Buyer Research

2016 Honda Pilot — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $13,000–$20,000. There are 2 high-severity known issues you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 4 Honda Pilot years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Nearly half of this Pilot's 1,697 complaints are the engine, and that number is not vague grumbling — Honda recalled the 2016 Pilot in 2023 for connecting rod bearings that can wear, seize and destroy the engine, and owners describe a faint rattle turning into a totalled motor inside fifteen miles. There are nine fire reports in this file and two separate campaigns to replace a fuel tank that can leak. This is the first year of a well-liked generation, roomy and pleasant to drive, and a 2016 Pilot with the bearing inspection and both fuel tank campaigns confirmed done is a reasonable buy. One with an unknown recall history is a lottery ticket. Start with the VIN, not the test drive.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 1,697 owner complaints for the 2016 Honda Pilot, and 8 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 48% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

8 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2016 Honda Pilot

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Connecting rod bearings can wear and seize the engine (recall)High — wallet impact

Recall 23V751000 names the 2016 Pilot directly: a manufacturing error means a connecting rod bearing can wear and seize, damaging the engine, which the notice says can make it run badly or stall while driving with a risk of fire or crash. Dealers inspect and repair or replace the engine free of charge. Owners in this cluster describe exactly that arc — a faint rattle at low rpm that grows loud within a short drive, then a seized crankshaft and a mechanic saying the motor is finished. Get the engine cold, start it, and listen at the front of the engine for a knock or rattle before it warms up. Then run the VIN, because an engine replacement here costs more than a third of the vehicle.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $5,500–$9,000 for a replacement engine outside the campaign, which is more than a third of what this vehicle is typically worth — around 55% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (810); 8 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Fuel tank can leak, and the fuel pump can stall the engine (three recalls)High — wallet impact

Honda went at the 2016 Pilot's fuel tank twice. Recall 16V417000 covers tanks built with insufficient welds that can separate; recall 17V219000 covers 2016 Pilot 2WD and AWD tanks that may leak. Both consequences are the same — petrol near an ignition source and a fire — and both remedies are a free tank replacement. On top of that, recall 23V858000 covers a fuel pump module that can fail and stall the engine while driving. Nine fire reports sit in this vehicle's overall record. Stand at the back of the car after a fill-up and smell for petrol, and look for a dark damp patch on the tank shield.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,100–$2,200 for a fuel tank outside the campaigns

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the fuel system (187); 8 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

"Keyless Start System Problem" and an auto idle-stop that will not restartMedium

A third of this car's complaints land here and they say the same two things. One is a dashboard message reading Keyless Start System Problem that comes and goes, takes the walk-away auto lock with it, and sometimes leaves the car refusing to start at all — usually a weak key fob battery, a failing smart-entry antenna or the start button itself. The other is the auto idle-stop shutting the engine off at a traffic light and then failing to restart, which leaves you stalled in traffic reaching for the key. Recall 15V668000 separately covers instrument cluster software on early-build 2016 Pilots that can fail to warn the driver when a safety system faults. Sit at three lights on the test drive and watch it restart each time.

Repair cost: $150–$900 for a fob, antenna or start button; $0 with the recall for the cluster software — verify it was performed

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (579); 8 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Hard, violent gear shifts and the occasional loss of driveMedium

The 2016 Pilot came with a six-speed automatic on LX, EX and EX-L and a nine-speed on Touring and Elite, and both show up here. Most of these complaints are shift quality — jerking and hesitating as the box hunts for a gear, worst at low speed in town. A smaller and more serious group describes a "Transmission System Problem" message at highway speed and the accelerator doing nothing. Honda's own service fluid changes help the shift quality and do nothing for the failures. Drive it in stop-start traffic for twenty minutes before you drive it on a motorway; the town driving is where you will feel it.

Repair cost (estimate): $0–$300 for a fluid service and software update; $3,000–$5,000 for a rebuilt transmission — about 30% of what this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the transmission and drivetrain (199).

Rear subframe corrosion in salt states, and a hood latch that can releaseMedium

The subframe part applies only if this Pilot was sold or has lived in one of the road-salt states — recall 26V365000 covers 2016–2022 Pilots in that region, where the rear subframe can corrode badly enough for a rear control arm to fail and the car to lose handling and control. Dealers fit a reinforcement kit free. Separately, recall 21V932000 covers a hood latch striker that can be damaged and separate, letting the hood fly up and block your view while driving. If the car comes from a salt state, get underneath with a torch and look at the rear subframe and the control arm mounts for flaking, layered rust rather than surface film.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $1,200–$2,500 for a rear subframe outside the campaign

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the body and structure (53); 8 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Cylinder deactivation burns oil and shakes the engine mounts apartMedium

Honda's 3.5L V6 shuts down cylinders to save fuel, and on this family of engines that habit is linked to oil consumption between changes and to front and rear engine mounts that wear out early — you feel it as a shudder through the steering wheel and the seat at idle in drive, which smooths out the moment you select neutral. This is not a cluster in the federal record, so treat it as a thing to inspect rather than a thing to expect. Check the dipstick yourself, and ask the seller how much oil the car uses between services.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$900 for engine mounts; $150–$400 per year in top-up oil if it is drinking

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗A faint rattle or knock from the front of the engine in the first minute after a cold start
✗A "Keyless Start System Problem" message on the dash, even if it clears
✗The engine failing to restart by itself after auto idle-stop at a light
✗Hard, violent shifts under acceleration or when lifting off the throttle
✗Flaking, layered rust on the rear subframe or rear control arm mounts
✗A petrol smell at the back of the car after filling the tank

Good Signs

✓Recall 23V751000 shown complete on the NHTSA VIN lookup, with the inspection result
✓A fuel tank replaced under campaign 16V417000 or 17V219000, with the paperwork
✓A smooth, even idle from cold with the valvetrain quiet at 1,000 rpm
✓Auto idle-stop restarting cleanly at three consecutive traffic lights
✓Oil changed every 5,000 miles on 0W-20 full synthetic, with receipts
✓Transmission fluid serviced at Honda's 30,000-mile interval, with receipts