Honda Pilot - Honda Pilot Forums banner

Keyless Start System Problem error

234K views 206 replies 94 participants last post by  gatorflaum 
#1 ·
I have 38000 miles on a 2016 Pilot EX-L. I recently began getting a Keyless Start System Problem error message in the instrument cluster. I have tried both fobs and I have checked all of the fuses. Problem still persists. I tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes or so. The problem went away for about a day, but came back. Wondering what else to try before taking to the dealer. Thanks in advance.
 
#107 ·
My Walk Away Lock stopped working then shortly after I started getting Keyless Start System error messages. I replaced the start/stop button and it seemed to fix the Keyless Start System error but the Walk Away Lock was still not working. I unhooked the battery for 30 minutes then hooked it back up and the Walk Away Lock started working again. Thanks everyone for the help. 2016 Pilot Touring.
 
#110 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have a 2016 Pilot also. Last week the Autostart/Stop button light came on. My advisor at Honda of Decatur said he thinks some kind of animal (or critter as he said) is responsible for the error... really? NOT even feasible. So, he thinks ALL the Pilots have an animal in the car chewing wires because he said he had seen others recently with the same problem. I will also file a complaint with NHTSA. This is clearly a defect and Honda better make this right for all of us.
 
#112 ·
I have a 2016 Pilot also. Last week the Autostart/Stop button light came on. My advisor at Honda of Decatur said he thinks some kind of animal (or critter as he said) is responsible for the error...really? NOT even feasible. So, he thinks ALL the Pilots have an animal in the car chewing wires because he said he had seen others recently with the same problem. I will also file a complaint with NHTSA. This is clearly a defect and Honda better make this right for all of us.
Was told the same thing but there's no critter. The control unit, which is a very expensive part that cost over $400 went bad. Good thing that I have a Honda Care Extended warranty because the problem arose shortly after the 3 year factory warranty expired. The car is still at the shop waiting for this part.
 
#120 ·
It's not about the part. It's about Honda doing what they should to make this right. To have a Honda mechanic tell me they don't know what it is and it will cost me $150 more dollars (in addition to the $70 I already spent) to troubleshoot it is not acceptable. If it is the autostart button I'd be happy. Many Piloteers say that replacing the button didn't fix the issue.
 
#122 · (Edited by Moderator)
Dude... I don't know the area of where you live for second hand shops... but we have a spot on HONDA/ACURA shop and they've saved me THOUSANDS on fixing stuff that my local shop down the street was like "aw yeah yer catalytic convertors are toast, only a 1000... plus to fix the MIL light and cat code"

The BETTER shop quoted me under 300 for an EGR service. Find and get better service.
Dealerships are really just parts switchers, not hard core failure/broken part finders
 
#123 ·
My walk away lock feature had not worked in a long time and the Keyless Start Error message used to be intermittent. Finally, the message was essentially permanent. I read all the posts but brought it to the dealer to have it assessed. All they did was reset the error and it came back and indicated that I had to pay a $165 CDN diagnostic fee. I just ordered a button from Amazon for $90 and replaced it.

The error code went away but my walk away lock is still not working. I disconnected the battery like some said to do and I tried that but it did not bring back the walk away lock feature. I tried the hold the brake down for 30 seconds, etc but also did not bring back the work away lock feature. I disabled it and re-enabled it... no luck. I've disabled it and left it disabled. Will try to re-enable it tomorrow and see. Just a recap, when the walk away lock is enabled, it will sense that you have left and have the key and beeps once... but will not beep a second time to actually lock the car. Any other ideas?
 
#124 ·
Will try to re-enable it tomorrow and see. Just a recap, when the walk away lock is enabled, it will sense that you have left and have the key and beeps once... but will not beep a second time to actually lock the car. Any other ideas?
I just use the lock button on the fob, that way I am sure that the car is locked. Some have mentioned that a cell phone can cause interference if it is near the fob when you walk away.
 
#126 ·
Some have had luck resetting things by disconnecting the battery for 15 mins and then reconnecting it. You may have to go back into the settings and enable it again. Also did you replace the button with a genuine Honda part or was it a knock off? I took my old switch apart and it is quite complex inside with an RF pick up and a lot of IC's so it's possible the walk away feature may not work with a non Honda button. The new switch was $130 cdn at the dealer.
 
#133 ·
I have the error message intermittently, The fix I found was to simply use the remote auto start feature. after starting it remotely I can start it normally for weeks, but of course the error light returns again eventually.

I am wondering if it is a battery issue. Has anyone had the issue go away with a new battery?
 
#135 ·
This error message has been on my 2016 Pilot for approx 6 months now. I took it to Honda for and service and forgot to tell them about the problem. When I picked up my Pilot, the message was gone but came back the next day. I think HONDA is aware of this issue but doesn't know how to fix/solve it. They just reset the error code for me. There was no mention of the issue on the reciept/work order sheet. This is rotten. We really need everyone with this issue to report it to the NHTSA. I will repost the link. This isn't right that us owners are left to deal with this obvious flaw with these Honda Pilot's.
 
#138 ·
When you think of the wear and tear on that start/stop button over the course of 4-5 years especially if you are doing a lot of short trips during each day, it is not unreasonable to see it fail. It was a cheap diy repair and not a safety issue as far as I was concerned. It is also possible that some owners are pressing the button and holding it in until the engine starts which would cause issues. All that is needed is a one second press on that button to engage the start or stop cycle.
 
#140 ·
Nice work Mezab! Would you please reply to the post.
1) is it still working for you?
2) did you ever try to use Walk-away auto lock feature? (Aside from the error, this was the only feature that was broken when the error started)
3) everything else work with your keyless fob features? Remote start, etc?

thank you!
 
#159 ·
We started having the same problem with our 2017 Elite the other day, and I just read through this entire thread of 158 posts. You should have heard me happily yell out when 95% of the way through reading, several people posted about Honda's ESB a week ago to fix the problem! As always, thanks to everyone to contributes to these forums for all their help and advice.
 
#163 · (Edited by Moderator)
It's been interesting reading all the chatter in this feed.

I drive a Honda City (2015) and today experienced the same problem for the first time. I had turned off the engine while my transmission lever was on 'N' so I could continue listening to the radio with the engine off. I had then moved the lever to 'P' to restart. And that's when the light came on.

I wondered if I restarted the engine in the mode in which I had stopped it it would solved the problem. So I moved the lever to 'N' again and restarted the engine. The light went off. Which means that the onboard computer remembers that there was an occasion when the engine was shut down while the lever was on 'N' which is not recommended and had then triggered the warning light. I had to go back to the same scenario to restart so that the 'offence' could be corrected. Wonder if it works for the rest having this problem.
 
Top