2016 Explorer. 3.5 V6 base, 2.3 EcoBoost, or 3.5 EcoBoost in the Sport and Platinum. The 3.5 NA V6 has the water pump problem. The pump’s internal, driven by the timing chain, and when the seal lets go it dumps coolant straight into the oil. Now you’re pulling the engine to replace a $200 pump. Costs four to five grand by the time you’re done. This isn’t a maybe. This is a when. We see it between 100K and 150K consistently.

PTU is the other Explorer killer. Power transfer unit, the box that splits drive between the front axle and the AWD half. Filled at the factory with a small amount of fluid that nobody told you to ever change. By 80K the gear oil’s cooked and the unit grinds itself apart. New PTU with labor is twenty-five hundred. Change the fluid every 30K starting at 60K and you can buy years.

2016 Pilot. 3.5 J35 V6 with VCM. Variable Cylinder Management. Same kind of fuel-saving fraud as GM’s AFM but Honda’s version. It causes burned oil consumption past 80K, torque converter shudder under light throttle, and spark plug fouling on the rear bank because the deactivated cylinders run dirty. There’s an aftermarket VCM disable module that solves it. About $250 plugged into the OBD port. Doesn’t void anything once you’re past 60 months. Worth doing.

Pilot’s drivetrain otherwise is solid. ZF nine-speed in the ‘16 had shift quality complaints but didn’t fail catastrophically.

Both will get you to 200K with attention. Pilot needs the VCM disable and clean oil. Explorer needs the water pump done preemptively and PTU service intervals you set yourself because Ford won’t.

If you’re shopping these and you’re not the kind to stay on top of preventive work, neither one’s right for you. Buy a Highlander instead.

— Shop Foreman, Lead technician. More about our contributors.

Side-by-side by problem area

Common questions

Which is more reliable, the 2016 Ford Explorer or the 2016 Honda Pilot?

Based on the NHTSA data we track, the 2016 Honda Pilot comes out ahead with a reliability score of 2.8 versus 2.5. The margin is narrow, so the verdict could shift if you weight specific categories differently or factor in your own use case.

What goes wrong more often on the 2016 Ford Explorer?

Compared to the 2016 Honda Pilot, the 2016 Ford Explorer sees more reported issues in body and steering. That doesn't mean it's a bad truck — it means those are the categories worth budgeting for if you go that direction.

What goes wrong more often on the 2016 Honda Pilot?

Compared to the 2016 Ford Explorer, the 2016 Honda Pilot has more complaints in engine and electrical. Whether that's a deal-breaker depends on the cost and severity — see the comparison table above for repair cost ranges.

Which has more recalls?

The 2016 Ford Explorer has more active recalls (6 vs 4). Total count is less important than severity, though — a vehicle with one critical recall and zero moderate ones is generally riskier than one with five moderate recalls.

Is an extended warranty worth it on either of these?

Both vehicles are out of factory bumper-to-bumper coverage at this point. Combined repair exposure across the top problem categories runs around $14,900 on the higher-risk vehicle. A quality service contract typically costs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years, so a single major failure usually pays for the contract. The math favors warranty coverage on whichever vehicle you choose, especially if you plan to keep it past 100,000 miles.

Related comparisons

Reliability scores, complaint counts, and severity ratings derived from the NHTSA public records database. "Repair exposure" is the sum of average independent-shop repair costs across each vehicle's tracked problem categories and is intended as a relative comparison, not an exact prediction. Editorial commentary written by ProblemsByVin contributors and reviewed by ASE-certified mechanics. Some links on this page are affiliate links.