Diagsheet

2016 Honda Pilot · symptom sheet

Brakes grind, pulse or wear early

  • 30owner reports
  • 17,000median miles
  • 8involved a crash

Newest report Apr 15, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

30 of the 1,696 complaints on this car describe brake wear.

Tick what matches of 30 reports

6
3
2
3
14
1

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the pads and rotors (3 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the brakes covers the 2016 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the brakes on the Pilot

PE12-028opened Oct 9, 2012
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · model years 2005

Vehicle stability assist malfunction. Closed mar 15, 2013.

NHTSA summary
The Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system in the model year (MY) 2005 Honda Pilot vehicles integrates braking control strategies for anti-lock braking, traction control, electronic stability control and brake assist functions. The system consists of a VSA modulator (an electronic control unit and electronic/hydraulic actuator) that receives data from an integral brake pressure sensor and from wheel speed sensors (four wheels), the steering wheel angle sensor and a combination yaw rate and lateral acceleration sensor.Allegations of unexpected braking appear to be related to inappropriate activation of the brake assist (BA) function.The BA system is designed to minimize stopping distances in emergency braking maneuvers by rapidly applying maximum braking force when a panic stop is detected. ODI's analysis of complaints and information provided by Honda in its response to DP12-002 and PE12-028 identified fault conditions that may result in false detection of a panic stop by the BA system, resulting in unexpected, severe brake application. The VSA control algorithm should detect inappropriate BA activation in less than 1 second and turn the system off. However, some complaints allege longer duration incidents of severe braking with no brake pedal application. Honda implemented countermeasures in the control and fault detection algorithm in the MY 2006 Pilot VSA modulators, which are not interchangeable with the MY 2005 parts.Allegations of steering anomalies appear to be related

None of these investigations covers the 2016 model year.

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 3,858 and 48,900 miles, from the 19 reports that gave a mileage.

616
617
118
219
320
121
422
123
124
425
126

What owners wrote

“While driving and starting to brake the whole dashboard lights up stating there is brake failure. And low brake fluid.”

Filed Jan 18, 2025

“At times, when you start the car, on the screen where the radio and Honda link and Bluetooth are a message ( like an email) with a red exclamation point appears. I check the HONDA LINK app and it says that it has to do with the brake system. I drive the car and it stays on or disappears. It will come back and the go away. It happens around every few months since July.”

Filed Nov 2, 2023

“There is pulsating vibrations when applying brakes. This vehicle is rarely driven and has only logged 25,642 miles since I first bought it in 2016. I believe the rotors are warped. Must be a defect as this vehicle is rarely used.”

Filed May 30, 2022 · 25,642 miles

“There have been multiple times where the automatic emergency braking system engaged almost causing an accident with no car ahead of me. The latest incident caused a whiplash related injury to my daughter's neck. The tractor trailer behind me also locked up the brakes and luckily did so in time to avoid colliding with my car.”

Filed Feb 25, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 8 of 30 reports involved a crash and 13 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

Other problems on this car