2016 Honda Pilot - Rear Thumping Sound

160

Asked by jcp209 Mar 26, 2016 at 10:10 AM about the 2016 Honda Pilot EX-L

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2016 Honda Pilot that makes a soft, thumping sound. It appears to
come from the rear of the vehicle but occurs often, and randomly.  Any
thoughts on what is going on?

17 Answers

160

Hi Mark, Thank-you for responding. Ironically, the sound has worsened since I took my vehicle in for its first service last week, I'm now schedduled to have the car looked at next week, but I was hoping that someone else may have had the same thing happening and would know what was going on. I sure hope they find the problem for although it doesn't affect the performance of the vehicle, it is annoying.

13 people found this helpful.
160

Hi Mark, I tried that too, and as I mentioned earlier, it doesn't necessarily occur when I go over a bump, it happens on very smooth drives too. :(

3 people found this helpful.
20

I have a 2016 Honda Pilot LX. I'm having the same issues. I took it in to my local dealership and was told its normal noise and it's coming from brake slack and Honda is aware of it. I called Honda Corp. They are not aware of any brake slack noise in the 2016 Honda Pilot. I am determined to find what Is making that noise. I know other owners with the 2016 Honda pilots with the same noise.

2 people found this helpful.
100

Mine is having the same problem. The sound includes a thump and sometimes a metal to metal noise. I have filed a complaint with Amer. Honda. They need to fix it. Dismissing it as just a noise is not enough, as since we don't know what is causing it, we need to treat it as a safety concern.

6 people found this helpful.
60

I got my Pilot and now with less than 2k miles. I noticed the soft clunk sound after parking for a few minutes, drive turn left or right (to get of from parking spot) and the putting the streering to center. If i try to do it to listen to the sound by stopping and then turning left or right then center, no clunk sound. If you park for a few minutes then turn left or right and put it to center, i hear the clunk.

6 people found this helpful.
70

My 2016 Pilot EXL is now making the same sound especially when I drive fast. I opened the rear window and it sound like a helicopter.

7 people found this helpful.
10

I have 2016 Pilot we bought new when they first came out. We have 36k miles on it and have had to have it worked on 3 times for a popping sound with braking. First time, they said the brake clips were allowing the pads to slip around so they replaced clips. Same thing a couple thousand miles later. Replaced again and told also that rotors were warped so those replaced as well. Few thousand miles more and same issue again. This time they said nothing was wrong. Reading on forums this is an ongoing issue. Guess I'll have to take it to a non Honda mechanic to see if it can be fixed once and for all finally, maybe with non Honda parts if available?

1 people found this helpful.
100

With the 2016 the source of the popping is usually the rear emergency brake system. The sound is coming from the shoe brake that operates inside the center of the rear disk. Honda doesn't seem to want to acknowledge this for some particular reason. Have your dealer look at this source. Other sounds coming from the rear may be from weld seams in the under body or the sub-frame. With the new model, tolerances may have not been up to par or completely missing. You will really have to force the issue and maybe include American Honda. Good luck.

1 people found this helpful.
60

i am having the same noise issue from front suspension with my pilot 2016 elite. when i press speed pedal and push brake pedal both time i hear clicking noise. it has only 30k and under 3 year. dealer already gave me $375 bill including labor to fix it. i think it should cover under warranty.

4 people found this helpful.
100

Kunal: Take a look at my posting 2 months prior. Honda completely disassembled the rear suspension to arrive at that conclusion. The 2016 had sounds due to issues that appear to be addressed in the 2017 onward. I cannot see why you were billed, unless some maintenance items were replaced.

3 people found this helpful.
60

stan1416:thank you. i just got a phone call from dealer and they covered it under warranty. but i still paid $567 for 30k major service it was fixed price and i still wonder how come they charged me for extra transmission fluid 4qt @49.50 =$198 plus $300 parts plug etc. it was my first experience but from next time ill be upfront about pricing.

1 people found this helpful.
60

Dealer charged me $194.08 for transmission fluid on top of major service at 30k miles with the fix price $469.99 only for pilot. when i asked he said its for 9 transmission and it took 4 qt extra. i think it should be fixed price to change fluid for any kind of transmission.when it says complete transmission flush and refill at $469.99 including other service.

1 people found this helpful.

I have the same problem. It happens at times from the rear and at times from the front. It happens after a change in direction. It is likely a problem with the AWD system and stability control. It sounds like clutches releasing or gear backlash.

10

I have a new 2018 EX-L that makes a thumping noise in the right rear at highway speeds greater than 50MPH. What has Honda done to correct this problem? I see it’s all 2016 models.

1 people found this helpful.

Suspension arrière très bruyante,ça cogne aurait dû acheté un Highlander. Honda Pilot 2016

30

Just purchased a 2017 Pilot Touring with 13k miles on it with the thumping noise in the back. Took the vehicle in to dealer to have Permaplate soundproof sprayed on the underside and told dealer to check out the thumping noise. They could not identify source of thumping and the Permaplate spray under the vehicle did not help. Overall road noise in this vehicle is very noisy that makes it difficult to carry on a conversation even on a smooth highway. The thumping noise typically occurs just at lower speeds on typical roads that may have very slight bumps in the road.

3 people found this helpful.

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