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2016 Honda Pilot

Gas
Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD
4 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
35 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls3 critical8
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA1,697
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA23 mpg
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 Honda Pilot is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Pilot 2WD, is EPA-rated at 23 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns for this model year, 3 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 1697 complaints, most often about the engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Pilot 2WDGasFWD3.5L 6-cyl202723$2,700
Pilot 2WDGasFWD3.5L 6-cyl192722$2,850
Pilot 4WDGasAWD3.5L 6-cyl192622$2,850
Pilot 4WDGasAWD3.5L 6-cyl182521$2,950

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36414, 36415, 36425, 36426.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 Honda Pilot is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (8)

Source: NHTSA recall database
▲high

Suspension

AOU, AOT
880,514 vehicles
ProblemAmerican 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.RiskFailure 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.FixDealers 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. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed July 27, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated in the fall of 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) in
NHTSA campaign 26V365000reported Jun 4, 2026Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Fuel System, Gasoline

KGC, KGD
2,490,460 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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.RiskFuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers 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.
NHTSA campaign 23V858000reported Dec 18, 2023Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

XG1, GG0
248,999 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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.RiskA damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury.FixDealers 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 Apr
NHTSA campaign 23V751000reported Nov 13, 2023Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Structure

PBV
724,826 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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.RiskA hood that opens while driving can obstruct the driver's view and increase the risk of a crash.FixDealers 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.
NHTSA campaign 21V932000reported Nov 29, 2021Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
!critical

Fuel System, Gasoline

KE8
136 vehicles
ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD and AWD vehicles. The affected vehicles have fuel tanks that may leak.RiskA fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.FixHonda 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.
NHTSA campaign 17V219000reported Mar 30, 2017Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
!critical

Fuel System, Gasoline

KA9, KB0
39 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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.RiskA fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.FixHonda 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).
NHTSA campaign 16V417000reported Jun 9, 2016Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Electrical System

JV7
35,406 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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, "ElectrRiskIf a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.FixHonda 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.
NHTSA campaign 15V668000reported Oct 16, 2015Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
▲high

Seat Belts

JS7
1,358 vehicles
ProblemHonda (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.RiskIf the third row seatbelt is trapped, the occupants may not be restrained properly, increasing the risk of injury.FixHonda 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.
NHTSA campaign 15V424000reported Jul 6, 2015Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

NHTSA defect investigations

Engine — Engine failure open

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).  It was determined that these engine failures are outside the scope of Honda Recall 23V-751. Further, evidence gathered in conjunction with RQ24013 does not suggest this failure is caused by the same crankshaft manufacturing defect that is addressed by Honda in Recall 23V-751.  Based on analysis of data from RQ240

Opened Aug 20, 2025 · action PE25008

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages open

On June 3, 2022, the Office 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 traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016

Opened Mar 26, 2025 · action EA25004

Engine — Engine failure closed

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. Honda recalled these vehicles due to a crankshaft manufacturing defect that caused premature connecting rod bearing wear and engine seizure. While the out-of-scope failures involved in these complaints appear to have a very similar failure mechanism as the recalled engines, a thorough analysis o

Opened Nov 8, 2024 · closed Aug 20, 2025 · action RQ24013

Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages closed

On June 3, 2022, the Office 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 traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016

Opened Jun 3, 2022 · closed Mar 26, 2025 · action PE22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
1697complaints filed

23 involved a crash · 9 a fire · 20 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2015: 9 · 2016: 61 · 2017: 45 · 2018: 71 · 2019: 242 · 2020: 200 · 2021: 138 · 2022: 247 · 2023: 124 · 2024: 197 · 2025: 234 · 2026: 129

Most-cited components

Engine765
Electrical System581
Unspecified290
Power Train199
Fuel/Propulsion System170
Structure54

What owners describe

“O2 sensor in regards to fuel injector recall. Fuel Injector failure with 55,000 miles on injectors. All injectors replaced by dealer under recall. Now with, 57,000 miles, so 2,000 additional miles since original recall, now the O2 sensor fails. Obviously, O2 sensor failed due to original fuel injector failure putting t…”Jul 9, 2021 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“Auto Idle shut off stalls the car. Once the car is stopped...the engine will shut off. When I take my foot off the brake...the engine stalls, goes into park..several lights come up on the dash. This is very concerning....especially when it is difficult to start the car back up again.”Jul 8, 2021 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“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 th…”Jul 6, 2021 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆16%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆18%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Compare the 2016 Pilot with

2016 Nissan Rogue →

Other Pilot model years

A

2026 Honda Pilot

1 recalls · 18 complaints

D

2025 Honda Pilot

4 recalls · 195 complaints

F

2024 Honda Pilot

6 recalls · 109 complaints

F

2023 Honda Pilot

5 recalls · 137 complaints

D

2022 Honda Pilot

5 recalls · 149 complaints

F

2021 Honda Pilot

10 recalls · 426 complaints

F

2020 Honda Pilot

11 recalls · 484 complaints

F

2019 Honda Pilot

13 recalls · 898 complaints

F

2018 Honda Pilot

7 recalls · 437 complaints

D

2017 Honda Pilot

4 recalls · 918 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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