2016 Honda Pilot recalls and problems

The 2016 Honda Pilot has 8 safety recalls and 1,731 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. Recall repairs are free at any Honda dealer.

Recalls
8
Complaints
1,731
Crashes / fires
23 / 10
Injuries / deaths
20 / 0

Recalls may cover only some 2016 Honda Pilot vehicles. Check your VIN at NHTSA ↗ to see open recalls for your exact car.

2016 Honda Pilot recalls

Recall 26V-365: Suspension, Structure

Reported Jun 4, 2026 · 965,561 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.

Risk: Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed November 5, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.

Recall 23V-858: Fuel System, Gasoline

Reported Dec 18, 2023 · 2,490,460 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Recall 23V-751: Engine and Engine Cooling

Reported Nov 13, 2023 · 248,999 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2016 and 2018-2019 Pilot, 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 Odyssey vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine.

Risk: A damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.

Fix: Dealers will inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 28, 2024. 2016-2017 Acura MDX owner letters were mailed November 1, 2024. 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed in mid-December 2024. Honda began mailing owner notification letters as of March 18, 2024. 2015-2016 Acura owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-December 2024, 2018 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed the end of March/early April 2024, 2019 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-May 2024, 2020 Acura TLX owner letters are expected to be mailed mid-June 2024, and 2016-2020 Acura MDX owner letters are expected to be mailed January 27, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XG1 and GG0.

Recall 21V-932: Latches/Locks/Linkages, Structure

Reported Nov 29, 2021 · 724,826 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Passport, 2016-2019 Pilot, and 2017-2020 Ridgeline vehicles. The hood latch striker may become damaged and separate from the hood, which can result in the hood opening while driving.

Risk: A hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.

Fix: Dealers will either repair the hood latch striker, or replace the hood if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 18, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is PBV.

Recall 17V-219: Fuel System, Gasoline

Reported Mar 30, 2017 · 136 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.

Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is KE8.

Recall 16V-417: Fuel System, Gasoline

Reported Jun 9, 2016 · 39 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2015 Acura MDX 2WD and MDX 4WD vehicles, 2016 Acura MDX 4WD vehicles, 2015-2016 Honda Odyssey vehicles, and 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and 4WD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that were manufactured with insufficient welds which may separate and allow fuel to leak out.

Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tanks, free of charge. Owners may contact Honda/Acura customer service at 1-888-234-2138. The recall began on July 29, 2016. Honda's numbers for this recall are KA9 (Honda vehicles) and KB0 (Acura vehicles).

Recall 15V-668: Electrical System

Reported Oct 16, 2015 · 35,406 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to September 8, 2015 and 2016 Pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured May 7, 2015 to September 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic stability control systems", number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "Tire pressure monitoring systems".

Risk: If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began on December 11, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JV7.

Recall 15V-424: Seat Belts

Reported Jul 6, 2015 · 1,358 vehicles affected · Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to June 5, 2015. Due to an assembly issue, the third row seatbelt may be trapped between the rear seat and the rear sideliner.

Risk: If the third row seatbelt is trapped, the occupants may not be restrained properly, increasing the risk of injury.

Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and repair the rear third row seat belt, free of charge. The recall began on August 6, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-310-783-2000. Honda's number for this recall is JS7.

2016 Honda Pilot problems reported by owners

Problem areaReports
Engine784
Electrical System586
Unknown or Other292
Power Train202
Fuel/Propulsion System176
Structure55
Engine and Engine Cooling46
Vehicle Speed Control39
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)37
Forward Collision Avoidance31
Service Brakes29
Fuel System, Gasoline20

Most reported parts

  • Structure › Body — 48
  • Forward Collision Avoidance › Warnings — 12
  • Lane Departure › Warning — 9
  • Forward Collision Avoidance › Automatic Emergency Braking — 9
  • Forward Collision Avoidance › Adaptive Cruise Control — 9
  • Electrical System › Starter Assembly — 3
  • Back Over Prevention › Warnings — 3
  • Lane Departure › Blind Spot Detection — 3

Typical mileage at the time of the problem: 50,000 miles (median of owner reports).

Problems that are not covered by a recall are paid repairs; labor rates follow local mechanic pay — see what auto mechanics earn in each state.

Recent 2016 Honda Pilot complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA, as written (personal details removed). Complaints are not verified by NHTSA.

Electrical System · at 74,715 miles · reported Nov 9, 2026
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 74,300; however, during the vehicle registration, It discovered that the mileage was 74,715.
Engine and Engine Cooling · at 105,000 miles · reported Nov 6, 2026
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, an abnormal knocking sound emanated from the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where diagnostic testing determined that the connecting rod bearings failed. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by telephone. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
Engine · reported Nov 6, 2026
My 2016 Honda Pilot has suffered catastrophic engine failure due to an apparent connecting rod bearing failure, identical to the defect described in NHTSA Recall 23V-751. During driving on the interstate the engine began knocking, made a loud banging sound, abruptly seized while driving which caused a sudden loss of motive power on the roadway, which created an immediate traffic hazard and safety risk. My VIN was checked and is currently excluded from the existing recall when checking through Honda. I am filing a complaint to urge investigation to expand the scope of the recall to cover my…
Engine · reported Nov 5, 2026
The manufacturer’s defective fuel delivery system (faulty fuel injectors covered under Honda TSB #19-056) causes severe engine cylinder misfires, dropping the vehicle into an immediate, unpredictable, and sluggish 'limp mode' while driving at highway speeds. This sudden loss of power and acceleration creates a severe traffic hazard, preventing the vehicle from keeping pace with traffic or safely merging. The primary fueling malfunction has also led to cascading damage, sequentially melting and destroying both catalytic converters and prematurely destroying brand-new spark plugs in under…
Engine · reported Nov 3, 2026
I was stopped at a traffic light just off a highway exit ramp, with my vehicle in drive. When the light changed and I attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would not move forward. I immediately shut off the engine. Because I was stopped in an active traffic lane near a highway ramp, I became concerned for my safety and restarted the vehicle in an attempt to move out of traffic. Upon restarting the engine, I heard a knocking noise that had not been present previously. I was able to move the vehicle approximately five feet to a safe position before shutting it off again.I did not attempt to drive…

Other Honda Pilot years

Compare all Honda Pilot years · All Honda models

Frequently asked questions

Does the 2016 Honda Pilot have any recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 8 recalls for the 2016 Honda Pilot: 26V-365 (suspension, structure), 23V-858 (fuel system, gasoline), 23V-751 (engine and engine cooling), 21V-932 (latches/locks/linkages, structure), 17V-219 (fuel system, gasoline) and more. Not every vehicle is affected, so check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What is the most common problem with the 2016 Honda Pilot?

Owners report engine problems most often (784 reports), followed by electrical system (586). The typical mileage when problems were reported is about 50,000 miles.

Are Honda recall repairs free?

Yes. Safety recall repairs are free at authorized Honda dealers, whether you are the first owner or bought the car used.