Used 2016 Honda Pilot SUV Consumer Reviews
Used Pilot for sale
2016 Honda Pilot Redesigned
Kathy Schiavone, 04/18/2016
2016 Honda Pilot Touring 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Love the 2016 Pilot. Rides and handles well. Economic features include idle shut off when at traffic lights or stopped for short periods. Takes some getting used to and was annoying initially. Push button gear shifter and heated seats are a nice feature. Electronic controls for navigation and phone are also voice activated. Good cargo space with rear seats folded down. Would have loved the panoramic moonroof but only available on the Elite model. Overall good value and worth consideration when shopping for an SUV.
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Love the 3rd-gen Pilot
GrimusTimus, 12/31/2015
updated 01/06/2020
2016 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Update 2020-Jan-05: A little over 80000 miles on our 2016 Pilot. No major complaints other than a failed A/C compressor (at ~60000 on the odometer). Sadly, A/C issues continue to be a common theme with vehicles built by Honda ...a manufacturer otherwise noted for their high-quality and longevity still scrimps on A/C component quality? Three out of three Honda's that I've owned have now had A/C issues. The one saving grace is that Honda seems to at least be aware of this and is highly accommodating when A/C components fail on out-of-warranty Honda's. Update 2018-Jan-04: We now have 42000+ trouble-free miles on our 2016 Pilot. It continues to be a very comfortable vehicle and a pleasure to drive. We did have to put new tires on it at around 30,000 miles because we had tire damage to the sidewall (nail) ...and the tire shops don't get too excited about repairing sidewall damage. I put a set of Cooper Tires on it, as Cooper is my preferred brand and have them on all of my vehicles. Update 2017-Jan-04: We've now owned our Pilot for right at 13 months and it now has over 23,000 miles on it. We've had zero issues with the car and it continues to be a joy to drive. If I could afford it, I'd buy another (so that my wife didn't get 90% of the pleasure of driving it). Power is responsive (and fun) ... the steer-by-wire is a breeze to get used to and we are satisfied with the feedback provided in the steering system. Towing: This Pilot is very capable of towing. We pulled our 3500# pop-up camper (it is the 2nd-largest pop-up camper on the market) with ease on a couple of camping trips in 2016. That being said, after trading a Ford F-150 in on our Pilot, I did end-up going back to a pickup for our camping needs. The vast majority of our camping is remote / "in the boonies". On one of our more adventurous trips, the tongue-weight just wasn't our friend and I nearly broke-off one of the rear mudflaps on the Pilot going thru a big dip in forest road we were using to get to our camp spot. After that trip, I searched high-and-low for some sort of aftermarket products that would work with the rear suspension on a Honda Pilot. Unfortunately, I came-up "bupkis" and ended-up buying an older pickup for the remote camping / towing needs (and really needed a truck again for hunting anyway). If / When we go on a family trip that involves towing the camper from KOA to KOA (or well-groomed, "just-off-the-highway" campgrounds), the Pilot will be our go-to vehicle for those trips. Overall, we are very pleased with our Pilot (as we have been with all of our Honda vehicles). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Review: Preface: We've put about 1000 miles on our Pilot so far. We intend to pull our high-wall pop-up camper with our EX-L AWD and have equipped it to handle the 3700 GVWR of the camper. I will edit this review (or add another) once we've had a chance to test-out towing performance. Everything about this mid-size SUV is awesome. Performance, handling, utility, function, comfort ... all hit high marks with us. The Pilot is primarily my wife's vehicle and previously she drove a 2nd-gen Honda CRV. We had looked at the 2nd-gen Pilots and she felt like she was driving a truck (which I liked of course). While it is still certainly a bigger (looking and feeling) vehicle than the CRV, the 3rd-gen Pilot does drive much "smaller" than the previous generations of the Pilot. I will admit that the steering was a little different at first. The feedback is so soft, that I initially believed that the head must be drive-by-wire; however, a quick glance under the dash and there is most definitely a steering shaft from the head down through the firewall. This doesn't make the Pilot difficult to drive or respond to steering adjustments; however, I would prefer just a little more feedback in the system. As we drive it more and more, this becomes much less noticeable (and perhaps break-in is delivering more and more feedback in the system...IDK.) Performance is awesome and loaded-up with 7 has had no problems passing on any roadway. I "accidentally" found out that 100 mph is quickly achieved when passing a very slow group of 3 cars on a remote 2-lane highway. Acceleration from 45 -to- "oops 98" was quite surprising when I made that pass. As mentioned earlier, I am intrigued to see how it pulls our camper. Previously we had been pulling it with a full-size, half-ton truck (V8) and I am expecting our trips will be a little slower and cumbersome. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised (this 3.5 V6 does have almost as much torque as my truck did.) Overall, I would highly recommend the 3rd-gen Pilot. I'm no car snob (unless we're talking about old muscle cars), but this is the finest vehicle I've ever owned. I am admittedly partial to Honda's as I have been riding, driving, or pushing (mowers) them for four decades now.
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2016 Honda Pilot for sale near you
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- EX-L 4dr SUV w/NavigationMSRP: $11,99515 mi away
- EX-L 4dr SUV w/NavigationMSRP: $18,4877 mi away
- Elite 4dr SUV w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment SystemMSRP: $16,17715 mi away
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Great vehicle (minus the 9-speed tranny)
Joel Avila, 10/27/2015
updated 10/29/2018
2016 Honda Pilot Touring 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation and Rear Entertainment System (3.5L 6cyl 9A)
16 of 21 people found this review helpful
I would give this vehicle 5 stars if the 9-speed transmission were smooth. It's not, and that's too bad. Didn't catch that on the test drive, but I sure notice it now, generally when doing lower-speed (around-town) driving. Excellent kid hauler/road-trip vehicle. I'm tall, and love the ceiling height and overall comfort & design of the cabin. Rear seating is very well designed, and easy to access - or drop flat for hauling gear. Mileage is good for it's class, and I think the styling is much improved. I just can't understand why they didn't give more consideration to the tranny, and I think the NAVI unit, and perhaps the button-shifting could be a bit more smooth/responsive as well. Looking forward to taking it up to the snow this winter (Sierras). Have been in Volvo + Saab wagons my entire adult life, and it's a nice change to be in such a big honkin' vehicle. Hope this is helpful. Maybe check out the 6-speed, or see if you can live with the 9 on a more urban stoplight-filled test drive. Seems like some folks are not as bothered by it, but I think Honda should come up with an immediate fix. The drive, especially during deceleration at lower speeds = just plain odd.
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Very good SUV with small but important flaws
Tom, 08/08/2016
2016 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV w/Navigation (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
13 of 17 people found this review helpful
I really wanted to buy this SUV, however Honda overlooked a few small but very important flaws it has. These small things were turned into actual deal breakers for me. Honda could fix these easily, and should, because I can't be the only one having these issues. 1) Dual Armrests. They are very skinny and too close to the seat for me. I'm a bigger guy at 6'3 and my right arm naturally falls on the outside if this armrest. To even stick my elbow on it I have to push my elbow tight into my body. I can do without an armrest for a short journey but what about road trips? Why can't Honda just have a regular armrest like the Pilot used to have or what every other SUV has? This one small detail was the largest deal breaker for me. 2) Why can't Honda have a height adjustable front passenger seat? Even in a 40+ thousand dollar SUV it's not offered? My wife is short at 5'1 and the seat is too low. On a long road trip it would make her car sick. What about children in the front seat? Honda cheaped out on this small detail. That was deal breaker #2. The others next are smaller flaws I could have looked past. 3) Why can't the rear tail gate open higher and be adjustable? In such a large SUV I shouldn't have to duck my head so I don't hit it. The tail gate doesn't go any higher up than my wife's small VW Tiguan does. 4) The drivers lumbar support is not very good. It did not do a good job of giving my lower back support. Other than those 4 simple things I couldn't find anything else I disliked about the Honda Pilot. It's really a shame I couldn't buy it and that the decision not to buy had to based on these simple flaws. These flaws Honda could easily fix for 2017, but I don't think they will. I guess I have to look into the Toyota Highlander next.
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Transmission Problems immediately and terrible A/C
Tammy Campbell, 10/05/2015
updated 04/05/2017
2016 Honda Pilot EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
15 of 20 people found this review helpful
My 2016 Honda Pilot has 2600 miles on it and it feels and sounds like it is about to break down. The gears jerk when traveling around town, and a loud grinding noise occurs during acceleration along with jerking. I live in Florida, and my last vehicle was the Honda Oddysey that had poor A/C, and this new Honda Pilot is even worse. I prefer an A/C setting at home of 76 and my Pilot can't seem to get that low in my car when the outside temp is above the mid to high 80's. I have owned the car for 6 weeks, and I am not happy. I don't recommend this vehicle unless you are a mechanic who lives in a fairly cold climate. Update: I have owned this Honda Pilot for a year and a half and have 30,000 miles on it. The transmission is loud, the air conditioning never gets cold enough for hot air blows from the floor vents constantly, the radio will randomly increase volume until it is as loud as the volume goes and you can't use the controls to turn it down (it has to be turned off and then back on in order to turn it down -- annoying!), and the vehicle rattles while driving, especially on bumpy roads, as if the shocks were broken. I really regret owning this vehicle, especially because the air conditioning is so poor. Even in the winter here in Florida, it was cooler outside (75 degrees) than I could get the air conditioner to cool. I don't like rolling the windows down, especially on the highway, but I also don't like sweating. For the passengers in the middle, there is one vent on the back of the console near the floor. All my passengers complain that they are hot, and my 16-year-old gets nauseated. In my last vehicle, the air came from the top and blew in his face, so when he was a little car sick, he would just have the air blow on his face. Now he has to put his face in the floor or out of the window. I have no idea how air gets back to the third row, but it stays hot back there.
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