s a weak battery.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Sep 2022

Start stop failed in middle of intersection. The car died and would not restart without a jump. Battery has been replay and it continues

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2020
Sep 2022

The vehicle is equipped with start stop feature. The issue is it will stop, then crank for a second or two, but sometimes not restart. It’s a safety issue when you try to move with traffic, but the engine is now off. This issue has been reported to the Honda dealer numerous times over a 4 year period. The starter & battery has been replaced, but the issue still exists.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2017
Sep 2022

The vehicle’s Auto Stop/Start feature routinely fails to restart the engine when releasing the brake, turning the steering wheel, or selecting Park. In order to start the vehicle, it must be placed into Park, turned off, and then turned back on by holding the Start button. This has worked on most occasions (approx 90% of occasions thus far); other times a jump start was required. Attempts to resolve from Honda have required several purchases of a new battery and denial of there being a larger issue. There is no indication or warning that the feature has failed until attempting to resume driving (or the vehicle attempts to restart itself based on the vehicle’s self-monitored parameters). The failure to start leaves the vehicle stuck in traffic risking collision and/or personal injury as a result.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2019
Aug 2022

This issue has occurred twice. First occurrence was when stopped in traffic. Auto stop engaged. When brake was released auto start caused vehicle to stall-out. Vehicle restarted after multiple attempts. Second occurrence was when stopped at traffic light. Auto stop engaged. When brake was released auto start caused vehicle to stall-out. Vehicle restarted after one attempt. For both occurrences, radio was on, air-conditioning was on and outside temperature was +85 degrees. This is a serious safety concern.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2022
Aug 2022

Car has auto engine stop/restart as a fuel saving measure. Several times the car has failed to restart after turning off. This happens in highway stop/go traffic, at traffic lights. This is dangerous, as my foot comes off the brake, cars behind me think i am moving, and then the engine fails as it is restarting. I have to then put my foot back on the brake, put the car in park, and restart the engine before being able to drive again. This happened on 8/25, and 3 other times within the last month. This did also happen perhaps a year or 2 ago, the dealer did examine the car but I don't believe they found any issues to be repaired.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2022
Aug 2022

When start-stop feature is "on," the car will not start again in certain instances when the engine is shut down after a complete stop. The NHTSA currently has an investigation opened in this matter (opened in June 2022)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2022
Aug 2022

As previously described on the NHTSA website, this model has the 9 speed transmission and it randomly turns the vehicle off at intersections/red lights when the vehicle is stopped. It is different than the engine start/stop system since the full vehicle turns off. It is very random and stressful when it happens since other vehicles are then waiting on our Pilot to get moving again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2022
Aug 2022

When coming to a stop the vehicle engine’s automatic stop/start system stops the engine then multiple warning lights are on and the vehicle fails to restart automatically. Driver must work through a series of steps while sitting at an intersection or stoplight resulting in a vulnerable position.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2022
Aug 2022

Auto Start for Idle fails at start intermittently. If stopped at an intersection, when proceeding to go, engine cuts off and gear shifts to N, requiring a shift to P and Start pressed before then going to D and continuing. This is always at intersections and the delay puts driver in jeopardy.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2022
Aug 2022

The engine in my vehicle fails to restart after coming to a complete stop. My car stalls out and can take several attempts to try to restart the car. This has been very dangerous. It can occur whether I'm stuck in traffic on a major highways or even just at a stop sign. It always occurs when the start/stop function is engaged. I have taken the car to the dealer multiple times to deal with this issue and even tried to get the start stop function removed. Unfortunately, they have never been able to fix the problem.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2018
Aug 2022

I recently saw an article that NHTSA is investigating Honda vehicles 2016-2019 regarding the idle stop/restart of the car and want to corroborate that this issue does exist. My husband and I bought a 2016 Honda Pilot Elite in late July of 2019. We believe we are the second owners of the vehicle. All was fine except for occasionally, the idle stop/restart feature would not work: the car would cut off at a red light, but when taking my foot off the brake and expecting a restart, you would see and hear all of the electrical turn off--radio, a/c, etc. and sometimes the car would not restart. I would have to wait 30 seconds or so, then restart the car as normal. The most harrowing experience with this happened on a six-lane highway where I was the last in line at a red light. The light turned green, all cars accelerated and left, but the idle stop did not restart, the car cut off completely, and it would not restart at all. I had to wait for a minute or two to re-try several times. This was a 55mph highway, I was in the middle lane completely stalled out with no other cars around me, and my children were in the car with me. I was afraid someone would come barreling along at the speed limit and hit us. We took the car in to our local Honda dealership on 11/21/19 and still have the paperwork, which reads "BMS no supplying proper voltage for auto stop function to operate properly", "Install new battery management sensor", "Battery test bad" and "replaced battery". We all figured it was the car's battery. A year later, we asked and they still couldn't disconnect that feature for us. I have made it a habit to hit the button to disable the idle stop whenever I drive the car. Just last week, my husband drove with the rest of us in the car, he did not disable the idle stop at a red light, and the car briefly cut off all electrical (but quickly turned back on) when he lifted his foot from the break. We still have the car. Please do inspect it. There are no warning signs.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Nov 2019
Jul 2022

During several stops now, the auto engine idle kicks in, but vehicle does not restart. The vehicle is at a complete stop with the engine off. This has happened on 2 occasions on freeway off/on ramps, which has been extremely dangerous, with the speed that vehicles are traveling. It has also happened over 4 times at intersections and stop signs. 2 separate dealerships have inspected the vehicle, where 1 was able to reproduce the issue and both times, my battery was replaced, well before the life of the battery. Maybe 1 year into having the new battery the issue presents itself again. I have owned the vehicle for just over 3 years now and I have purchased 2 batteries, that is not acceptable.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2022
Jul 2022

While at a stop the engine stopped as it should but did not restart. It then took multiple tries of pressing the brake and hitting the start button to get it to restart. This meant the car was blocking the flow of traffic creating a safety issue. This has occurred on multiple occasions with no issues found at the dealer.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2022
Jul 2022

When the auto idle stop is not disengaged (the default setting when the car starts is that the auto idle stop is engaged), the car will sometimes not restart when the idle stop occurs. It's unpredictable and scary, especially when it occurs at a light or in stop-and-go traffic. The dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree, and there is a clicking noise. I have to place it into Park, shut off the engine fully (it's not running - I think it's in Accessory mode), step on the brake and restart. Because of this, I make a habit of disengaging the auto idle stop when I start the car. Unfortunately, sometimes I forget to disengage and this engine restart failure happens. I have read that an old/weak battery is suspected. This is not true in my case. This issue has happened several times after I changed the battery on 12/15/2020. Interstate MTX48/H6 battery at $300. It's not just me - it has happened to my wife, and my 17 year old son, when driving this car. At first, I thought my wife did something wrong, then it happened to me. In total, I'd guess it's happened > 6-7 times. We try to be careful to push the button and disengage the auto idle stop. But you have to do it EVERY TIME YOU START THE CAR. If you forget or are distracted, then the problem can occur.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2022
Jul 2022

The start/stop turn the car off and when I tried to restart the car nothing happen. The battery is good and I heard a click sound but it won't start back for a few minutes sometimes.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2022
Jul 2022

Vehicle died when auto start/stop was activated at a stop sign. The vehicle had to be jumped to restart. My wife and 8 month old baby were in the vehicle alone in heavy traffic and nearly caused an accident.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Jul 2022

For the last 6 months (or maybe a bit more) my 2016 Honda Pilot Touring does not successfully re-start after it's auto-idle-stop feature kicks in at stoplight or in stop/go highway traffic. This maybe happens 20% of the time, but more likely on a hot day or when AC/radio all running high or uphill start. When this happen car stalls and needs to be completely restarted which takes 30 secs and a requires a "reboot" by pressing the start button 2-3 times. To add to the annoyance you cannot permanently disable the auto-idle-stop feature. Instead every time the car restarts it is on by default and the user has to manually turn it over ever time. This is happening with the original 2016 battery from new dealer purchase. The dealership claims it's an old/weak battery issue, but the car has no problem starting on a fresh cold start. This is a safety issue if the car stalls and the driver needs to quickly restart to escape danger, collision, etc.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2016 HONDA PILOT, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2022

Trend Over Time

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Quick Summary

The 2016 Honda Pilot has 112 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.