Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, backup camera).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Honda Pilot owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving, utilizing the engine idle feature, the vehicle would shut down while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated the vehicle struggled to restart. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had to depress the brake pedal, place the vehicle into the park, depress the brake pedal, and press the START/STOP button several times for the vehicle to restart. The Forward Collision Avoidance system would randomly depress the brake after the restart. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The mechanic informed her of several Forward Collision Avoidance system error messages in the system. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the transmission was slipping. The contact stated that the failure had occurred after the vehicle had been driven for two to three hours. In addition, the contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera screen flashed on and off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The transmission fluids were flushed. The contact stated that the transmission fluids had been flushed and refilled four times within the year. The contact referenced an unknown recall repair for the rear-view camera; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the rear-view camera displayed a blank or blue image while in reverse(R). In addition, there was an abnormal scrambling sound coming from the radio before the radio failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that other electrical features failed to operate as needed. Additionally, the contact stated that an abnormal, burning odor was coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was initially taken to a dealer, where the contact was informed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the catalytic converter; however, the check engine warning light remained on the instrument panel. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. …
Honda pilot has multiple warning lights problem. I am an extremely normal and safe driver. However, the warning sign turns on and off again and again. parking collision Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Emissions System Problem This happens frequently when turning on the engine or while driving. Even there have been no accidents, no electrical changes, and even the battery was recently replaced. so I went to an auto shop and had it repaired. The car shop also said that there are too many Honda cars with this symptom. However, even after several days, the same symptoms are recurring. Sometimes it's on and sometimes it's off and it's a mess. It's all directly related to safety, so I feel very stressed every time I drive. If a safety warning light comes on while driving, the driver becomes anxious and doubts safety. …
I have been having trouble with the auto-engine idle/restart feature for over 2years! (I saw this is a current investigation) I reported the problem to my local dealer at time of routine maintenance visit ~2yrs ago and (without driving it except from the garage to the customer driveway) they said "there's no problem, looks fine". I now try to remember to disengage that feature as soon as I turn on the car, but when I forget I stall out at red lights. It's always been a design flaw that you can't just turn off the feature! I've never had to be jumped off but it does block up traffic for a minute to have to restart the car. This same vehicle also had the failed fuel injectors at ~35k miles, starting almost a year before the official recall, and it took over 6 mos to diagnose that problem through multiple various dealerships and service stations. …
These safety features have failed on my 2016 Honda Pilot, Touring, AWD. The failures include Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance and Adaptive Cruise Control. When I reported this to my local Honda Dealership they did a plug in indicator test for $195.00. All they could tell me was that I needed a new camera. The cost would be $2000.00 plus. One of the reasons we purchased this vehicle was because of these safety features. We are both drivers [redacted], and thought these were excellent safety features considering [redacted]. However, the cost to fix seemed excessive. We are still able to drive the car but without the safety features that originally led us to buy this vehicle. We delayed reporting this failure thinking there would be a recall that would cover the failures. No recall has been reported to this point.
When car stops due to Auto Idle it then stalls and gos into neutral shutting of engine completely With collision warning coming up. Then have to shut car off , put into park before it struggles to restart. I have documented on 2 other occasions with NHTSA and to be honest if I was to document this every time you would have 100's of reports from me. This vehicle is dangerous due to Auto Idle. I try to over ride it if I remember but that's not always the case. I have taken it to Hoehn Honda in Carlsbad CA multiple times but to no avail can they fix it. As a consumer I'm trying my best to take safety seriously as this car will kill someone. When will Honda or the goverment take this seriously. The defect in this car the auto idle needs to be looked at or recalled.
I set out to make a quick trip to the store after work and the car was hesitating and I looked at the dash and noticed the check engine light was on. I stopped was in the store about 10 minutes when I came out I restarted it and it sounded fine and then engine light was not on. I was about 2 miles in towards home when the braking system failure message came on, steering failure message came on and many other messages. The engine started sounding very loud and knocking. I immediately pulled over and called a tow truck. I had no previous messages come up and the vehicle was running fine before this incident. The auto repair shop that I had it towed to listened to the engine and thinks it sounds like a crank shaft failure.
There is a problem with the collision mitigation braking system. The dash warning light for this system came on while driving and there was no foreseeable problem about to happen. The Honda dealer reset the system. Within a month or two while driving in the carpool lane of a freeway the warning lights for the system came on again. Once again there was no hazard at the time. This time the dealer was unable to reset it and quoted us $1,800 to repair/replace the system. We have not had the repair done as of today. The warning light on the dashboard is on whenever we drive the vehicle.
The radio and all audio functions (including hand free communication) will stop working and making a constant static noise. The issue make noise the entire time. It is distracting and I cannot communicate using handsfree technology. This vehicle was diagnosed by a master technician at Acura (dealer at which it was purchase) as needing a new audio unit. The issue just began a few weeks ago. I've read multiple forums of owners the same make and model having the same issue. [redacted] )
Collision Avoidance complaints in other Pilot years
Frequently asked questions
How common are collision avoidance problems on the 2016 Honda Pilot?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the driver assistance of the 2016 Honda Pilot, 2% of the model year's 1,716 complaints. The component named most often is warnings (15 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2016 Honda Pilot collision avoidance problems?
No. NHTSA lists no driver assistance recall for the 2016 Honda Pilot, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2016 Honda Pilot collision avoidance problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to driver assistance problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.