2016 Honda Pilot Engine Problems

My engine of the 2016 Honda Pilot can suffer a thrown rod (catastrophic engine failure) due to a defect in the connecting rods, I was driving when I heard a noise—sort of a growl—and the engine shut off. I keep up with all the maintenance, including regular oil changes. It sounds like a thrown rod.

My vehicle has about 92000 miles on it. Recently I am hearing engine knocking noises. I hear the sound mostly when I start the car and drive. When the vehicle warms it the sounds goes away. I also noticed my torque converter is not shifting well. You heard grinding noises when shifting .

My 2016 Honda Pilot has been diagnosed with engine failure caused by an issue known as "rod knock" by Hudson Automotive in Toledo, OH despite having been cared for quite well. This failure occurred outside the warranty window and there were NO relevant symptoms or warning lights before the sudden failure. After doing some research on Pilot owner online forums, as well as the NHTSA website, it seems a substantial number of similar complaints have been reported, and a recall had been issued for some vehicles in the same year and model under NHTSA campaign number 23V-751. The failures of my engine should be considered in the NHTSA recall number 23V-751, Honda recall number XG1, GG0. In addition, my claim should be considered as part of NHTSA investigation PE25008 which I understand is a current investigation into many reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in numerous Honda vehicles, including the 2016 Honda Pilot. If needed, I can provide an estimate of the work that needs to be completed on my vehicle from Hudson Automotive. Thank you for your attention to this matter and your work to protect the American consumer.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from under the hood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with an internal engine failure due to connecting rod bearing failure. The failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware failure. The failure mileage was approximately 178,000.

My wife was driving our 2016 Honda Pilot and making a right turn when she lost most of the power on the vehicle. She noticed an immediate rattling/knocking sound and drove home with reduced power. We took it to the Honda dealership on the week of March 30 to have it evaluated and they said it was a timing belt issue. We were charged the diagnostic fee and had it towed from the dealership to a repair shop. They repaired the timing belt, but said that the issue was the engine and it needed replaced. We took it back to the dealership to confirm that the issue was not the timing belt and they asked that we pay another diagnostic fee as they did not repair the timing belt and then said that the issue was indeed then engine and it needed replacing. My vehicle only has 145K miles on it and we have maintained it well. I know there was a recall for 2016 Honda Pilot's, but for those produced a few months after mine. I believe that my suv may have suffered severe engine damage by not being included. I would be glad to submit any and all evidence to support this as this could have been very dangerous for my wife and children had she been driving on the highway and lost power suddenly. I have not replaced the engine yet, but will be doing so soon as I need a way to get to/from work.

Based on everything we've documented, here's a tight, factual account written in the style NHTSA expects — first person, chronological, no fluff: "I own a 2016 Honda Pilot Touring AWD, VIN [XXX] , with 89,962 miles. The vehicle began producing a clunking noise from the engine. I brought it to Honda of Tomball [XXX] ), where the dealer diagnosed all main rod bearings as damaged and recommended full engine replacement. This failure is identical to the defect described in NHTSA Safety Recall 23V-751 (Honda Recall XG1/GG0): premature connecting rod bearing wear and seizure caused by improperly ground crankshaft crank pins. My vehicle is a 2016 Honda Pilot, a model year explicitly covered under the recall. However, my VIN was not included in the identified recall population, and Honda of Tomball has not offered to cover the repair under the recall. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether my vehicle's crankshaft contains the same manufacturing defect, and that Honda be required to extend recall coverage to my VIN. The repair cost for a full engine replacement is substantial, and the failure mode is mechanically indistinguishable from the acknowledged recall defect INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled and failed to return to normal functionality. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rod bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 121,632.

My vehicle was recently serviced at the local Honda dealership within the last 6 weeks for an oil leak at the oil filter. We had the work done and everything seemed fine until 3 days ago when the check engine light started flashing and the car couldn’t accelerate properly. I drove the car to the same dealership and after inspection they notified me that the car needed a new engine because a rod bearing had failed and was causing the engine to seize. We were quoted a price of approximately $10,000 to fix. Upon researching online for a cheaper engine/option I found that Honda had issued a recall for the same issue, but when I checked my VIN it said 0 recalls for my vehicle. Is there anything that I can do to have them honor the recall on my vehicle?

I noticed the vehicle was making a noise while driving which was diagnosed by an independent Honda service center. They said this noise was because of a rod bearing breaking. This issue creates a situation where the vehicle could break down anytime, and is therefore not drivable. The Honda diagnosis confirmed this as well, and they said the vehicle needs a new engine. No warning lights or messages occurred at all to indicate there were any problems. This is the same make and model and year of vehicles that have been recalled, but Honda is saying that they have not extended the recall to include our VIN number.

Pulled up to intersection and check engine light started flashing. Vehicle was approximately 2miles from home. Drove home and parked in driveway. Turned vehicle off. Restarted to see if problem happened again. Check engine light went off but rattle/knocking could be heard upon startup and pressing gas pedal. Code was pulled P0303. Cylinder 3 misfire. Did some research and this has been an issue with 2016 Honda Pilots. We have owned the vehicle for 10yrs4months. Purchased new. 160k miles. Self inspected with experienced mechanic present and diagnosed with a rod bearing issue.

Engine failure, left rear cylinder knocking

Loud Engine knock when starting and when running under light load around 2000 RPM

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine was knocking. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with rod bearing failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the vehicle was skipping timing, and the timing chain or belt had slipped from correct alignment, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V751000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); and associated the failure with the recall. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 148,850.

The engine began sputtering and then shut off. I had it towed in to a third party mechanic we frequently use, and they confirmed that the engine had seized, and they could not ascertain the cause. It didn't seem to have anything to do with low oil. I wondered if it was an issue with the fuel pumps failing again, because they recently failed and we had to have them replaced. I checked our VIN number to see if there were any recalls for our 2016 Honda Pilot, and there weren't, but I did find recalls for 2016 Honda Pilots related to fuel pump failure (ID# 23V858000) and engine damage from connecting rod bearing wear (ID# 23V751000). I shared this information with the third party mechanic, and they suggested that this could very well be the cause of engine failure. I'm concerned that my Pilot has suffered related failures but was not included in the recall. I have reached out to the Honda hotline included in this site, and they asked me to have the vehicle towed to the dealership for a diagnostic, after which I can submit a Goodwill Request to Honda for them to consider covering expenses related to engine replacement, but again, my concern is these issues seem to be related to the relevant recalls that do not technically apply to my VIN number. If helpful, I can file a follow-up complaint once I have documentation from the diagnostic.

Mechanic at Lee Street Garage reported lower end noise issues with engine and told me they don't recommend fixing other issues until I have vehicle looked at by dealership (in case they can address potential engine failure issue linked below). I took vehicle to dealer and they reported $5000 in repairs (to fix other issues) - nothing about a potential recall - [XXX] for this issue. I understand this vehicle is not currently in any recall for this issue. I want to report as I do not want to pay for all the other repairs only to have the engine failure issue as noted above. I asked for trade-in value for vehicle and they said $2000 (blue book value, fair/lowest value estimate is - $6885) Link to maintenance advised by honda dealership. No mention of NHTSA article above nor any follow-up from Honda on the same as it is not in any current recall. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Component or system that failed: The engine failed suddenly while driving. The suspected failure is an internal connecting-rod bearing or related bottom-end engine component. The vehicle is currently at a repair facility and the engine is available for inspection upon request. How safety was put at risk: The engine lost power suddenly and became inoperable while driving. This created a hazardous situation because the vehicle could no longer maintain speed or safely continue in traffic. Sudden engine failure without warning increases the risk of a crash, especially at highway speeds or in heavy traffic. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent shop: An independent repair shop inspected the vehicle and confirmed that the engine has experienced a catastrophic internal failure and will not rotate. The timing belt was confirmed to be intact. The shop advised that the engine requires replacement. A dealer diagnostic is pending or in progress. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance, or others: The vehicle has been inspected by an independent repair facility. It has also been presented to a Honda dealership for diagnostic evaluation. The manufacturer has not yet physically inspected the vehicle. Warning lamps, messages, or prior symptoms: Prior to the failure, the engine developed a knocking noise between approximately 3,000 and 4,000 RPM. The vehicle was driven approximately 80 miles after the noise first appeared. No check-engine light or other warning messages appeared before the engine suddenly failed and the vehicle became inoperable.

On Friday, January 30th, I took my car into Bill Pearce Courtesy Honda in Reno NV, to get a pretty big service done for $3400. Basically the 100k service with new timing belt, spark plugs, etc. I wanted to make sure that this car would last 3-5 more years. A week later, my [XXX] old daughter took my car to the ski mountain for work and on the way, the car started making a loud knocking sound and started losing power. She called me in fear so I talked her through pulling off on the next exit. I met her up at the mountain and called a tow truck and had them tow to the Bill Pearce Courtesy Honda service department. The following day, which was Monday, I got a call from the service rep and he said they were going to figure out what was going on. At the end of the day I got a call stating that the computer diagnostics said the issue was there Rod Bearings and they were going to drop the oil pan the following day to see how bad the damage was. As it turns out, Honda said that the short block will need to be replaced. That’s the bottom half of the engine. This will cost more than the car is worth and I just spent thousands on maintenance. So, Honda is giving me a Goodwill discount of 50%, but I still have to come up with $3800 for the fix. After doing much research, this is a known issue for other Hondas and Acura's, but my VIN wasn’t under the recall. I feel like this is a miss on Honda’s part and now I’m out of a vehicle and cash to get it fixed. The car hasn’t been fixed yet. They are waiting for the short block part to come in. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Complete engine failure, threw rod through block. Oil was changed in October, still has 2000 miles before needing changing again.

We are being denied a repair that is exactly like the service recall Service Bulletin 24-001 Safety Recall: 2016 (&2018-19) Pilot Connecting Rod Bearing. They found metal shavings in the oil that are identical to vehicles that are covered. The dealership said they received 4 other 2016 Honda Pilots this week where the VIN wasn't in the range but the same issue. Honda is trying to avoid a recall when it is clear that all 2016 Honda Pilots are affected.

According to my mechanic there is the low end bearing noise and bearing chirp that indicates it lost oil pressure due to internal components and a damaged engine. recommends replacing the engine. He said because of the recall there are no remanufactured engines available. Computer diagnostics showed code P0303 #3 cylinder misfire. He believes this has to do with recall 23V-751or RQ24-013. No repairs have been done.