2016 Honda Pilot: won't start

Filed Oct 16, 2026 · Engine · TX

Driving home late Tuesday night October 13, 2026 the car made a severe noise, pulled to side of the road turned car off. The car would not start, the car was towed the next day to the Honda Dealership it was bought from. The car had just been in the Honda shop for routine maintenance. There was no warning lights. The safety concerns being on the side of a busy road. My wife and 2 children had to wake up and come and get me. This Pilot is our primary car the other one is not safe enough and is used for in town driving. According to the dealership it was towed to it was a P0304: cylinder 4 misfire misfire with a brand-new plug and a healthy timing belt, together with a loud engine noise, points to mechanical damage inside the engine. That fits a rod bearing failure.

Filed Jul 22, 2026 · Engine · CA

I was driving down Car highway 395, at highway speed, when my vehicle suffered a sudden and catastrophic engine failure with no warning. The engine began to shutter and knock and I lost power. The check engine light then came on. I was able to quickly pull over and the vehicle shuttered to a stop and would not start. I and my family were stranded on the side of the highway in a remote area for hours late at night. CHP a contacted, non emergency, and was able to contact a tow truck. No officer was available to assist due to a wildfire in the area. After being towed, a mechanic was able to start it briefly and stated it seemed like a rod or bearing problem. I've now had a second mechanic say the same thing.

Filed Jun 2, 2026 · Engine · MD

The engine seized up and car will not start. Luckily, I was trying to start the car in my driveway when this happened, but it would have been dangerous had it happened while I was driving. All of the warning lamps and messages started when the issue begin. The vehicle was inspected and the problem has been reproduced by a service center AND a Honda dealer. I have attached the invoice from the service center. After their diagnosis, I had the car towed to Ourisman Honda in Bethesda, MD because I was hoping to start the recall process with them, however they will not do it because, stangely, my vin # is not included. There is a known recall for this issue (#23V‑751) and the recall lists my exact car (2016 Honda Pilot) however, for some reason my vin # is not showing as being included in the recall. The car is experiencing the exact issue that this recall covers, but the Honda dealer will not cover it because my specific vin # isn't listed. This would be a significant expense that I am not able to cover out of pocket, and I have now been without my car for over a week. I am not sure why only certain vin #'s are eligible when there are obviously many other 2016 Honda Pilots experiencing the issue.

Filed Aug 29, 2025 · Engine · OK

Driving at highway speeds the vehicle began to shudder and make a loud screeching/banging sound. Once shut off it would not start. Mechanic determined the vehicle had no compression on one cylinder and further observed that while the valves did operate, the piston was not moving in the cylinder. The conclusion was the connecting rod had broken. Engine is still sealed and has not been taken apart for inspection. Engine has been replaced at customer expense.

Filed Apr 30, 2025 · Engine · LA

When the Auto Idle feature is on, the car will often completely turn off when at a red light or in stop & go traffic. When it is time to move again, I cannot go. Cars are honking at me to move, but the car will not start. I have to put the car in park, completely turn it off, and restart it. This sometimes happens on the interstate in heavy traffic, which can be extremely dangerous. My car’s engine light had been having a warning sign “emissions system problem”. I took it to the dealer, and told them about the auto idle problem & the light, but they could not find anything wrong. A few months later, my engine failed & they said it wasn’t covered under the recent recall so I had to pay $7,000 for a new engine. Now a few months later, the auto idle problem is happening again & the emissions system problem light is back on again. The new engine is only a few months old

Filed Jan 16, 2025 · Electrical · MD

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? "Keyless Start System" message has been haunting me for close to a year now. Yes, available for inspection and has been by a local Honda service center. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was left stranded when my vehicle would not start. Battery jumped and I was able to get on but the issue is not my battery, it is the start/stop electrical malfunction that so many others have cited experiencing. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes and I've scheduled an appt. with local service center (again). Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Yes, Keyless Start System problem which originated in 2023. The warnings fluctuated for a while intially but have been on since my car would not start as reported above. This incident took place a few weeks ago.

Filed Nov 19, 2024 · Engine · NY

the car had developed a light ticking sound intermittently for the last three that seemed to go away randomly then the engine stalled and won't start due to seized engine

Filed Sep 10, 2024 · Fuel system · FL

On 9-4-2024 my 2016 Honda Pilot was being driven on a city street when the engine stopped. The vehicle re-started and was driven to my residence. Messages had appeared on the dashboard. I scheduled an appointment with Courtesy Honda for the next day. On 9-5-2024 the vehicle started and I proceeded to drive it the 6 miles to Courtesy Honda. About halfway there the engine died. Multiple messages appeared on the dashboard. My wife had been following me in her car when the Pilot died. She helped me by steering the Pilot as I pushed it off the busy street manually to a side road. It was a hazardous situation. The Pilot would not start . I called a towing service to tow it to the dealership. At Courtesy Honda a service technician examined the vehicle and diagnosed the problem as “ high pressure fuel pump failure and low pressure fuel pump failure.” He recommended replacement. I approved the repair. It was completed for a total of $1754.46. I researched Recalls Of Honda Pilots For Fuel Pump Failure. I found there was a massive recall of thousands of Honda Pilots from 2016 and beyond. Letters were sent from Honda to owners authorizing replacement of fuel pumps. My VIN number was not included in the recall. It should have been.

Filed Sep 5, 2024 · Electrical, Fuel system · MS · fire

In 2021, my 2016 Honda Pilot had routinely had restart issues from when going idle at stop. In some situations, it simply would not start again and had to be jumped off. I ended up getting the battery replaced multiple times, but on [XXX] I went to my vehicle to start up and it was dead yet again. I then hooked up a jumper and the vehicle instantly started smoking from under the motor. Within 20 seconds, fire had started under the hood and it caused extreme damage to my home. The car was also destroyed. There seemed to be some sort of electrical system issue. I was able to get my 1 year old daughter safely away and nobody was hurt. However, this caused extreme losses. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 27, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · SD

Car started displaying "Keyless start system problem". I changed both batteries in the key fobs, but it continued. After about 2 weeks of this, the car would not start. Just clicking and flickering of lights and gauges. Would not jump off or anything, so I had to tow it home. After researching it and checking the brake light switch to make sure it was still operational, and after purchasing and installing a new start/stop button, I decided to get a new battery. I took the old battery in and they said it was good, but I still got another one and installed it. The car started up and has been working for about 4 weeks, but now the same message is popping up again. I am worried that my wife will drive it somewhere and get stranded. I have seen that there are recalls on this on some of the Honda sites, but can't find it anywhere else. This needs to be addressed as it seems like a lot of people are reporting the same issue.

Filed Aug 8, 2024 · Electrical · IN

After coming to a stop at a red light, the engine auto stop engaged as normal. About a minute passed, and when I took my foot off the brake and tried to start driving, the engine did not start again. The screen on dashboard the said to switch to park and turn the car off. This car has already received the PGM-FI roughly a month ago, after this happened previously.

Filed Apr 10, 2024 · Electrical · FL

The vehicle does not start upon first press of the ENGINE START/STOP button. Also, MID displays the error message KEYLESS START SYSTEM ERROR.