2016 Honda Pilot Power Train

I am writing to report a persistent powertrain issue with my 2016 Honda Pilot, specifically regarding hard shifting between first and second gear when accelerating from a stop. Honda has acknowledged this issue and released an ECU software update intended to resolve it; however, in my case, as well as for many other owners who have reported similar concerns, the update did not effectively correct the problem. My vehicle currently has 76,000 miles, and despite Honda’s attempted fix, the hard shifting continues to impact performance and drivability. Given the widespread nature of this complaint, I urge the NHTSA to investigate this matter further and take appropriate action to ensure a proper resolution. Thank you for your time and attention to this issue. Sincerely,

Transmission Temperate Too Hot warning came on in summer of 2023. Ended up needing to replace the engine. Fast forward to 6/25/25 and the light came on again. We take very good care of this vehicle and do all scheduled maintenance so this is very disappointing.

I had to replace my transmission in my 2016 Honda Pilot. Honda paid for part of the repairs and I was responsible for the remaining amount. It has been well documented that this year and model have transmission problems. I asked Honda to reimburse me for the amount I was responsible for, but they refused to because of the mileage and age of the vehicle, even though I reported transmission issues when the vehicle only had 38k miles. I sent several emails and left several voicemails with no meaningful response. They have been very difficult to deal with.

On 4-24-25 my engine had a knocking sound. I took it to a Honda Service center and they ran a diagnostic and found a rod bearing issue. Their recommendation was to replace the engine and quoted me an estimate of about $9000. I was told to not drive my car anymore and the rod can blow at any time and it is not safe for me to drive back home. I left my car at the Honda dealership. I have done regular maintenance- oil changes, filter changes, tune ups, etc. My car is at 171,000 miles and had no issues up until this. I purchased the car ten months ago. I saw that many consumers complained of the same issue and had got stuck on the side of the road, and paying costly repairs. I contacted Honda today and they told me that my VIN number is not affected by the rod bearing recall and they might try to get me into their "Goodwill Program" to help me with the cost of repair. I can't drive my car or else I would risk my safety and others' safety on the road. I had to Uber home. I don't have a drivable car now, and have to take my duaghter to school everyday. I am a single mom and saved up for this vehicle and paid cash, because Honda had the reputation of being reliable and built to last. Now I am at the mercy of their corporate department for the cost of the huge repairs that need to be done. It is not a guarantee that they will help me. I am glad that my daughter was not in the car with me or anything horrible happened like injury or death. This is a very concerning issue and I hope Honda will rectify this issue soon and acknowledge the safety hazards of this defect.

transmission slipping

My 2016 Honda Pilot engine rods failed on 1/31/2024 causing complete engine failure. My pilot was not recalled. Honda wanted $10920 to replace my engine. I negotiated with Honda and my out of pocket cost was $7000.

Purchase Honda Certified with around 38,000 miles. Within days of owning became apparent there were drivetrain issues. In higher gears while cruising at speeds between 25 and 60 MPH, the car would pulse -- the speed goes up and down and the tachometer indicated same with RPM pulsing. I've had the vehicle at the dealership shop 7 times and very little was done to remedy. Very nearly one year later - near the end of the extended warranty they finally correctly identified, acknowledged and made an attempt to solve with a triple flush of the transmission fluid. That seems to have solved the pulsing issue, but a couple months later the transmission began making a loud clunking judder noise when shifting lower gears while accelerating. Also apparent the transmission is slipping. Very poor gas mileage and tach shows unreasonably high RPMs for given speed. Vehicle still has less than 60,000 miles and is undriveable. Been sitting undriven in my driveway for nearly 3 months. Of course the pulsing behavior that was evident for a year was a bit of a driving hazard. Now the clunking transmission is also a hazard. Only a matter of time until there is a major failure. Only once, briefly, have I seen a warning indicator.

HONDA PILOT 2016 -THE TRANSMISSION CAUSES THE TRANSMISSION FLUID TO OVERHEAT. THE OVERHEATING ISSUE LEADS TO A 'JUDDER' IN THE TRANSMISSION. THE CAR ACCELERATES IN A VERY JERKY WAY ESPECIALLY BETWEEN 30 AND 50. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE IF YOU ARE TRYING TO PASS SOMEONE. AS SOON AS THE VEHICLE REACHES 80,000 MILES HONDA WILL NO LONGER COVER THE SO-CALLED 'REPAIR' to flush fluid and update software. HONDA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM.

Transmission slip/jerk/clunk when going above 2 RPMs. This has happened before 3 times with the first time happening in 2019, then 2022 and then again on [XXX], 2024. I've taking it to the dealer all 3 times and they performed a transmission fluid flush since apparently the transmission fluid gets too hot and needs to be flushed every so often. This last time they told me I needed a new torque converter ($5,500) to fix the issue. This a huge safety issue especially when driving in the highway as the cars loses speed and begins to jerk. I see similar issues with the 2017-2019 models [XXX] ) which sound the same as to what's happening to the 2016 models. There are a ton of complaints on the web for 2016 Pilot which the NHTSA should take into consideration. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When driving vehicle between 20 to 60mgh the vehicle judders. The vehicle almost feels like it's going to come out of gear. The vehicle also seems to not speed up or react to the accelerator. This being an SUV that my wife and kids drive everyday seems to be a very high safety issue for our family. If this vehicle does not accelerate in time or shift in time it could potentially put my family in harm's Way. And the other vehicles involved as well. The dealership has inspected and acknowledged that there is a problem with the transmission shifting or shuttering. But they only say that the transmission needs servicing. I service the transmission at the Honda dealership 10 months ago and it's reoccurring again. A 10-month transmission service and it reoccurs seems to be excessive. Attached is a Honda service bulletin that I found and mentioned to the dealership and American Honda. They mentioned to me that my VIN number is not covered by this Service Bulletin. The bulletin States all VIN Bulletin # 17-015, #16-091 February 18, 2017 A judder from the torque converter lock-up clutch may be felt while driving between 20 and 60 mph. The problem is typically diagnosed as a bad torque converter. American Honda investigated the judder and found that the torque converter was not causing the judder and the transmission is not damaged by this judder. The judder was caused by deteriorated transmission fluid. The transmission fluid deteriorates quicker than expected when it is exposed to intermittent high heat loads under specific driving conditions. A software update is available to maintain the transmission fluid temperature within the desirable range under all driving conditions and eliminate the potential for this judder. There are two bulletins referring to this subject: x 17-014 - 2016–17 Pilot: Judder from the Torque Converter Lock-Up Clutch. American Honda customer service says that my VIN # is not cover by this Service Bulletin # 17-015, dated February

Transmission has continued to have ongoing kickback issues from 1st to second gear and 2nd to 3rd gear. As well as multiple hesitating accelerations from a stop to go. Safety is at risk due to intersection turns which require acceleration that the pilot transmission at times can’t produce.. no warning lamps to show there are issues with the transmission. Have taken it into a shop only to hear “ 2016 honda pilots have transmission issues, kink wasn’t worked out until 2018” which is never a good answer.

while driving on highways and streets, car would jerk and transmission downshift or not work, causing a grinding noise within the car. pilot would just shut off and slowing decrease speed by itself. happens many times already and is a safety concern for people who purchased this vehicle. Pilot transmission needs to be recalled before it causes death for people who drives this vehicle.

Torque converter on transmission failed at 86,643 miles. This is a common problem on most Honda Pilots

The transmission has problems accelerating at all speeds. It jumps and jerks anytime when accelerating at all times. This causes safety concerns for everyone in the vehicle and on the road next to the vehicle as the transmission could fail at anytime putting all passengers' lives at risk. The problems started while the vehicle was under warranty, and we took the vehicle to a certified Honda dealer to get it looked out. They stated there were no problems when they inspected it. We took it back a few months later for the same issues while the vehicle had exceeded the time frame but not mileage of the warranty and they told us we would have to cover the cost of the transmission repair/replacement. We took the 2016 Honda Pilot to a local AAMCO repair shop. They stated the transmission would have to be replaced for $7500. Multiple warning lights came on, but the dealer stated those were just an electrical issue, they repaired those issues but failed to repair the transmission.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationed at her employment parking lot, after starting the vehicle with the auto start, she was unable to shift into reverse. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and had to restart the vehicle four times before being able to shift into reverse. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the Drive (D), transmission fault, and sensor failure warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that she continued driving to her residence while experiencing the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

Two incidents occurred: 1) On 12-6-21, while travelling in the high speed lane, my wife's car shut down causing her to become stranded on the side of the highway. The first system report from the incident can be found attached as indicated permanent transmission codes of P0716 and P0700. Our body shop consulted with a Honda dealership, neither could pinpoint the issue, but they were able to get the car running. 2) On 1-21-21, at a stop light, the car shut down and ran through all the error codes on the dash . My wife was able to turn car on, but could only put it into neutral. The second system report indicated permanent transmission codes of P0730, P07A6, P190B, P286D and temporary transmission codes of P0730, P07A2, P07A6. My wife discovered a thread of comments about others who experienced the issue and they said a new battery fixed the issue. A new battery was put in the car but it only drove in reverse. Our body shop consulted with the same Honda Dealership discovered Honda Service bulletin 19-004, which mentioned a transmission software issue, much like my wife experienced the first time, not the second time. Our body shop indicated the only fix would be a new transmission, which was confirmed by a Honda Dealership.

Vehicle rpms will vary and not be steady on light to medium acceleration between 20 to 60 mph. Rpm guage needle will bounce up and down slightly while accelerating. Torque converter seems to not be locking up resulting in judder. No engine lights or warnings. Dealer was able to confirm the same thing and isssues went away when replaced and flushed transmission fluid. But the problem slowly returned 20k miles later..

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle at lower RPM’s between 1,500 – 1,800 RPM, the vehicle intermittently surged and hesitated to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who reprogrammed the PCM and replaced the transmission fluid however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.

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

Around 60,000 the transmission started to shift erradically. The key indicator is the tachometer is not steady. My mechanic suggested to change the transmission oil which I did. It resolved the problem, except now at 68,300 thr problem has returned.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle started jerking. The contact stated the gears reverse, neutral, and drive lights were changing independently however, the vehicle continued to move forward. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated that 2 days later, he experienced the failure again. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated he continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle for the third time to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing to change the transmission oil. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure after 6-8 months. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an unknown sensor to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

1| The problem is with the transmission. When we are driving, the Pilot makes jerky movements and the odometer bounces up and down during this time. This happens most of the time... it is rare when the transmission feels smooth. Also, sometimes when in reverse the Pilot jerks and makes it hard to control when backing up into a parking spot. This happens from time to time, but not every time. There is a known issue about the Honda Pilot 2016 having major transmission issues where it makes the vehicle jerky when accelerating. Yes, we can provide the vehicle for inspection. We only had the Pilot for a year and it just reached 90K. https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-2016-honda-pilot-had-an-alarming-number-of-transmission-problems/ 2| With the jerky movements, I find it unsafe when merging onto the interstate with moving traffic. It is a struggle to get up to speed when it feels like the Pilot is losing power. Also, once I backing up into the parking spot, the Pilot was making jerking movements and I could have damaged the cars that were parked behind me if I didn't throw the Pilot into neutral. Overall, it is a safety concern for my family of six. 3| The Honda dealerships seem to be aware of the issue but will not do anything about it. They recommend a transmission flush and computer repair/upgrade but are not willing to guarantee it will fix the issue. Others online have reported that the flush and computer repair did not fix the problem. We called Honda of America directly about the problem and were not willing to help us out. They offered no solutions. 4| No, we reached out to Honda of America and they are not willing to help us. We are not sure who to reach out to about the issue. Hopefully, NHTSA can finally help us. 5| Not sure if this issue was related to the transmission problem but the emissions light came on a month after purchasing the Pilot. Honda is known for having oil dilution problems and it could have lead to the issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving 20-30 MPH, the vehicle would shudder. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the transmission failed to shift up to a higher gear. The contact mentioned that the RPMs were shifting faster than the speed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

For the last couple of months, the transmission has had gears slipping out of gear and takes a few seconds to find the gear to accelerate up to speed. I've taken it to the dealer twice to address the issue but it's still causing an issue.