2016 Honda Pilot: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Jul 27, 2024 · Electrical · NY

2016 Pilot has an annoying issue. When it is turned off, the panel lights flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights come on. Often the car alarm randomly goes off. They want to charge us $800 to replace the Keyless control unit. and nothing was resolved with this issue. It seems they are just throwing darts at possible solutions. They won't guarantee this will fixe the issue. They will not refund us the $800 if this part isn't even a problem ;-( To our knowledge, we don't think we have had the issue occur when the car is unlocked. It doesn't happen every time the car is locked

Filed Nov 1, 2023 · Electrical · GA

On Monday my wife was outside the vehicle with the keys in her pocket. All of a sudden the car alarm went off without anyone touching the vehicle or without her bumping the button on the key fob. Also, on Tuesday morning she walked into the garage and noticed the vehicle’s headlights and taillights were on. The key was not in the vehicle nor did she have it on her. She opened/closed all doors thinking a door was left open. The lights eventually went off. Later that morning she got in the car and it would not start. The battery was jumped and she took it to our mechanic. The battery is fairly knew and after testing it, the mechanic said it had “plenty of juice left” but he did recharge it. While doing other maintenance to the car, he noticed the headlights/taillights coming on sporadically. He could not locate any electrical issue so he suggested I take it to the dealership. This morning (Wednesday) I took it to a Honda dealership and after running some diagnostics, it was determined it was a “keyless entry control unit” issue. The service tech told me he has seen this before in other Hondas and said it is a major safety issue if not repaired. The repair cost me over $1,000, and one I feel Honda should reimburse me for. This was not a normal wear/tear issue (like brakes, transmission, tires, etc.). This is a Honda internal electrical issue that malfunctioned. And as the service tech mentioned, it’s an extremely dangerous issue that causes safety concerns for my family (and other potential Honda owners).

Filed Jun 20, 2023 · Electrical · CA

Problem started after fuel injectors were replaced under Recall. Since December 2022/January 2023 alarm Goes off randomly with headlights coming on, honking draining the battery. Many visits to local dealership nothing worked. In March 2023 they order Starter for replacement in this vehicle. I have to open the hood wide open with hook in place every night to avoid honking. The part arrived June 01st, 2023 with charge of CAD $1007.63. All reserved parts were used up as so many Honda Pilots needed this part.

Filed Jun 16, 2023 · Electrical · TN

The Keyless Access Control Unit (Smart Unit) is defective. After the car is shut off and locked, the dash lights, interior lights, head lights will flicker on and off. The car alarm will also be activated. All this causes the battery to be drained. The work around is to disconnect the battery when parked or not lock the car.

Filed May 19, 2023 · Electrical · NV

keyless control module, alarm Goes off randomly with headlights coming on, draining the battery.

Filed May 15, 2023 · Electrical, Lights · NJ

When car is locked alarm sporadically goes off on its own also when the headlights are set to auto and the car is turned off the headlights will come on sporadically and drain the battery. Having electrical components come on on their own is obviously a safety concern. The dashboard lights and warning icons will also flicker. There have been numerous complaints of this kind on the Honda Pilot forum Piloteers.Org

Filed Feb 1, 2023 · Electrical · AZ

The auto-stop idle feature activated at a red light. When the light turned green, the automobile would not restart but became entirely dead with not even being able to turn on the headlights or hazards (this was during the night as well). As a result, my family had to hang out the window to try and flag cars approaching the intersection to keep from being hit. The vehicle was taken to a Honda dealership the next day at which time the incident could not be replicated as either a code was not thrown or the code was not saved. The dealership did state that there was a recall that required a software update which they performed but when researching this only addresses the tolerances for which when the auto-idle stop will be initiated and not to mitigate the "black-out" that can occur. Escalated to Honda and found it curious that various Honda/Acura models have been impacted and that our particular vehicle's warranty for this functionality was extended to ten years past the vehicle's purchase date. When asked if they would replace with a new module, was told no due to the dealership not being able to replicate. FYI - no warning lamps or any other indication was displayed ahead of said event. So now the family is left with a vehicle that could potentially have this occur again.

Filed Jan 15, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 30,000 miles · NJ · fire

On january 13th, I left my home to pick up my son, julian, 3 years old, at preschool. His preschool is approximately 3 miles from our home. I picked him up, and drove the same distance back to our house, arriving home around 4:45pm. I had no unusual warning notifications or any unusual experience driving to and from the preschool. I parked the car in our driveway. Julian and I exited the vehicle, and walked to our front door. As we approached the front door I smelled smoke, and looked back at the car. I noticed a small flicker in the passenger side lower headlight. Upon closer look, I realized this was in fact a flame. Julian and I left our bags on the porch, stepped off of our front porch, and moved away from the house and car, and called 911. As we waited for the fire department, we watched this small flame grow to full flames, engulfing the engine, front hood, and front of the car. The police and fire department arrived, and put out the fire. The car was towed out of our driveway. A police report was filed with the montclair police dept. Officer anthony swan #232 patrol division montclair police headquarters, 647 bloomfield ave., montclair nj 07042 [email protected] report # 20-005325 I then called our insurance provider, usaa, following the incident. They have taken the car into their possession and initiated an origin & cause investigation. We purchased the car new. We have not been in a collision. The car has been serviced twice annually. It was serviced last week. It has ~30,000 miles on it. The dealer that sold us the car, paul miller honda, in nj, has been unresponsive, telling us to reach out the the national honda office. I have filed a case with honda, and have been told someone will reach out to me. That has not happened.

Filed Jan 1, 2020 · Electrical · 12,000 miles · IL

The car's idle stop is not working properly. The radio consistently drops out and headlights flicker when releasing the brake to start the car after idle stop was engaged. Multiple times the car has now failed to start and appears to stall out, and makes me shutoff the whole car and restart it. This is a safety issue as some people do not realize and might rear end me. I have taken it to my local dealer, been told they cannot replicate it initially, to them validating the issue and wanting me to bring it back. I don't have confidence in them fixing the issue at this point as they do not have familiarity with it, yet I see many complaints about it online. I feel this problem is more widespread than honda is communicating and the car has a fault in the auto idle stop design that they are not resolving.

Filed Aug 29, 2017 · 12,000 miles · CA

First: the eight inch touch screen, like in many new cars is, as installed, a continuous, distracted driving hazard. For any driver to use it at all while in motion means one must glace away from the road! In this car, the combination of having to use this with no alternate controls like a volume control means trouble. Additionally, no provision seems to be available for the bright screen to automatically dim the display at night. You have to manually do it. Second: as with many new cars the headlights worked as follows off the lot: low beams do not shine out far enough. High beams only seem good at illuminating overhead freeway signs! The fog lights are pure comedy.

Filed Jul 7, 2017 · Lights, Seats · 10,100 miles · NV

The 2016 honda pilot has a bad headlights being too dimmed during night drives, this is especially true when your windows and windshields are tinted. Secondly, the reverse or backup lights are located in a very low position down at the bumper, wherein it may not be seen by cars from behind when we're reversing. These lighting issues are a safety risk. Third, the front seats are quite uncomfortable, poorly designed for long-drives and is a safety risk especially for hard and tight turns where we slide off to the sides of our seats.

Filed Feb 5, 2017 · Lights · 20 miles · TX

I bought a brand new 2016 honda pilot SUV on 10/8/2016. On the first night driving I noticed that the vehicle is lack of brightness from the headlights and fog lights. It seems very dark when I drive at night with the headlights and fog lights on. I talked with the person who install my license plate from honda dealer, but he said this is normal. I really believe this is a safety hazard, because this is not my first vehicle, all my other vehicle and minivan has never had this issue. Please help.