2016 Honda Pilot · symptom sheet

Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails

147owner reports
41,302median miles
$400median quote
0involved a crash

Newest report Aug 6, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

798 of the 1,696 complaints on this car are about the electrical system. 147 of those describe infotainment.

Tick what matches of 147 reports

screen goes black or freezes

backup camera shows nothing

the radio or volume acts on its own

a software update did not fix it

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the head unit or screen (73 reports), the software (11 reports), the camera (9 reports) and the module (5 reports).

Recalls and investigations

One recall on the electrical system covers the 2016 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

15V-668Oct 16, 2015

Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 Honda Pilot 2WD vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to September 8, 2015 and 2016 Pilot 4WD vehicles manufactured May 7, 2015 to September 4, 2015. In the affected vehicles, when one of the safety systems such as tire pressure monitoring, anti-lock braking or electronic stability control malfunctions, there is potential that the instrument panel will not illuminate the corresponding warning light, however the warning lamps will illuminate when the ignition is turned off and then turned back on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic stability control systems", number 135, "Light vehicle brake systems" and number 138, "Tire pressure monitoring systems".

Risk and remedy

Risk: If a safety system cannot immediately warn the driver when needed, the driver may be at increased risk of a crash.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. The recall began on December 11, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JV7.

NHTSA investigations into the electrical system on the Pilot

PE12-026opened Oct 2, 2012

Electrical · model years 2003 to 2004

Ignition interlock failure - rollaway. Closed jan 14, 2013, led to recall 12V-573.

NHTSA summary

On December 10, 2012, Honda Motor Company submitted a defect information report to NHTSA regarding ignition interlocks in approximately 576,117 model year MY) 2003 through 2004 Honda Pilot and Odyssey vehicles that are the subject of this investigation and 231,044 MY 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX vehicles (Recall No. 12V-573).Honda's report states that a design change to the ignition switch used in the recalled vehicles reduced the range of rotation for the ignition switch from 160 degrees in earlier designs to 125 degrees without a corresponding change to the ignition interlock blocking mechanism.The result was that excessive rotational force could damage a lever that would allow the driver to remove the ignition key that was in a position other than the Park position, which may allow the vehicle to roll away.ODI identified 176 complaints related to the alleged defect, including 48 roll away crashes.Threeof the incidents resulted in the following injuries to pedestrians:1) a broken foot and torn Achilles tendon; 2) a fractured fibula and crush injuries to a shin area; and 3) an incident requiring unspecified treatment at a hospital emergency room.This investigation is closed.The VOQs associated with this investigation are: 10486515, 10486393, 10486100, 10485010, 10482229, 10482091, 10481169, 10481105, 10481079, 10481027, 10480804, 10480648, 10480099, 10480009, 10479934, 10479695, 10479561, 10479517, 10479494, 10479484, 10479437, 10479421, 10479409, 10479343, 10478916, 10478876

EA11-012opened Sep 12, 2011

Electrical · model years 2003 to 2005

Low beam headlights stop illuminating. Closed sep 17, 2012, led to recall 12V-136.

NHTSA summary

This investigation was prompted by Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 11-017, and was based on reports from consumers alleging that both low beam headlights stopped illuminating simultaneously.Some complainants also reported that the combination switch (switch) that controls the headlights and turn signals, and/or its electrical wiring harness connector were damaged by overheating.ODI's PE information request letter asked Honda for certain data on model years (MY) 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2003-2008 Element, 2001-2005 Civic, and 2000-2001 S 2000 vehicles.Analysis of complaint and Honda data show that a complete low beam headlight circuit failure occurs in models with 2-bulb headlight systems (i.e., a single bulb on each side for high and low beam).Models with 2-bulb systems include MY 2002-2004 CR-V, 2003-2005 Pilot, 2001-2003 Civic, and 2003-2008 Element.Models with 4-bulb headlight systems (i.e., two bulbs on each side, one for high and one for low beam) have different electrical circuits for the headlights and do not experience the same failure mechanism as the 2-bulb system.MY 2000-2001 S 2000 models with 2-bulb high intensity discharge headlights also have different electrical circuits for the headlights and do not experience the same failure mechanism.Honda introduced the 4-bulb headlight system in CR-V in MY 2005, in Pilot in MY 2006, and in Civic in MY 2004.On March 29, 2012 Honda submitted a defect information report (DIR) to recall 554,428 vehicles, including MY 200

None of these investigations covers the 2016 model year.

What owners paid

12 of the 147 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $300 to $1,000.

$300$400$1,000

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 30,000 and 65,000 miles, from the 84 reports that gave a mileage.

115

916

617

1018

3319

1820

2321

1822

823

1024

825

326

What owners wrote

“Vehicle audio has a kind of its own, on/off/ up/ down all without touching the screen or buttons. Goes all the way to max volume without warning. Definitely a safety risk when you are not expecting noise at all.”
Filed Jan 23, 2024

“The rear view camera doesnât always work on the display on the dash. When we put it in reverse the screen shows black instead of what is behind our vehicle. This issue is intermittent.”
Filed Jun 26, 2023

“After 30 - 40 minutes of driving the audio is overcome by extreme static and popping and affects all componets ( radio, DVD, XM, CD, etc) would seem something is getting hot after 30 minutes so a possible fire or melting situation . Honda dealer does not seem to know an answer and this issue is being discussed on Honda Pilot owners blog and it quite widespread”
Filed Jan 30, 2023

“The infotainment screen and system frequently shut off as you are driving down the road. It has been doing it for years and Iâve brought it in to the dealer for them to update the software and other tricks they said they could do. It did not help and the problem is getting more frequent.”
Filed Oct 14, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 0 of 147 reports involved a crash. 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.