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2016 Pilot fuel injector issue

142162 Views 226 Replies 117 Participants Last post by  JasonTN23
Hello everyone,
I was having an issue with my check engine light. After a few days it would turn off & go back to normal. I would call the dealer & they would tell me to bring it in but by the time I would the light would turn off. They instructed me the next time the light came on to drive it to the dealer & not to turn the vehicle off so I did. They found the issue, they had to replace all of the fuel injectors WOW! The vehicle has 40,000 miles mostly highway driving. I asked the service writer if that was normal & he informed me he has seen this on several pilots. Thank God for the Honda extended warranty I purchased or It would have cost over $1200 to fix. Has anyone else had this issue?
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My VIN was not with in the range of the service bulletin, but the dealership service tech admitted they refer to it for the repair. The service tech and advisor both said this was a common problem, and that is why the parts are on backorder and took five days to receive.




Good to know. Thanks!
Same issue came up on ours yesterday. Of course, the warning light resets right when wife restarts it for the service advisor. Luckily the code was still stored in memory.



So far, the dealer has done the software update (TSB strictly states they will not warranty other repairs until this is done first).


I guess now, we wait until the light comes back on again.


Curious, for those that have had it come on, do you spend most of your time driving with Eco mode on or off?


Interestingly, I couldn't find this coming up on the Acura MDX which basically has the same engine (slightly higher hp rating, but they also recommend premium fuel - could be the difference of a more aggressive ignition table?). Wondering if it's a tuning issue.
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Fuel Injector on 2016 PILOT

2016 Pilot with 24K miles had emissions systems light come on. Fuel injectors to be replaced two months out of the 3 year warranty and $1600 later. Not sure this is a good look for the Honda company right now.
*** CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT *** Honda KNOWS this is a problem with the 16 Pilot. The dealership told me $1,814.56 to replace injectors. I wish I would look like paying that. I purchased a new car for peace of mind. I called Honda Corp and filed a complaint. 3 days later I receive a call saying my cost would be $620, they would "cover" the rest. Seems fair to some, but I still think this is class action worthy. I have owed 6 brand new Hondas = 2 Accords, 2 Crosstours, Civic, and now this rachet Pilot.. Honda ATV, Generator and Lawn mower. Never once had fuel injectors go bad in any of them.
I say the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Call and complain

I called to complain and was told that since I already paid for the service that that was my contract with the dealership, but had I called before I paid they could have looked at my customer loyalty record (how much have I had my car serviced with the dealer - always is my answer) and they could have assisted. 24K miles and just two months over the 3 years and this is the customer service provided for something that should not be happening to begin with? Anyone want to buy a low milage HONDA?
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2016 Pilot with 24K miles had emissions systems light come on. Fuel injectors to be replaced two months out of the 3 year warranty and $1600 later. Not sure this is a good look for the Honda company right now.
Check your warranty booklets - fuel injectors are covered for 7/70 in several states under an emissions warranty.
I'm assuming your vehicle isn't registered in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, or Washington since the fuel injectors are covered for 7 years or 70,000 miles in those states.
Update -- I spoke with Honda again today and I was still only offered the $150 service vouchers. The first person I spoke with did no research....didn't look at the invoice...didn't call the dealership. The 2nd guy at least researched the issue and spoke with the dealership and read the service bulletin. He said that since my car's VIN was not within the range on the service bulletin that they couldn't do anything to help me. This is just so aggravating.

He said my only possibility of being reimbursed at this point is if they issued a recall (he said it was possible, but not likely). Sad, but this will likely be my last Honda. :(
Took my car to the dealer today for routine service, 93k- emissions problem light has been on and off intermittently- I was told car needs new fuel injectors (based on code pulled: P219a). I looked up the service bulletin on this site 18-025. My vin is in the affected vehicles range and the “symptom” matches, and the car was manufactured before 3/1/2016- all criteria for the “corrective action.” Dealer said they wouldn’t cover. I took the car home and called Honda USA, I read the TSB verbatim to the agent “Probable cause: The Injectors were installed improperly at the factory...” they still won’t cover —stated it’s out of warranty. Car purchased in March 2016, date on TSB March 16, 2018. I have owned Honda’s for 20 years, and cannot believe they are treating a loyal customer this way...
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Honda sucks

I am having the same problems with my 2016 Honda Pilot. Started having problems last year with the System emissions light coming on. I had 50K miles on my car. Took it to the dealership and of course no longer under warranty, they charged me $100 to "diagnose" it with bad fuel injectors. They said cost would be $1,600 to fix it. FOR A 2 year old car???!! I declined. I then called a mechanic that was recommended to me on FB. Come to find out he was an honest mechanic and worked at a Honda dealership and he stated my car was too new to need new fuel injectors. He did see the bulletin on the pilots and he told me to fight the dealership to have it covered under the warranty. He also recommended that I use the Sea foam fuel injector cleaner. I used the cleaner and it did fix the problem temporarily but a month later, the same light came on. I called to complain to Honda directly. I also mentioned the bulletin that had been posted and that my car was within the range that was listed on there. They took a week to research and contacted me back to tell me sorry there was nothing they could do. They didn't even offer me a voucher. When I mentioned that there were thousands of other Honda Pilot owners with the same issue, they didn't care. They said people always go on online to complain all the time. I have kept driving with the issue and my car has gotten worse. All the lights come on now and my car shakes and sputters, especially when its cold outside. People look at me and honk because I have to drive like an "old lady" as my kids like to say. I finally took it to a friend mechanic and he replaced the fuel injectors for me, but the emissions light is still on. I'm so sick and tired of dealing with this car. I bought a Honda for a reason so it would last a long time with no problems. WRONG. Worst car I have ever owned. Complete nightmare. I will never recommend a Honda to anyone ever. I wish someone would start a Class action suit against them cuz they suck! Never again Honda, never again.
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I am having the same problems with my 2016 Honda Pilot. Started having problems last year with the System emissions light coming on. I had 50K miles on my car. Took it to the dealership and of course no longer under warranty, they charged me $100 to "diagnose" it with bad fuel injectors. They said cost would be $1,600 to fix it. FOR A 2 year old car???!! I declined. I then called a mechanic that was recommended to me on FB. Come to find out he was an honest mechanic and worked at a Honda dealership and he stated my car was too new to need new fuel injectors. He did see the bulletin on the pilots and he told me to fight the dealership to have it covered under the warranty. He also recommended that I use the Sea foam fuel injector cleaner. I used the cleaner and it did fix the problem temporarily but a month later, the same light came on. I called to complain to Honda directly. I also mentioned the bulletin that had been posted and that my car was within the range that was listed on there. They took a week to research and contacted me back to tell me sorry there was nothing they could do. They didn't even offer me a voucher. When I mentioned that there were thousands of other Honda Pilot owners with the same issue, they didn't care. They said people always go on online to complain all the time. I have kept driving with the issue and my car has gotten worse. All the lights come on now and my car shakes and sputters, especially when its cold outside. People look at me and honk because I have to drive like an "old lady" as my kids like to say. I finally took it to a friend mechanic and he replaced the fuel injectors for me, but the emissions light is still on. I'm so sick and tired of dealing with this car. I bought a Honda for a reason so it would last a long time with no problems. WRONG. Worst car I have ever owned. Complete nightmare. I will never recommend a Honda to anyone ever. I wish someone would start a Class action suit against them cuz they suck! Never again Honda, never again.
I can understand your frustration, but...

1. By continuing to drive your vehicle with an emissions system warning message (and especially a flashing MIL), you can cause further damage beyond the original problem such as a melted catalytic converter.

2. After your friend changed the injectors, did he clear the codes? Are the codes that returned the same or different? (Trying to figure out if the injectors were actually the problem or if you have multiple problems.)

3. If you think Honda has problems - you should see some of the other brands. :(
This is my 2nd trip to dealer for emission system control light. The injectors were replaced last July. Now here we are 20,000 miles after the repairs with the same issue. My last Honda was great. The Pilot is a disappointment.
All of our stories sound so similar. 2016 Honda Pilot EX-L w/RES AWD purchased brand new in August 2015, currently has 66,000 miles. The Check Engine / Emission Systems Problem lights came on a couple of months ago when it was super cold in Ohio (like -10). I chalked it up to being the weather. The lights went off after a day or two and didn't reappear until a few weeks ago. I've been complaining about a "hesitation" issue with my Pilot for the past two years - I'm wondering if it's related. I purchased an extended warranty (not through Honda). Just got a call from the dealer that it is indeed the fuel injectors that need replaced. The warranty covers everything but a $307 pipe. I'm irritated to pay that amount, but doing it to be done with this. Question for those who've done this replacement - did you switch fuel grade after replacement? I'm considering switching to premium to keep this from happening again in 40-60k miles. Disclaimer: I did have to be a jerk with my dealership to get this handled.
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I'm considering switching to premium to keep this from happening again in 40-60k miles.
The octane rating of the gasoline will have no effect on this issue.

It's better to use a TOP TIER brand of regular gasoline than a higher-octane premium gasoline that is not TOP TIER.

However, depending on how and why these injectors are failing, it may not make a difference no matter what gasoline you use.
I'm having the same issue with my 2016 Pilot. Only 43k miles but the dealership is telling me the fuel injectors are not covered under the factory warranty.
I'm having the same issue with my 2016 Pilot. Only 43k miles but the dealership is telling me the fuel injectors are not covered under the factory warranty.
That may be correct. The fuel injectors are only covered under the 3/36 new vehicle limited warranty except in certain states where they are covered under a 7/70 emissions warranty. See my earlier posts. They are also covered by the optional Honda Care extended warranty, but at 43K it's too late to buy that.
Fuel injector replacement

Thank you for this thread. Got the emissions system problem message early this week with less than 60k miles and bought in August 2015. Car is now in dealership for diagnosis.

What is the service bulletin number or date for the fuel injector improper installation issue that I read on other posts -- does anyone have the link?

Is there a class action lawsuit filed?

This is our 6th Honda vehicle in the family. We had the original 2003 Honda Pilot that lasted 200k until it was "totaled" with a front fender damaged. So, it was a no-brainer when we bought the 2016 Honda Pilot since we wanted the same 13 year experience. We're sorely disappointed with this early major issue that's not being completely covered by Honda. We'll probably abandon Honda for the next vehicle purchase.
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The octane rating of the gasoline will have no effect on this issue.

I wouldn't be so positive.


This same basic engine is used in the Acura MDX models, and in researching this earlier, I didn't come across any online complaints from those owners. In their case, even with the same compression ratio, the owner's manual recommends premium (ours says regular fuel). I think that's how they are able to claim the 10hp difference (the Pilots are probably running less spark advance than optimal to be compatible with the CR).


So it could depend on whether the calibration software is setup to adapt for higher available octane. For example, GM uses a high and low octane fuel table set. If you run premium the ECU will use the high octane table. If you introduce regular, it senses knock and starts to blend the high/low octane tables until it's optimized for the resulting fuel octane. On GM V8 trucks, owners have reported better fuel economy and power simply by switching to mid-grade (89), and giving the ECU time to relearn. But not enough to justify the added $/gallon.


So if MDX owners really aren't seeing this issue, it's possible switching to premium could mitigate it. I'm not saying it's for certain, but I wouldn't rule it out either.
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This same basic engine is used in the Acura MDX models, and in researching this earlier, I didn't come across any online complaints from those owners.
The 3.5L in the MDX uses different injectors than the Pilot/Ridgeline/Odyssey/Passport.

MDX
16010-R9P-305
$1,445

P/R/O/P
16010-RLV-315
$531
Purchased 2016 2WD Touring Pilot 2.5 years ago, brand new from a Honda dealership in Fort Worth, Texas. Two weeks ago we had to have it towed to the dealership. It wouldn't drive and the message board read "Transmission System Problem." Later that day we were informed it needed fuel injector replacement and the cost would be $1912.

We have Geico mechanical breakdown coverage and my deductible is $250. They sent out an inspector two days later to examine the car before they could authorize repair. The dealership service tech said this is a common problem and they were going to refer to Service Bulletin 18-025 for the repair. Apparently the first 33,297 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD's produced and the first 68,026 4WD 2016 Pilots are completely covered for free repair for 15 years or 150,000 miles. Our 2016 Honda Pilot was around the 50,000th off the production line, and it is not covered after 3yrs or 36,000 miles.

Our service advisor said this problem is so common that the parts are on national backorder and it would be 5 days before they would arrive.

I emailed Honda's national customer support center and complained. Their response was a 70 percent reduction in the bill. So essentially, they saved Geico $1000 on the cost of the repair. Thanks Honda! We were without our car for two weeks, paid the $250 deductible and $380 for a cheap rental car. Geico said they will reimburse us $80 towards cost of the rental car. Honda said they will give us $0 towards the rental car.

Honda's powertrain warranty is for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Fuel injectors are not covered. If you have to have your car towed because it will not move, shouldn't that issue be considered part of the powertrain? Nope!! When the message board says "Transmission System Problem," could you assume that's a powertrain issue? Nope!!

Fuel injectors….Big problem with the 2016 Pilot….Honda knows about it and is not taking care of the customer. This will be our family's last Honda.
Where can I find that the first 68,026 Pilots are completely covered. According to my VIN I'm well within the parameters.
Update

Thanks for all the info on fuel selection. The Honda service manager that I've been working with told me that I shouldn't have this issue again because the fuel injectors were redesigned and they installed the redesigned parts; however, he said if it were him that he would stick with premium gas and the "top tier" service stations (BP, Shell, Exxon....no Circle K's, Kroger, etc...).
Now to the bad news, the fuel injectors and pipe were replaced on Thursday. They asked to keep the car overnight because they've seen the indicator light come back on with a cold start and would need to be reset. I picked it up Friday evening and while sitting in a parking lot on Saturday morning BOTH the Emission Systems Problem and AWD System Problem warnings appeared. :frown::crying: And, it's shifting harshly. I drop it back off this evening for them to look at tomorrow. The saga continues...
For reference, to replace the fuel injectors and fuel pipe the cost was $1,308.47. I had to pay $300 of that for the pipe - 3rd party extended warranty wouldn't cover it.
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I had to pay $300 of that for the pipe - 3rd party extended warranty wouldn't cover it.

Is that the "Honda Care" or different resource. I heard people say something to the effect the Honda Care is not truly and warranty extension, but I'm unclear as to why.
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