10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,071 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #40

May 022022

Pilot

  • miles
The engine does not restart on its own after the auto start-stop shuts it off at a stop sign or stoplight. This happens so frequently that I am forced to turn off the functionality every time I start the car for fear that it won-??t start again at the stop light.

- Fairfax Station, VA, USA

problem #39

Jun 302022

Pilot

  • miles
During the highway trip the auto idle functionality did not resume after a full stop. The car engine stopped and transmission switched to neutral. It took multiple attempts to re start the car in the middle of a highway.

- Merion Station, PA, USA

problem #38

Jun 102022

Pilot

  • miles
Start/Stop function engaged at a red light or in stop and go traffic, stopping the engine. Engine would not restart. I attempted to restart engine and had a great deal of difficulty getting it restarted. This is a serious safety issue as vehicles could crash into me and/or I could be stranded with my two children. It has happened 5 times in the past 2 weeks. I have low miles on my car and have owned it less than 3 years.

- Conroe, TX, USA

problem #37

Jun 242022

Pilot

  • miles
While stopped at a busy 4 way stop light my engine shut off and the screed read -??car in neutral must be in drive-?? then went to accessory mode. The car would not restart for five minutes.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #36

May 202022

Pilot

  • miles
I was the first car stopped at a red traffic light and my auto engine system engaged. When the light turned green, I released the brake and the car automatically shut completely off. Since my brake lights went out the car behind me began to accelerate, but had to quickly slam on the brakes as my car was stalled. I hurried to put on my hazards, and then looked at my dashboard. It stated I needed to shift the car into PARK, and then restart the engine. It took 3 tries to restart the engine and then I was able to turn off the auto idle system and continue on my way. I brought the car back to the dealer (I have at least 5 documented visits to the Garden State Honda Dealer for the same system issues.) They told me they were unable to replicate the issue and did nothing to help this issue after having my car for a week and a half.

- Bloomfield, NJ, USA

problem #35

Jun 182022

Pilot

  • miles
Reported to dealer twice and could not be replicated. They just tell me they have never heard of this problem. While at a traffic light the vehicle either shifts into neutral, park or second gear. Sometimes I press the accelerator and it does not go even though I-??m in Drive. I gave up with the dealer but it is scary when people behind you honk and I could be rear ended because I-??m scrambling to press the transmission buttons or restarting. A few incidents, I had to turn off and restart. I have learned if it is running and in Drive but does not go, I press the drive button several times to make it go or turn off and restart in lines of traffic. This vehicle has bells and whistles but falls short with engine and transmission. I currently own 5 Honda vehicles and 12 Hondas over the years. This vehicle is the one I feel the least secure in being dependable. It has 16,000 miles on it and has been problematic since approx 7,500 miles.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #34

Apr 012022

Pilot

  • miles
Car does not restart after auto stop at intersections or traffic lights.

- Hicksville, NY, USA

problem #33

Jun 062022

Pilot

  • miles
When I use the auto start stop feature and stop at a light or stop sign my transmission shutdowns. I have to restart my engine. Afraid of being rear ended at a traffic light or stop sign. Honda has checked the vehicle and they said I need a new battery. I verified with autozone that the battery still passes. It is only 1 1/2 old.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

problem #32

Jun 052022

Pilot

  • miles
Auto Start/Stop Engine starts to stall and can take 5 seconds or more before restarting. This is dangerous when going in stop and go traffic. Having dealer look at it in the upcoming week. No warning signs.

- Westerville, OH, USA

problem #31

Jun 072021

Pilot

  • miles
My Idle-Stop system intermittently cuts off and wont restart - usually at the most dangerous times like when I am in a turning lane of a busy intersection. To me, this is a major hazard. This has happened on multiple occasions, so my practice right now is to turn it off as soon as I turn on the engine so I won't have this occur. Since 2021, this has happened about 7 times, most notably in the Summer when it is hot, and when I have the A/C and music running. I spoke to a dealer about it and they told me to bring it in to be checked. Because it is intermittent, it is just easier for me to turn the idle-stop off at the time I start my engine, as the chances of it happening on them seemed remote. Other than that, I keep my car in great working condition, getting regular oil changes, etc. There were no warning lights prior to it happening, but when it happens, all kinds of engine lights pop up, and there is a prompt on how to restart the engine, but it doesn't work. One time is was over 10 minutes before it would start. I just kept pushing buttons until it started, but it is quite harrowing when traffic is honking and your heart is racing, hoping no one hits you.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #30

May 212022

Pilot

  • miles
1. The engine turned off at an intersection with the start/stop feature, also called the auto idle stop system, and did not restart. Jumper cables were needed to restart the vehicle. 2. Safety concern - This issue put my family's safety at risk while being out of the vehicle at a very busy intersection at dusk when visibility was decreasing. 3. Police arrived briefly to assist after 45 minutes of being in a dead vehicle but vehicle successfully started after several "jumping" routines and police left scene. 4. There were no other visual issues or messages prior to this problem.

- Muskego, WI, USA

problem #29

Nov 012021

Pilot

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that after coming to a red light and stopping the vehicle, the fuel-saving feature malfunctioned and the vehicle would not immediately restart when releasing the brake pedal. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. Occasionally, the vehicle would not start after being turned off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the battery but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Little York, IL, USA

problem #28

Jun 082022

Pilot

  • miles
When the car is stopped it will sometimes turn off. It has happened at least twice in the last week - once in a drive through and once at a stop sign. The cat comes to a stop normally but when it is time to accelerate the engine turns off & the electrical starts acting weird. I have to power the car off and on a couple of times before I can get it going again. I took the car into Honda today and they could not find any problems with the car. I am scared that this will happen on the freeway during traffic and someone will come crashing into me.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #27

Jul 182021

Pilot

  • miles
The car stopped at a stoplight and the engine shut off from the normal start/stop function. When I tried to drive, the engine did not restart and the car was dead in the intersection. I was stranded for 2 hours due to unavailability of tow truck. It eventually was jumped, charged overnight, then was dead again the next day.

- Victoria, MN, USA

problem #26

Jan 022022

Pilot

  • 52,002 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the transmission had erroneously shifted from the drive position to the select position causing the vehicle to hesitate and sputter. After turning the vehicle off and restarting the engine the failure had self-corrected. On one occasion while parked with the engine idling, as contact was exiting the vehicle the transmission erroneously shifted out of the park position and began to drive forward knocking the contact to the ground and driving over the legs. During the incident, the driver sustained injuries to both legs and a fractured arm. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who reprogrammed the transmission. No further information was available. Later while operating the vehicle warning messages began to be displayed including the service engine, power train, and the warning message "danger pull over immediately". The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 52,000.

- West Chesterfield, NH, USA

problem #25

Jan 012022

Pilot

  • miles
I have complained to the Honda dealer during each oil change that my engine shuts off when I am driving and come to a stop at intersections. I brought up that I had the car battery changed three times already due the suspicion that the battery was causing the issue. They tested the battery and found that it wasn't the problem. I asked them to look at the spark plugs, again, no issues. They took a test drive and could not replicate the issue. The problem stems from the feature that automatically shuts off the engine when the brakes are depressed and the vehicle is at a complete stop. When the brake is released, the engine attempts to turn back on, but fails. There are many indicator lights that turn on that indicate a fault. I have to manipulate the gear selector buttons to get the vehicle to shut down and attempt to restart the engine again. My vehicle has shut off tens of times while driving. My only fix at the moment is to press a button near the bottom of the gear selector that disables the automatic on-off engine shutoff. This is what I must now do when I first start my engine on. I have been put in dangerous situations when at intersections, particularly at right turns when my engine shuts off and there is oncoming vehicles. I have had expenses getting this issue looked at and getting new batteries, which did not resolve the issue.

- San Ysidro, CA, USA

problem #24

Aug 122021

Pilot

  • miles
-The engine failed to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light with the Auto Start/Stop function. This has occurred on multiple occasions. -This started occurring in the summer of 2021. The first couple of times, the engine would stall but would immediately start up again after turning the back on. On one occasion, it stalled at a traffic light and it took about 30 seconds to get the engine back on. On or about 8/12/21, we were stopped at a traffic light at a busy intersection and the engine stalled and would not restart. We blocked a lane for over an hour until a tow truck was finally able to retrieve the car. The battery could not be jump started. -The car was taken to the Honda dealership and they said it was due to a faulty battery and replaced the battery. However, within 9 months of the replacement (currently), the car has started stalling again intermittently. Most of the time, we remember to turn the auto start-stop feature before we start driving, which seems to help, but on the occasions that we forget, it has stalled on at least 2 occasions. So far, we've been able to start the engine again quickly and keep moving. -There have been no warming lamps, message or other symptoms prior to these incidents. -We have been extremely disappointed with the manner that Honda used when we voiced these concerns in August 2021. They were very dismissive and did not seem to believe my report, despite the car only being less than 3 years old at the time of the first incident. When I stated that this posed a serious safety issue because a car could stall at any time, they stated it shouldn't pose a major threat because the incidents only happened when the vehicle was stopped and other vehicles would likely also be stopped, thereby eliminating any chance of impact. This is clearly an erroneous conclusion as my vehicle could easily come to a stop in heavy traffic on an interstate and other cars may not react quick enough to stop.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #23

May 112022

Pilot

  • miles
Twice since purchasing the vehicle last year the automatic start/stop feature on the Honda has failed to restart the engine once we took our foot off the brake pedal. The first time was more than six months ago. We were at a light and the vehicle did not start after taking my foot off the brake when the light turned green. I tried putting it in park and then restarting the vehicle with the touch button but it didn't work. I tried with the remote start feature on the key and it would not start that way. At this point traffic was honking and going around us. I started pushing the park and neutral button to make sure it was in park, but nothing worked. I finally got the vehicle to restart by holding the start button on the dash for about 10-15 seconds. When I took it into the dealer a month or so later to have a recall taken care of I brought it up to the advisor and he asked if it has happened since then. I said no and he said it was probably something I did... The second time, was 5/11/2022 around 11 am. I was on the way to the Honda dealership to buy an oil filter and crush ring to change the oil. I had been driving for about a half an hour, stopped at a red light in front of the dealership and it happened again. Once again, traffic on the offramp started piling up, people were honking and going around on the shoulder. I tried the same procedure as before but it didn't work at first. I tried it a couple of times and the vehicle finally started. The vehicle has not been scanned with a scanner since the last time so there is probably a stored code if you need to verify this.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #22

Feb 232022

Pilot

  • miles
I was driving with my granddaughter. When we were stopped at a light and my car shut down. I didn-??t know what to do. I finally figured out how to get the vehicle to start again. The idel- stop is not working it continues to happen. So my husband and I have to remember everyone we start the car to turn it off and we tend to forget. Then here we are stuck in the middle of traffic. idle-stop feature Is not working correctly.

- Hollywood, FL, USA

problem #21

Jun 082022

Pilot

  • miles
Start / Stop and Engine failure. When I have the start/stop feature enabled there have been numerous occasions where the car has stalled and will not restart. This has happened in critical traffic situations and has almost caused multiple accidents and injury. In addition, the engine has cut off while driving through parking lots and stopping for pedestrians; during this time I need to reset the entire car to get it to start back up while stuck in the middle of the street. One other occasions the start stop has failed where the car does restart but the entire car resents and delays me from moving until this is finished. I have taken the vehicle back to the dealer to review and they say everything is working as designed.

- Easton, PA, USA

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