2016 Pilot electrical issue, possible keyless control unit, panel / relays flicker, alarm goes off unexpectedly

29927 Views 79 Replies 45 Participants Last post by gabrielaserrano, 8 d ago

Lisa Collins

Discussion Starter · Dec 27, 2020

Our 2016 Pilot has an annoying issue. When it is turned off, the panel lights flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights come on. Often the car alarm randomly goes off. The dealership has had it 3 times. This 3rd time around they want to charge us $800 to replace the Keyless control unit. The dealer has had it 2 other times (Cost us $80 first time and $250 the 2nd time) and nothing was resolved with this issue. It seems they are just throwing darts at possible solutions. They won't guarantee this will fixe the issue. They will not refund us the $800 if this part isn't even a problem ;-( To our knowledge, we don't think we have had the issue occur when the car is unlocked. It doesn't happen every time the car is locked. It is definitely sporadic. Anyone else have similar issues?

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DaveBetTech

· #61 · 9 mo ago

We have a 2016 Honda Pilot that has been problematic since a bit after we bought used in summer 2021. After the first 6-ish months, AC started to peter out. Turns out prior owner or dealership put the wrong refrigerant in the system and completely ruined it. That repair cost about $3k and the dealership was too-bad-so-sorry.

Now we're having this dashboard flickering problem(my video and my vehicle) roughly a year after purchase.

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This seems to be the same type of flickering as seen in where his solution was the keyless access control unit:

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This guy shows the same problem, but there isn't a comment or notes to that effect:

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I'll be calling the dealership here in a bit. Just wanted to post that I was also having the same problem.

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MCB

· #62 · 8 mo ago

I had the same issues a year ago--lights flashing, alarm going off, battery draining. I was on vacation and took it in to the local Honda dealership who replaced the battery. Fast forward almost exactly a year and it starts happening all over again. I take it in and am told that the smart unit has to be replaced to the tune of 1K. And this is a part that should last the life of the car. Well, a couple years ago, I had some transmission issues and turned out the fuel injector had to be replaced. And thanks to this forum, I knew that many other people had that problem and some had luck with Honda USA covering some of the costs. So I called Honda USA and they ended up covering 75% of the cost of the fuel injector replacement. So, knowing again that lots of Honda owners were having these electrical issues, I picked up the phone and called Honda USA. They ended up covering 60% of the smart unit replacement. I mean, what they SHOULD do is issue warranty extensions for these issues that they KNOW they have, but I was grateful to have a good chunk of it covered. I would encourage you to call and file a claim if it's a complaint you see a lot on this site! Now, I will mention that the claim process took a LOT longer this time around than it did in 2020 (more people with claims???) so be aware that it might take a few weeks to get your issue resolved, but maybe in the end worth it.

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smeese

· #63 · 7 mo ago

dobrien said:
We had our "Keyless control module" replaced about a month ago as well. No issues since that time. (part of this thread)
Pretty pricey repair, too. Recall over $800. If enough people have the same issue, maybe we can get Honda to refund us? Quality is not what it used to be. I owned a Civic Hybrid over 12 years ago. Absolute garbage.

Im having the same issue with my 2016 pilot. quoted over 800 for replacement of "keyless control module". is there a way to find out how common this is. at least seems especially common with 2016 pilots per this thread.

smeese

· #64 · 7 mo ago

MCB said:
I had the same issues a year ago--lights flashing, alarm going off, battery draining. I was on vacation and took it in to the local Honda dealership who replaced the battery. Fast forward almost exactly a year and it starts happening all over again. I take it in and am told that the smart unit has to be replaced to the tune of 1K. And this is a part that should last the life of the car. Well, a couple years ago, I had some transmission issues and turned out the fuel injector had to be replaced. And thanks to this forum, I knew that many other people had that problem and some had luck with Honda USA covering some of the costs. So I called Honda USA and they ended up covering 75% of the cost of the fuel injector replacement. So, knowing again that lots of Honda owners were having these electrical issues, I picked up the phone and called Honda USA. They ended up covering 60% of the smart unit replacement. I mean, what they SHOULD do is issue warranty extensions for these issues that they KNOW they have, but I was grateful to have a good chunk of it covered. I would encourage you to call and file a claim if it's a complaint you see a lot on this site! Now, I will mention that the claim process took a LOT longer this time around than it did in 2020 (more people with claims???) so be aware that it might take a few weeks to get your issue resolved, but maybe in the end worth it.

great advice going to check with honda usa

leeman22

· #65 · 7 mo ago

For what it's worth, I have a 2017 Pilot Touring with the same issues as described in this thread. Problems began over a year ago but then went away and resurfaced a month ago. My interim fix has been to leave one of the doors unlocked and to always switch the headlights to the "off" position instead of leaving it on auto. I took it the dealer for an oil change and asked them to check it out. The response was that I needed a new body control module. Parts and installation was going to run ~$1k.

I reached out to Honda to see if they would help since the car is out of warranty and they declined because my Pilot was involved in a minor rear end collision which they claimed could have caused this part to go bad.

Nuts.

Pilot Spouse

· #66 · 6 mo ago

We have a 2016 Honda Pilot AWD Touring w/Navigator, just shy 127k miles. The alarm just started going off for no reason every 20-30 minutes yesterday afternoon (12/8/22). It suddenly stopped for a few hours, then started back up again after 2am. So annoying. We finally had to disconnect the battery so everyone in the neighborhood could get some sleep. When it first started up, I called our local Honda dealership right away. They scheduled a diagnostics for this morning (12/9/22). That was $190 alone. Called me this afternoon and told me it was the “Keyless Entry Control Module”. The part is on back order until January 6, 2023. Price of repair: $700. In the meantime, only thing we can do is disconnect the horn until the repair is done. They wouldn’t do it for us for “safety reasons” (keeping the horn operational). I get it, but I can’t keep disconnecting the battery, then reconnecting it when I need to go somewhere and we don’t have another family vehicle. Frustrating.

Vaughn

· #67 · 5 mo ago

3

I started experiencing the same issue about a week ago. I took apart the power control module and found there were no solder on some of the connector pins. See pictures of before and after I solder the pins. It has been working so far with no repeat of the issue. If you are handy with a solder iron you could save yourself $700. The whole process took about an hour. 2016 Pilot EX with sensing. Good luck..

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Circuit component Green Passive circuit component Hardware programmer Electronic engineering

Circuit component Hardware programmer Electronic engineering Electronic component Electronic instrument

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s.k

· #68 · 5 mo ago

Vaughn said:
I started experiencing the same issue about a week ago. I took apart the power control module and found there were no solder on some of the connector pins. See pictures of before and after I solder the pins. It has been working so far with no repeat of the issue. If you are handy with a solder iron you could save yourself $700. The whole process took about an hour. 2016 Pilot EX with sensing. Good luck.. View attachment 164315 View attachment 164312 View attachment 164313

Followed your lead and applied this fix to my 2016 Odyssey that was experiencing the same issue. Link: 2016 Odyssey - After shutoff: dash lights flicker, rapid... Fingers crossed, you may have saved me several hundred dollars. Thanks, Vaughn!

Vaughn

· #69 · 5 mo ago

s.k said:
Followed your lead and applied this fix to my 2016 Odyssey that was experiencing the same issue. Link: 2016 Odyssey - After shutoff: dash lights flicker, rapid... Fingers crossed, you may have saved me several hundred dollars. Thanks, Vaughn!

S.K. I hope you have better success. My issue returned. Don't know if my unit has other problems. I have ordered a replacement module to see if it resolves the issue. Good luck.

Reactions: 1

s.k

· #70 · 5 mo ago

Vaughn said:
S.K. I hope you have better success. My issue returned. Don't know if my unit has other problems. I have ordered a replacement module to see if it resolves the issue. Good luck.

Dang, I was so optimistic about it. I'm thinking it's got to be some flaw in the circuit design that allows phantom voltages to eventually creep in under certain conditions. Cutting power to the board for a while seems to fix it temporarily. I wonder if there is some other fix I can try...

Vaughn

· #71 · 4 mo ago

s.k said:
Dang, I was so optimistic about it. I'm thinking it's got to be some flaw in the circuit design that allows phantom voltages to eventually creep in under certain conditions. Cutting power to the board for a while seems to fix it temporarily. I wonder if there is some other fix I can try...

s.k said:
Dang, I was so optimistic about it. I'm thinking it's got to be some flaw in the circuit design that allows phantom voltages to eventually creep in under certain conditions. Cutting power to the board for a while seems to fix it temporarily. I wonder if there is some other fix I can try...

s.k said:
Dang, I was so optimistic about it. I'm thinking it's got to be some flaw in the circuit design that allows phantom voltages to eventually creep in under certain conditions. Cutting power to the board for a while seems to fix it temporarily. I wonder if there is some other fix I can try...

I have been waiting for the part as it is on back order. In the meantime I keep experimenting with repairing my defective unit. The last thing I did was to re-solder the connection on the RF module. It's been over 24hr without it acting up so far. Have you already fixed your issue?

s.k

· #72 · 4 mo ago (Edited)

Vaughn said:
I have been waiting for the part as it is on back order. In the meantime I keep experimenting with repairing my defective unit. The last thing I did was to re-solder the connection on the RF module. It's been over 24hr without it acting up so far. Have you already fixed your issue?

The fix wasn't 100% foolproof, but I've been pretty lucky so far. Only acted up one day when we had some crazy weather with a big temp swing.

Going to try SparkyJJO's suggestion next: 2016 Odyssey - After shutoff: dash lights flicker, rapid...

Additional reading regarding dendritic growths: https://www.circuitinsight.com/pdf/...dritic_growth_printed_circuit_boards_smta.pdf

Vaughn

· #73 · 4 mo ago

s.k said:
The fix wasn't 100% foolproof, but I've been pretty lucky so far. Only acted up one day when we had some crazy weather with a big temp swing.

Going to try SparkyJJO's suggestion next: 2016 Odyssey - After shutoff: dash lights flicker, rapid...

Additional reading regarding dendritic growths: https://www.circuitinsight.com/pdf/...dritic_growth_printed_circuit_boards_smta.pdf

I tried his suggestion today and it seems like he found the root cause. Mine had gotten to the point where the flickering was constant as soon as I connected the battery and I could no longer start the car. I looked at the ICs under a microscope and found one that had foreign material in the epoxy like material covering the IC and the pins. I used a hot air solder gun to heat the material to point where the IC is almost reflowed. It made the epoxy brittle then I use an X-acto knife to gently scratch the epoxy off the pins. Be very careful with when scratching off the epoxy. I placed the unit back in the car and the flicker stopped and everything seems to work like normal. I will monitor to see if the issue returns I may need to remove the epoxy from between the pins as the hot air could have evaporated the moisture from the epoxy making it less conductive. See picture below of the IC location and what it looked like after scratching of the epoxy. Good luck.

Circuit component Passive circuit component Audio equipment Hardware programmer Electronic component

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s.k

· #74 · 4 mo ago

Vaughn said:
I tried his suggestion today and it seems like he found the root cause. Mine had gotten to the point where the flickering was constant as soon as I connected the battery and I could no longer start the car. I looked at the ICs under a microscope and found one that had foreign material in the epoxy like material covering the IC and the pins. I used a hot air solder gun to heat the material to point where the IC is almost reflowed. It made the epoxy brittle then I use an X-acto knife to gently scratch the epoxy off the pins. Be very careful with when scratching off the epoxy. I placed the unit back in the car and the flicker stopped and everything seems to work like normal. I will monitor to see if the issue returns I may need to remove the epoxy from between the pins as the hot air could have evaporated the moisture from the epoxy making it less conductive. See picture below of the IC location and what it looked like after scratching of the epoxy. Good luck. View attachment 165779

Awesome! I'm glad we finally have a verified DIY fix for this problem. I'll give it a shot later on this week or next. I think keeping the humidity as low as possible inside that box may help in the long run, so I plan to throw in a few packs of silica gel.

cletus

· #75 · 3 mo ago

My 2016 Pilot Elite (~62k miles) has the flavor of this bug without alarm issues, but with clicking/guage-flicker when pushing the Start button (sometimes) OR when the engine tries to "wake up" from idle-shut-off (sometimes). The latter is especially frustrating because if you forget to disable auto stop/start, the bug can manifest at a stop light and you're a sitting duck. This has all been going on for a couple of years at this point.

At the last dealer service, they did an update to to the PGM-FI Idle Stop Software. The repair receipt references "product update campaign: update the pgm-fi software" as well as "S/B 22-050" and "Defect Code 6AX00." Since they applied that update, I have not experienced the clicking/gauge flicker issue. However, the idle stop/start no longer engages ever. This is a net positive, since I hated that feature, but I'm not sure if it's what Honda intended with the update. Given that a class action lawsuit appears to have been filed against Honda over this issue, perhaps it is what Honda intended.

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gnehzeku1

· #76 · 3 mo ago

Vaughn said:
I have been waiting for the part as it is on back order. In the meantime I keep experimenting with repairing my defective unit. The last thing I did was to re-solder the connection on the RF module. It's been over 24hr without it acting up so far. Have you already fixed your issue?

did your eproxy idea work? any issues thus far?

where is the unit located? I just had it break and I don't see it right by the pedals like in the odyssey.

time to get out a knife and heat gun?

gnehzeku1

· #77 · 3 mo ago

s.k said:
Awesome! I'm glad we finally have a verified DIY fix for this problem. I'll give it a shot later on this week or next. I think keeping the humidity as low as possible inside that box may help in the long run, so I plan to throw in a few packs of silica gel.

hi sk

has your unit given you any issues?

fourcities

· #78 · 2 mo ago

I recommend watching and following this video on YouTube:

yvanlecours4

· #79 · 27 d ago

Vaughn said:
I started experiencing the same issue about a week ago. I took apart the power control module and found there were no solder on some of the connector pins. See pictures of before and after I solder the pins. It has been working so far with no repeat of the issue. If you are handy with a solder iron you could save yourself $700. The whole process took about an hour. 2016 Pilot EX with sensing. Good luck.. View attachment 164315 View attachment 164312 View attachment 164313

hello, thanks for the tip , I followed your advice and did the same thing now I just have to wait and see if it solve the problem thanks .

gabrielaserrano

· #80 · 8 d ago

Lisa Collins said:
Our 2016 Pilot has an annoying issue. When it is turned off, the panel lights flicker. You can hear the relays clicking behind the panel. The headlights come on. Often the car alarm randomly goes off. The dealership has had it 3 times. This 3rd time around they want to charge us $800 to replace the Keyless control unit. The dealer has had it 2 other times (Cost us $80 first time and $250 the 2nd time) and nothing was resolved with this issue. It seems they are just throwing darts at possible solutions. They won't guarantee this will fixe the issue. They will not refund us the $800 if this part isn't even a problem ;-( To our knowledge, we don't think we have had the issue occur when the car is unlocked. It doesn't happen every time the car is locked. It is definitely sporadic. Anyone else have similar issues?

I am having this exact issue. They want to ccharge $1400 and some change to change out the keyless remote module. At what point does Honda take ownership for this defect!?

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