Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
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 owned a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving approximately 35-40 MPH and approaching the red traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal to come to a complete stop. The contact noticed smoke coming out of the cowl of the vehicle. The contact then turned on the AC and smoke came through the A/C vents. The contact opened the windows. The contact stated that the smoke became thicker and brownish while pulling into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact then noticed that there was a hole in the middle of the hood, and there was a flame coming through the hole. The contact stated that the hood and the windshield became engulfed in fire within 3 minutes even though it was raining. …
Hi Sir/Madam, Wish you are going well. I own a 2016 Honda Pilot Touring AWD . Recently on [redacted] while i was driving in it with my family to New York airport the engine suddenly started making some noise and before we could pull over the car to the shoulder the engine got fire , fortunately we escaped by jumping out from the car as soon as we were on shoulder. The car was then towed to the service station and after inspection the service station informed that this is a case of engine failure due to crank shaft connecting rod failure. For repair the engine needs to be replaced and the estimated cost would be around $7000. I checked for 2016 Honda pilot recalls and saw this latest recall XG1 and GG0 which describes the same issue . However, my VIN No. does not show any recalls. …
My friend drove my car and on the freeway the oil started leaking and the engine caught on fire and the car came to a complete halt. It has to be towed to the nearest Honda dealer and upon inspection found the following: DURING VISUAL INSPECTION FOUND HOLE ON THE BACK SIDE OF ENGINE BLOCK DUE TO CONNECTING ROD FAILURE CAN NOT DETERMINE CAUSE TILL FULL ENGINE TEAR DOWN UPON FURTHER INSPECTION FOUND COMPLETE INTERNAL DAMAGE AND METAL CIRCULATION OF OIL SYSTEM REC TO REPLACE COMPLETE LONG BLOCK ASSEMBLY Diamond Honda I looked online and saw the 2016 Honda Pilot had recalls on thai specific issue and called the headquarters. They said they don't have any recalls test on this vehicle becuase not enough people reported a problem. It was very serious that the engine stopped in the middle of e freeway and caught on fire. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to move over to the side of the road. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact waited to restart the vehicle and the vehicle returned to normal functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact was informed that there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle and an unknown part was replaced. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle lost motive power and stalled. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the stability control, head start, TSA, and other warning lights were illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, who diagnosed that the fuel injectors had failed. The fuel injectors were replaced. Approximately one month after having the vehicle repaired, while driving approximately 60-65 MPH, there was a rumbling noise coming from underneath the vehicle and the vehicle started shaking abnormally. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact decelerated the vehicle, turned on the hazards, and continued to drive home at speeds of approximately 40 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the engine failed due to a driveshaft failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that when he had parked the vehicle at work, he had heard an abnormal clicking sound from the engine compartment, and the vehicle was idling roughly. The contact stated that as he drove the vehicle back to his residence at approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning started flashing on the instrument cluster. The contact drove the vehicle to an auto parts store, and the store employee used a handheld scanner and drew voltage and engine communication codes. The contact then had the vehicle towed to a local dealer. The dealer did not perform a detailed diagnosis, but when the contact picked the vehicle up, he was still hearing the abnormal clicking sound. The dealer had a mechanic try to evaluate the abnormal noise by listening and thought it sounded like a failing timing belt tensioner. …
While driving at night, the 2016 Pilot, it started making a loud rattling noise then just died in the middle of the road and failed to start. There were no service or check engine lights on at the time of failure or at any point prior to the failure. We were stranded in the middle of the road at risk of getting hit by other cars. The electronic transmission would not go into neutral and we had no way of even pushing the car to the safety of shoulder. We had to tow the vehicle. The tow driver also had a very difficult time of getting the car into neutral, necessary to tow it. Having the vehicle towed to a local mechanic, they reported it being very difficult to start and when it did, it had a sever engine skip with a loud rattling noise which is indicative of a connecting rod/bearing failure. The car has 140000 miles at time of failure. …
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 while driving 50-55 MPH, the vehicle started jerking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal and continued driving at slower speeds. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The contact also stated that the vehicle lost motive power while reversing. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was an oil leak. The oil pan, rear main seal, the engine mount, the crankshaft speed sensor, the spark plugs and the transmission mount were replaced. The contact stated that other unknown repairs were completed. However, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated that the hood of the vehicle would fail to remain open as needed and would close independently. …
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, there was a loud bang coming from the engine compartment, followed by a clunking sound. The contact stated that the engine started running rough and the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated prior to the failure. The Check Engine warning light illuminated after the failure, with unknown messages displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was coasted into a nearby parking lot and manually pushed into a parking space. The vehicle was towed from the parking lot to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with complete engine failure. The vehicle was then towed to a Honda dealer for further inspection. The dealer disassembled the engine and informed the contact that the engine had thrown a connecting rod. …
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Hard parts internal/mechanical
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.
Remedy: 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.
NHTSA investigations
Engine failure
On November 8, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query RQ24013 to assess the scope of Honda recall 23V-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23V-751. In November 2023, Honda recalled 248,999 various Model Year (MY)2016-2020 Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine.
Engine failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in the following vehicles: Model Years (MY) 2018-2020 Acura TLX, MY2016-2020 Acura MDX, MY2016-2020 Honda Pilot, MY2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and MY2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline. The subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a Recall Query (RQ24013).
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
On June 3, 2022, the O ce of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several eld reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a tra c light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged.
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
On June 3, 2022, the O ce of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several eld reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a tra c light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged.
Engine complaints in other Pilot years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2016 Honda Pilot?
NHTSA has 817 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2016 Honda Pilot, 48% of the model year's 1,716 complaints. The component named most often is engine › crank/camshaft position sensor (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2016 Honda Pilot engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 23V-751 (hard parts internal/mechanical, Nov 13, 2023). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2016 Honda Pilot engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 9 fires and 1 injury to engine & cooling 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.