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2016 Honda Pilot transmission complaints

Page 4 of 8: complaints 71 to 100 of 202, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2016 Honda Pilot transmission problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Aug 24, 2022 · Transmission · IN

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..

Filed Aug 23, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · NC

My 2016 Honda Pilot Touring stalls out at a red light while using the auto stop-start. It happens occasionally when I take my foot off the brake and put my foot on the gas. Instead of coming out of idle with the engine starting up again, the car would stall completely and I would have to put the car in park, press the brake pedal and push the start button to get it on again. I took the car into the dealer and they told me that there was no software update and that they couldn’t do a update anyways because check engine light wasn’t on. Also have a issue with transmission not switching gears smoothly on take off. Jerks on take of. Once again they told me transmission was fine and there was no software update and that they couldn’t do a update anyways because check engine light wasn’t on.

Filed Aug 10, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · NC

The auto start/stop feature of the vehicule has stopped working on several occassions. We would be coming off the highway and or off a red light and the car will stall of the auto start/stop function is on. This has happened a few times in a very busy intersection or street.

Filed Jul 27, 2022 · Electrical, Transmission · PA

Multiple times the idle-stop feature has caused my car to stall out at an intersection. The idle-stop will engage, but when I take my foot off the break (or move the steering wheel), the car does not start again, instead it will try to start but then turns off completely. At that point I have to re-engage the break, put the car in park, turn off the car and then try to turn it back on as normal. When this happens at a green light it's very stressful and dangerous as cars are behind me. This has happened probably 10 times in my ownership period, it is always worse when it's hot outside since so many parts are running (including the AC). I have brought the car in to fix this a bunch of times, they never find anything wrong at the dealer. The last time they replaced the starter button at no charge saying that this piece was known to be faulty. It has happened once or twice since replacing that part.

Filed Jul 25, 2022 · Electrical, Transmission · OH

Ocassionally when stopped at intersections my 2016 Honda Pilot touring edition will go into idle stop mode and not restart. Upon trying to proceed the engine will try to start and stall out. The engine goes dead and I am unable to accelerate out of the intersection. The info dash system indicates the vehicle was in Neutral and that I needed to shift to Park to Proceed. After putting the vehicle in Park the info dash system instructs me to start the engine by pressing the Brake and pushing the Start button. This action is not possible when the vehicle has stalled out as described above and continues to prevent the driver from accelerating out of the intersection. The only solution I found that works is to remove my foot from the brake and power down the vehicle completely. Only when the vehicle is completely powered down is it possible to restart the vehicle by pressing the Brake and Pushing the power button. This event has happened 4 times in the past 3 months on my Pilot. The mileage on my Pilot is ~125,000 miles.

Filed Jul 18, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · IL

The engine begins to idle rough, after a few days of driving a lot of cluster lights come on starting with check engine light, VSA as well as others. Disconnecting battery works to clear the the codes, engine will appear to idle ok but after a week of driving it will start idling rough again, then the cluster lights will light up as before. I believe this is due to Service Bulletin 20-100 or Service Bulletin A20-100 which states that issues with the fuel injectors were found relating to quality control. The TSB listed above states that if your vehicle is affected by these symptoms your warranty will be extended to 10 years of manufacture date or 150,000 miles. Our Pilot currently has under 80,000 miles on the odometer.

Filed Jun 20, 2022 · Transmission · CA

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

Filed Jun 16, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · GA

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

Filed Apr 29, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Vehicle stalls and shuts off at a stop when engine idle stop is enabled. All lights on dashboard are illuminated and vehicle automatically sets to N gear. Upon attempting to restart engine, It takes several attempts to put vehicle back into P gear and start engine by pressing the push start button as well has having foot on the brake pedal. After doing so, the vehicle will start up right away and can be driven off normally with no warning lights illuminated on dash. This issue has happened numerous times. When engine idle stop is disabled, it does not happen. Battery has been replaced as well as push start button switch per service bulletin 20-117. Software update for TCM/PGM has also been performed as per set DTC P2638 (torque management feedback signal A range/performance) U1211 lost communication with shifter, U0404 invalid data received from shifter. Dealership has not been able to duplicate the problem.

Filed Mar 29, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · 70,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle hesitated and started jerking. Additionally, the vehicle occasionally stalled and the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that the check engine, emissions, and stabilitrak warning lights were illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the fuel injectors needed to be replaced. The catalytic converter and fuel injectors were replaced by an independent mechanic. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

Filed Feb 25, 2022 · Brakes, Transmission · 33,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 80-85 MPH uphill, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the warning message "Transmission Overheating" was illuminated. The contact stated that he continued to drive at a slower speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not replicate the failure. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving uphill. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Moss Bros. Honda (27990 Eucalyptus Ave, Moreno Valley, CA 92555) who did not diagnose the vehicle but informed the contact that the transmission fluid needed to be flushed and replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the transmission fluid was replaced. The contact also stated that the steering wheel was shaking whenever the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front rotors needed to be replaced. The contact stated that he was unable to replace the front rotors himself as there were abnormally small compared to the replacement parts. The contact also stated that the front rotors were abnormally smaller than the rear rotors of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and a case was opened. The contact was awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

Filed Feb 21, 2022 · Electrical, Transmission · NC

Unpredictably when my auto idle is engaged my vehicle will stall, resulting in me being unable to move my vehicle without forcing a prompted restart.This occurs at very random times to include when I am stopped at a stop light, waiting in a drive-thru line, in traffic, or any additional times when the auto idle engages. This is very dangerous because it results in my vehicle being an unexpected stalled obstacle for all participants on the road. The vehicle has been inspected and the engine start/stop button has been replaced twice. Unknown if there were any warning laps messages or other symptoms.

Filed Feb 18, 2022 · Transmission · 26,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Feb 10, 2022 · Transmission · OH

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.

Filed Jan 3, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · GA

Throughout last trip I noticed the transmission would make jerking shifts. While on the interstate during a pass travelling at 73 Mph the transmission down shifted and made a loud banging sound, engine lost power but was revving high, I could not accelerate to get away from surrounding traffic. A transmission error come up as I maneuvered the vehicle out of the road to avoid being hit by other vehicles. The AWD error came one and later an emissions error. Once the car was out of the road safely I was able to engage the e-brake then put it into neutral then park. AWD and emissions error remained on. After a minute turn car off then on, emissions error remained on and the car could operate. This scared the family as we could have been rare ended in traffic. Honda dealership in my town could not diagnose the issue. This is the second time this has happened.

Filed Dec 29, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · AZ

There is no way for the driver of the car to put the transmission into neutral if needed with an electrical/battery failure. According to Honda, there is a special mechanical device that tow truck drivers would have that physically attaches to the engine to shift the car into neutral. In addition, the honda mechanic that I talked to today said even if the average driver had one of these devices, they would not recommend they use it due to likelihood of causing damage to the engine or transmission. This is fine if the car is already in park, since it would most likely be located in a parking lot, residence, etc. The two times that would be a safety issue and could very easily cause an accident would be if the car was in drive, stopped at a traffic light with the engine off due to the Auto Start/Stop feature, and suffered a battery failure, preventing the engine from starting. Now the car would not be able to start, but more importantly couldn't even be pushed off to the side of the road and clear the intersection, since there is no way to move it into neutral. Another example could be with an alternator failure while driving, where the battery then surges and drains itself, with the engine and car now shut down. If you are unable to move the car to the side of the road as this is happening, maybe stuck in traffic or stopped at a traffic light, the car is now unmovable until a tow truck driver arrives and installs this mechanical neutral unlock device. There should be a way with an electrical problem to be able to place the car into neutral and move it. Otherwise, this turns a routine auto problem (that has had an acceptable solution) into a true safety issue, both for occupants and other vehicles and their operators.

Filed Dec 17, 2021 · Acceleration, Transmission · 80,000 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 15-60 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed but hesitated to respond, and the vehicle started jerking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Dec 1, 2021 · Transmission · FL

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.

Filed Nov 27, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · FL

The car on prior occasions would not start and it would show emission alert as well as other alerts, have the car for servicing and they started checking and replacing everything. Same problem happened 2 weeks ago but resolved on its own. Today while driving, all the emergency lights came on including emissions malfunction, as well as other malfunction and then accelerator was not working, D was flashing and started making clicking sounds in transmission. Luckily we were close to a fire station house and stopped there, where the car was not going into park, was not changing any gears to reverse or neutral and when turned on, all emergency lights were flashing and could not even get it into neutral to push it away as it seemed to be transmission wheel jammed. Also a burning smell came from the engine when we attempted to restart and put in gear and the transmission clutch made horrible sounds and the car was revving up on its own. If we were on a major Highway this situation could have been a disaster with the family in the car , as the car was stalling on the road and could have resulted in a crash, loss of Life or injury to others. The novel is an elite 2016 pilot and has given my wife recurrent similar issues but we’re lucky it happened in a parking lot. The dealership always states the problem is assessed and fixed but at year 5 and only 75000 miles this is a disappointing situation. We bring this to the notice of the federal safety agency as this could be a life threatening issues for family owner drivers

Filed Oct 1, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · FL

Auto engine Idle shut/off malfunctioning. At red light...when turned green, took foot off brake to accelerate...car completely shut off. Dashboard lights came on and instructed to shift vehicle to park and restart. Vehicle in rear view coming up fast and thought I was going to be rear-ended and quickly found hazard lights and luckily driver was paying attention and shifted to other lane. Never happened when brand new now happening few times a week. Of course am making an appt with Honda but if they can't replicate the problem in the shop they can't/won't fix. This is a safety issue and people are going to get rear ended! Honda needs to rectify this situation as I have seen many threads with others stating the same problem.

Filed Sep 7, 2021 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Jul 19, 2021 · Transmission · TX

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, the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Jul 6, 2021 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed May 24, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · IA

My vehicle shut down while driving with error messages on screen: emissions transmission, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist, trailer stability, assist, power steering, road departure,collision mitigation, blind spot, transmission, battery light, oil light. Coasted into safe place and had towed. Could not turn car back on other than seeing the above warnings.

Filed Mar 25, 2021 · Engine, Transmission · 64,000 miles · GA

While changing lanes (car in motion 65 MPH) in the city, warning lights in the instrument claster started to appear. Engine lost power ( could not accelerate) had to change lanes in traffic almost got hit by semi trucks. Managed to drift to side of the road, car went into neutral and could not get into park. Used parking break to keep car from rolling. The instrument cluster finally made up its mind and settled on emissions error. Before that in was showing all sorts of errors. Turned off the car waited a few minutes and was able to drive home. Very scary with kids in car.

Filed Jan 22, 2021 · Electrical, Transmission · 35,383 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 honda pilot. The contact stated that on several occasions while at an intersection or stopped, the vehicle failed to switch to auto-start mode and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate for several seconds. While the vehicle was in reverse, the taillights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to honda of downtown los angeles (780 w martin luther king jr blvd, los angeles, ca 90037, (213) 266-7366) where it was diagnosed that the PCM needed to be reprogrammed and the battery was draining power. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The contact mentioned the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v668000 (electrical system) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 35,383.

Filed Jan 5, 2021 · Electrical, Fuel system · 77,000 miles · IL

Check engine light (cel) appears, randomly when parked or in motion, indicating a problem with emissions system. Cel began to appear at approximately 77,000 miles. Car now has over 85,000 miles. I purchased the vehicle used, when it had 68,000 miles. I have never driven outside of the u.s.. Cel appears at various speeds between 0 and 60 MPH. When in motion and cel is displayed, engine hesitation occurs causing me to increase vehicle speed and engine RPM to ensure I have sufficient power to: complete a turn, pass another vehicle, or make it up a hill. I am never sure I will have enough power. Additionally, the mileage economy display changes from shades of green to solid white. Cel remains visible on dashboard until it randomly disappears. Cel will remain lit ranging from 30 minutes to several days and disappear at various speeds. When it disappears, engine hesitation stops and economy display returns to shades of green depending on whether accelerating or decelerating. I first believed it to be a problem with the fuel tank cap. However, the cap is a hinged flap that returns to the closed position after I have finished refueling. I predominantly use e87 octane with ethanol. But e89 fuel makes no difference because the cel and hesitation randomly still occur. I have not taken to a repair shop because I have not had the opportunity to when the cel is displayed. The repair shop stated they can only diagnose when the cel is displayed. Similar descriptions from other honda pilot owners can be found at https://www.piloteers.org/threads/emissions-system-problem-check-engine-light.157705/.

Filed Dec 17, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 61,000 miles · CA

All of my warning lights turned on back in oct 2020.. We did some driving the day before,. But nothing crazy... Every light went off .. So took it to dealership and they said it was fuel injectors.. So they replaced it all .. And said it should fix the problem... Then I drove it to southern ca during thanksgiving and then all of sudden coming down from (grapevine) the car stalled, I press the gas and nothing .. I was able to coast it to side of the road..attached is a pic of what was coming up.. Then I put car in park and and the RPM started to go up 4-5 RPM without me pressing gas, so I would turn off car.. 10 min later I started the car and was able to drive it off the freeway.. But couldnt drive more than 50 MPH.. So the transmission would change.. So after getting towed and took few days.. Took to honda dealership in ventura ca.. Worst service ever.. Pretty much didnt want to look at vehichle.. So then took to another dealership more helpful.. All the error light was gone.. They told me only error was some oil pressure down.. And suggested that oil filter wasnt n authentic oil filter and thats what could have caused problem.. Yes idont typically send to dealership but I do go to a authentic oil change company... So pretty much this error has caused twice in 3 months.. Vehicle only at 61k when the 2nd one happen.. And not real solution.. I had my 2 kids and my wife when this all happen.. Not safe at all.. Please find a solution.. My local dealership offered to take my vehcile and drive it home with a technician to see if anything come up.. But now im seeing a lot of people having the same problem.. Either transmission.. Oil change.. Reason I took honda is due to the safety and relaiability.. But now im havign doubts.. Please help!!.. Luckily all under extended warrenty.. But for how long?

Filed Nov 28, 2020 · Transmission · 95,300 miles · MD

Total transmission failure. Stationary until towed to the nearest dealer.

Filed Nov 15, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 35,000 miles · TX

We have a 2016 honda pilot touring. Since early 2018 we have been having issues with the idle stop system. The problem is when we are driving and we come to stop in traffic at a light, the idle stop system engages and shuts the engine down, like it is suppose to do. Once the light turns green for traffic to move, I release the brake and the idle stop system tries to engage and turn the engine on again, but fails and shuts the whole vehicle down, inoperable. The lights flash and I cannot turn the car on again for at least 1 to 2 minutes. Vehicles are honking and traffic is blaring across us, but I cannot turn the vehicle back on. After 2 minutes, I can restart the vehicle by pushing the button and brake and then the vehicle moves. This is a safety issue, since you never know when it wil lol happen, but it has always happened while in heavy trafffic or a busy intersection. In 2019, I took vehicle in for service, they said it was a bad battery. I replaced the battery in march 2019. The same identical problem still continued to occur multiple times. November 10 took the same dealer, howdy honda, austin,tx. They again told me the battery was reading bad, but I had the battery tested at another shop and at the place of purchase, and the battery was more then fine and tested great in and out of the vehicle. The dealer of course said they could not recreate the issue and did not see anything when they tested the system. They just pawned it off on the battery, even though the battery is less than 2 years old and testing just fine. There is no way to permanently disable the system and if I forget to push the idle stop disengage button every time I start the vehicle, I could end up on the road in the middle of traffic and some driver decides not to pay attention and run into me and my disabled vehicle. This is unacceptable and such a hazard and honda does not seem to care.

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