10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 10,039 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The auto restart feature fails to restart the car after releasing the break sitting at a busy intersection. The car information center provided information to put the car in park and hit the ignition button again. I was able to get the car to restart after several tries by putting the car in park, shutting it off and turning it back on. This the third time this has happened in the past month.
- Chester, NJ, USA
Car stalls when auto stop turns back
- Shawnee Hills, OH, USA
My car completely shuts off at stop sign/red light when engine idle feature is activated. I have to put car in park and restart it. This has been an ongoing issue since summer 2021. Vehicle was evaluated at dealership with no resolve. In addition, a new cam shaft had to be installed in fall 2022, at Honda's expense.Car completely stalled while passing another (55mph)
- Sylvania, OH, USA
Vehicle stalls REPEATEDLY when the automatic anti-idle function is active. Whenever the air conditioning and audio is on and I stop the car, the engine stops (as the anti-idle system is intended to work), then stalls out as the engine restarts. This has been happening for about 2 years and happens almost every time the anti-idle system engages. It-??s terrifying when it stalls in stop and go traffic on the highway.
- Rye, NY, USA
In support of NHTSA Action Number: PE22005 2017 Honda Pilot multiple experiences with the auto idle cutting off and not restarting. 8/4/2022 was worst experience to date. The vehicle cut off at a stop light and would not restart. The ability to roll down the windows and unlock the doors was disabled so 2 occupants were potentially trapped inside. Fortunately a door had just been opened to waive backed up traffic around the disabled vehicle. AAA and Sheriff's were called to the scene. It was successfully jumped and the AAA diagnosis was that nothing was wrong with the battery, starter, nor alternator. This is a major flaw in engineering and a fix has to be developed or the vehicle appropriately replaced.
- Winston Salem, NC, USA
Starting in the summer if 2020 every few weeks after coming to a stop and the auto idle stop would stop the engine. When releasing the brake the engine would not immediately restart. The pause on restart would slowly increase as the time between occurrences decreased. Occurred during each trip. Pauses increased enough that the entire control panel and radio screen would go black, and then the car restarted with warning message coming up on control panel. Contacted Honda and took it in on 9/9/2020. They couldn-??t recreate the issue. They charged the battery, did hard reset. Drove car with issue still occurring. Returned the vehicle for additional service on 9/16/2020. They are still unable to duplicate the issue and opened up a tech line case#4376911. They replaced a Dc/DC converter. Issue continued. Returned car with same issue. Don-??t know date at this time. They replaced the battery which did fix the problem, temporarily. Began having same issue April 2022. Issue slowly increasing in duration of pause and frequency of occurring. July 10 2022 started having pause long enough for control panels to go dark and get warning light when engine restarted. Started occurring daily. On Friday 7/29/22 came to a four way stop and idle stop engaged. Lifted foot off brake, pushed on gas and realized car had not restarted and car was rolling backwards. Quickly pushed on brake to to stop car rolling backwards which then car restarted with warning light. Called Honda on 7/29/22 made appointment for 8/4/22. On Sunday 7/31/22 We were driving and came to a stop and idle off engaged turning off engine at a red light. At this occurrence the dash and radio went black when foot was pulled off break. Engine did not restart. Dash lights came back on with message that car must be in park to start engine. Attempted to switch to park but controls would not until few attempts. Finally Able to put in park, start car, put in drive and pull away. Stuck in traffic lane for about 15-25 seconds. Scary.
- Lafayette , OR, USA
I was stopped at a red light. The stop idol engaged and the vehicle did not start when I attempted to make my turn. The instrument panel indicated that I should shift to park. I did so and attempted to restart the vehicle but it did not start. After a number of attempts to restart it eventually turned on and I drove straight home. I was in the middle of a major intersection with my son in the car. Car zooming by me as my car was stuck in the turning lane. If a car failing to start as a result of a feature that was integrated by the manufacturer isn-??t a safety issue then I don-??t know what a safety concern would be classified as according the this institution. Permanently shutting off the feature is not an option as it renegades every time you start the car initially. The car has stalled a few times prior to today-??s incident but this is the first time it failed to restart. As I drove home I reengaged the system to see what would happen, if failed to restart again and began the stall every time once the idol stop was engaged. This is unsafe. If I forget to turn off the function of this feature and I am on an expressway what happens if the car fails to restart, my brakes lights may not be pressed as I am thinking I am simply going to drive off and I could get rear ended at 60 miles an hour. This is a safety issue. This is a ticketing time bomb and further delays are putting thousands of lives at risk. I did I not know about the problem until I research the internet to find a solution. Why haven-??t we been informed of this problem" Is this institution waiting for the body count to be high enough to warrant a consumer alert" This is a safety issue.
- Westchester , IL, USA
When stopping for more than a few seconds auto-idle stop turns off the vehicle completely and does not turn back on by pressing the gas pedal. Car must then be completely turned off, back on and shifted into drive to continue moving.
- Charlottesville, VA, USA
For several year I've had a problem with the fuel-saving stop-start system on my Honda Pilot. Unless I turn this system off each time I drive it routinely (several times a week) fails to turn back on after making a complete stop, usually at a traffic light or stop sign. This has placed me in several dangerous situations as cars are speeding behind me, not expecting my car to be at a dead stop when a green light turns. It takes several tries to re-start the car and causes chaos at intersections. I took the car to a Honda dealer and was charged $975 to replace the battery, which they said would fix the problem. I have also followed all the safety recalls and yet the problem persists. I wanted to file an official report because this faulty system is a major accident waiting to happen. Given that my car fails to re-start once or twice per week, it's only a matter of time before I'm hit from behind while I'm stalled at an intersection. Honda has made it so that I am unable to permanently disable this feature and has yet to provide a repair so that it doesn't occur. Meanwhile, I've spent almost $1k trying to fix the problem myself without success. If the fuel-saving start-stop system is going to be a required feature please hold Honda accountable for providing a system that keeps their drivers safe and will not be the cause of an accident bringing harm to my family or others.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
The problem is that which is reported here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10184330-0001.pdf My problem is that I am being told that my VIN number is not included in the group eligible for the warrantee extension and fee coverage for the replacement of the keyless start sytem. Seeing how my vehicle is the model, make and year that this problem is known to effect, I am confused and frustrated by the inequitable and arbitrary use of VIN numbers as determinant of coverage. This is a known issue for 2017 Honda Pilots. My vehicle CLEARLY demonstrated all the malfunctions described and therefore, I believe it should be provided the warrantee extension and that I should not have to pay for the replacement ($168.17).
- Mansfield, MA, USA
The auto idle stop function caused the vehicle to stop running, needing a full shutdown and restart. This happened on busy roadways, and it has happened two times with this vehicle, one time each in different years. I think the first time was in 2021 and the second was definitely in June 2022. We have had this vehicle into a dealership multiple times attempting to resolve the issue. Each time the battery has been replaced due to low voltage, and they were able to reproduce the issue at least once. The most recent time I was informed that Honda released a service bulletin recommending a change to engine compression that may be straining the battery when restarting the engine, but I am currently waiting on Honda to decide if they will cover the cost of this service before agreeing to it. We are currently operating the vehicle with the auto idle stop disabled. Other symptoms included the electrical system blinking off and on when restarting the engine after a stop. This was reproduceable after 3-4 consecutive stops in a short period of time, such as urban driving with traffic lights. This first appeared 3-6 months after a new battery is installed.
- Cypress, TX, USA
Vehicle does not start back up after auto shut off activates. It is also stopping suddenly on the road
- Orange, TX, USA
The Auto Start/Stop feature on my 2017 Honda Pilot has had issues for the last 2 year. It started with the engine occasionally "hesitating" to restart after I held the brake pedal down at a stop light. As it started to happen more frequently, I took it to my Honda dealer and they told me that they could not recreate the issue and thus could not diagnose and fix it. Within the last 6 months, the issue has become more and more frequent and severe to the point that I have been worried about the car not restarting and have been manually turning off the Auto Start/Stop feature when I drive the vehicle. It does seem to occur more frequently in hot weather when I running the A/C and there is more of load on the engine and system. On July 16, 2022, I forgot to turn off the Auto Start/Stop feature, and at the first stoplight that I stopped at, the feature turned on, shut off my engine and then failed to restart. I had to put the car in Park and then it took me a few moments to get the car to re-start. The vehicle was very slow to respond, as I was afraid of the car not restarting at all. After a couple of minutes the car did restart. I turned off the Auto Start/Stop feature and did not have any further issues on my drive home. After the failure to restart from the Auto feature, my dashboard told me to put the car in park and restart. I do not recall if any other warning lights appeared, as I was franticly trying to get car restarted in the middle of traffic and cars honking at me. Once the car restarted all warning lights disappeared. Upon returning home that day, I Googled the issue before making an appointment with my dealer again. I became aware of NTHSA's investigation into this issue. From my experience, Honda should recall these vehicles and fix the issue. Someone could have hit me from behind at speed, as it was a green light and not everyone is always fully paying attention, or has poor depth perception.
- Alexandria, VA, USA
The Idle-Stop system shuts off when the SUV is stopped for two or more seconds. There are times when I release the break pedal after several seconds or more and the car engine does Not restart on its owLast episode 7/2/22
- Edwardsville, IL, USA
Vehicle stalls in the middle of intersection while attempting to auto restart with the auto on/off feature. This has been happening since we boughe the vehicle new in 2017. Dealer said they could not simulate. Happens a few times a day.
- Wood Dale, IL, USA
When auto idle is engaged, the car SHOULD start when the brake is released after stopping. We noticed problems when we released the brake. The radio and A/C shut down and quickly come back on again. So release brake, radio and A/C shut down and then radio and A/C come back. Reported to Jeff Wyler Honda and I believe I have a video. As of yesterday, the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged. You have to put your foot on the brake, shift to park and restart. This occurred twice in two days. Once at a traffic light and once after a traffic jam on the highway. It is scary especially the first time it occurs. It has the potential of leaving the vehicle in a stopped position in dangerous locations if it can-??t be restarted, I.e. the highway. I-??ve read that a jump is sometimes required.
- Union, KY, USA
--AUTO ENGINE IDLE STOP SYSTEM. Yes, available for inspection upon request. --SAFETY CONCERN- Engine stalls in the middle of traffic... causing other traffic behind car to become angry and try and pass the STALLED car. As they attempt to pass, they endanger other traffic. Usually happens during heavy traffic, breakdown then needs driver to restart car completely in mid traffic and missing or heavy delay of green light which could itself potentially cause an accident. --The STALL happens constantly 1 once a month, but not able to reproduce every time car is stopped... therefore can not be repeated upon inspection. Happens at the worst time, during traffic stops. --Complaint was made during oil change, but dealer found no problem. No warning lights prior to stall. Problem has happened and reoccured for almost two years.
- Nashua , NH, USA
The auto start/stop system on the Honda Pilot is failing at intersections causing the car to stall out and be stuck in traffic. Dealer and Honda does not have remedy for this issue. This is a known problem that is well documented by other owners. This is now happening about three times per week and I am worried that it will cause a major traffic accident and or death if I get stuck in the middle of an intersection.
- Rochester, NY, USA
When breaking at a stop. Entire car shuts off instead of just the engine. Turns off and have to restart car while in traffic. Has occurred 4-5 times so far.
- Bloomsburg, PA, USA
- Ewa Beach, HI, USA