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 there was an abnormal engine knocking sound coming from the vehicle. There were recurring oil leaks and a misfire coming from the engine. The engine warning light was flashing. Additionally, the ESC, hill start assist, VSA, EPS, and steering low warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who confirmed the codes. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The local dealer was not contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
[2016 Honda Pilot exl AWD with sensing, 28 k miles and 2.4 years since purchase] on Friday aug/24/2018 while driving home (around 40mph) the vsa light came on and stayed on for barely 4-5 seconds and then turned off. Did not notice any major issues then. On Sunday 26/aug/2018 while driving at around 30-35 MPH, the car suddenly lost power and came to a complete stop almost like the brakes had been applied (did not notice the orange brake sign or the collision warning beep sound). I was on the right lane with no one behind or ahead of me and no obstacles in front. Turned on the hazard light and then noticed that the vsa light was on. Car would not move and just kept revving when I tried to accelerate. Put the car in park and then in drive, no change. Pushed the vsa button to turn off vsa and both the vsa light and the vsa off light stayed on but the car would still not move. …
My vehicle was in motion on a neighborhood street when several alerts went off on my dashboard: road departure mitigation system problem, trailer stability assist problem, hill start assist problem, vehicle stability assist problem, emissions system problem, power steering system problem. I could find no reason for these alerts. I took my car into a dealership the next day and was told there was no issue and the lights were turned off. 10 days later they all came on again as I was driving on a local street. The next day when I went to take my car to the dealer, the lights had turned off. I took it in anyway, and they again said there was no issue. I reported the issue to Honda corporation and was told by one agent that this wasn't the first time the issue had come up in a newer model Pilot. Again 2 days ago, all the lights came on and now also the brake assist alert is also on. …
I've been having issues with my car stalling when I try to drive after being stopped at a red light. It doesn't happen every time but at random times. I had this issue back in February 2018 and took it to my local Honda dealer in jacksonville and they hadn't seen the issue before. They reported it to American Honda, took a few days and then replaced the starter and said it was a failed starter issue. It was working fine until August 2018 when it stalled again. It instructed me to put the car in park and then start the engine again. I took it to the local dealer an hour after it happened but they wanted me to leave my car so they could report it and I'm a stay at home mom and need to have my vehicle so I told him I'd try to bring it back another day but instead decided to report the problem directly to Honda to see if there is any update or correction at this time. …
I've had several issues with my 2016 Honda Pilot in the past few months. I currently have 110K miles on my vehicle but my problems began at around 80K. My check engine light and several other lights illuminate constantly. At first they would light up and go away. Brought it to service. They said there were no recalls and they change my spark plugs and told me to drive my car on at least a half tank of gas. Problem continued and then my car started running rough and idling rougher. I brought it in again and was told I needed to replace my fuel injectors. That was taken care and I still have a check engine light illuminates along with emissions system problem warming and my car still runs rough and has trouble accelerating. Song with all of these issues I've also had to replace my ignition and key fob and my auto start is not working. …
Honda Pilot 2016 model with 30000 miles has stalled on highway interstate suddenly within 2 min of signalling messages of engine temperature too hot, transmission system problem, emission system problem etc...and went into neutral mode with failure of brakes. Car would not respond to brakes as it went to neutral state. Also noticed a burning or gasoline smell inside the car . I had to apply parking brake to stop the vehicle from moving on highway which could have LED to a major crash. As I was not on the speeding lanes, things were not worse. I had to call 911 and they helped me move my car to a shoulder and later towed to Honda dealership. This was the second time happening for the same issue where earlier it happened on a local road. …
My vehicle just drove 20K miles, I am getting a popup "keyless start system problem" very frequently when ever I start my car. Mine is 2016 Honda Pilot touring AWD. I went to dealer, first day he reset some code and the warning message went off. But immediately on next day it came again. I went to dealer again and they did 2 hours of investigation and told , they will replace the battery and they ordered a part. Yesterday my part was ready and they said they have replaced the part and replaced the fob batteries. The warning was went off on that day but, it came again today. I am totally frustrated with this behavior. When I search on the forums most of the Pilot customers had the same issue and they have reported in this forum. I am not sure how you will take it up but I am bit concerned on the vehicle safety how it behavior. I am getting this message when ever I start the vechile. …
Our 3 year old car at about 28,000 miles started displaying the warning message "keyless start system problem" nearly almost every time it is started. (note, this problem developed the month after it's warranty expired...) when the message first displayed we took it to the dealer, they could not find any problem with the starting system, only that our electronics system needed an update. With the update, the message disappeared for a few weeks, but has now returned and is appearing nearly every time we start the car. This happens regardless of whether mine or my wife's key is used, and changing the battery in the keys has not changed anything either. We have never had an actual issue with starting the car, it's just that we now have to live with this constant warning light. …
During idle (such as at a red light), the auto engine idle stop function causes the engine to cut out (this is normal) and the engine is supposed to come back to life when the brake is released. However, sometimes the engine and electrical system cut out completely (most easily identified by the radio cutting out) and the engine does not come back on when the brake is released and the car must be put into park and restarted, which can take quite a bit of time - it often has trouble restarting when this occurs. There is usually some kind of error code when this occurs; the code varies but is most often "collision mitigation system problem'. This condition can be quite hazardous, especially when in an intersection. There is an override of the engine idle stop, but it must be activated each time the car is restarted, which is easily forgotten. …
Driving at 35 MPH on my way home on a side street and my car jolted and stalled and several (5)warning lights came on. Vehicle stability, brake, trammision warning, and a couple other lights. I turned the vehicle off and restarted the car. I tried to drive it in a parking lot so I was able to get safely out of oncoming traffic . And it would not shift properly and I couldn+t drive it at all as I would try to start and it wojld rev to 4000-5000 rpms and would pop in and out from gear to park.. I had it towed from the parking lot I was in to my machanic . My concern is that I don+t feel safe driving on the highway with shifting issues, stalls and jolts that have happened if I were on the highway when that happened, going at 65 MPH, it would have caused unnecessary accidents. It+s extremelyndangerous with my children in the car as well as innocent bystanders still no recall for my vehicle.
Traction Control complaints in other Pilot years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2016 Honda Pilot?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2016 Honda Pilot, 2% of the model year's 1,716 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2016 Honda Pilot traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control 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 traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 37,000 miles, and 23% before 25,000 miles.
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.