This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The auto start-stop system is not working properly. We have had several incidences when the idle-stop feature is on and we stop in traffic or at a stop sign or light and the engine will not start back up automatically. I have to go back through the whole process of restarting my car and there are times when it wouldn't start back up on the first try. This has almost caused a couple of accidents with the cars behind us almost hitting us as we are not able to move initially causing more traffic and opportunities for accidents. I took it to a Honda dealership and there only suggestion was to get a new battery. They said that my battery when tested was borderline, but there battery testing machine did not say that it needed replaced. It said to charge and retest. I pressed them for the details and said it was at 12.5 volts and 400 on cold crank. So it wasn't exactly were you want it, but didn't show replace either on their testing machine. Also we had the Pilot in on 6/22/22 for a standard oil change and it was marked that the batter performance was good. The first week of July is when I was driving it and had the complete engine stop where I had to restart the car in a traffic jam on a bridge. It took multiple times to restart and almost caused an accident. My wife let me know at that point that she had been having this problem all the way back into May but didn't say anything to me as she just started turning the feature off when in the Pilot cause she didn't like the feature. So this was happening even when Honda was saying we had a good battery. They also said that they are aware of the issue and thought it wasn't safe, but the only solution was for me to get a brand new battery and then be subject to this same issue sometime down the road again. There have been multiple times when this has happened dating back to May 2022. I will list the first time below, but it happened to me again yesterday (8/24/2022).
On my drive home this afternoon the auto idle stop feature on my 2019 Pilot touring began to hesitate to restart after releasing my foot from the brake. The result was an orange warning light telling me that there is a problem with the collision mitigation system and a shudder before the engine would resume running. I had to turn off the auto-start feature to avoid stalling in rush hour traffic.
I was stopped at a stop light in traffic. The light turned green and I tried to hit the gas to go, but my vehicle turned off. I tried to depress the brake and push the start button, lights flashed on my dash but did not start my car. I tried again and nothing happened. Then, all lights on dash turned off when I tried again to start the engine. I waited a few more seconds and tried to start the car and the dash lights came on but still my car would not start. I continued to wait a few seconds and tried to start my car and it finally turned on after 15-20 attempts. I called the dealer and they said it's probably the battery. The car just had a new battery put in so it's not the battery. The car just passed inspection at the dealer's last week. We have received no warning messages in the vehicle about this. However, the same thing happened to me a year ago where the vehicle did not start after being stopped at a light, but it only took 3-4 times to get it started again. Today, I was at a busy intersection when this happened with rush hour traffic with my children in the car. The speed limit was 45 mph on the road. Cars had to slam on breaks to avoid hitting us. Not a safe situation.
When coming to a stop, vehicle shuts off with brakes. Once brake is released the automatic restart will not engage. You are stuck in traffic and unable to start the car for at least a minute. Honda replaced the starter and the battery. With the extended warranty, the starter was covered after deductable but the batt cost almost $300. I have since been using the battery they said was no good to power my camper with no problem.
Car fails to start after a short drive and parked and always requires a jump start. Car also fails to restart after a stop/start at a complete stop! Has happened multiple times in busy intersections where you-€™re a sitting target for moving traffic. Always requires a jump start. Have checked battery many times and the battery checks out fine. Maybe electrical or charging system issue. Dealer can-€™t reproduce the problem as it happens sporadically. Can-€™t figure out problem and a hazard to drive with kids in car.
- Wethersfield , CT, USA
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Auto engine shut off will turn off engine at stoplight but fail to restart engine when brake is released. Extremely unsafe. It has happened multiple times and each time we are afraid there will be an accident because we are sitting ducks and not accelerating when traffic expects us to.
this is my second complaint as the auto start stop has failed again. This morning on the way to work, the auto start/stop engaged at an intersection. When the light turned green and i tried to go, the car wouldn't turn over. Stranded yet again at another intersection. Have to go through the whole process of putting the car in park, restarting the engine manually, then putting back into drive. The process isnt as quick as you'd think. There is a delay in all of this. Honda refuses to acknowledge the issue and has left me with an extremely unsafe vehicle.
The vehicle in question has the idle stop function, which turns off the vehicle when certain conditions are met. Randomly, the vehicle does not restart on its own which forces me to power cycle the vehicle in order for it to start back up. This is a safety issue because the vehicle has been stuck in the middle of an intersection while I am trying to get it restarted. If the vehicle were to be completely disabled, I could be stuck causing a hazard at any given intersection. I have had the vehicle inspected and the battery tested, but everything checks out OK. I don't feel very safe when the vehicle can just shut off randomly and not restart. I have noticed sometimes, when the vehicle does restart, the dash flashes a warning that says, "Collision Mitigation Braking System Problem" for a split second and then it clears.
Experiencing auto start/stop failures with car. it engages so quickly even at a quick stop sign the car is shuts off (i think timing should be extended). The problem is when it comes time to start back up there is often several turns before the engine starts. This itself is a safety concern, as i am often not able to move when i need to. Two other separate incidents where the system failed completely: the car did not turn over after several times and just stopped. This happened on interstate 95 in traffic. I was unable to move for 30 seconds while tried to get the car started again. Honda refuses to do anything about it; their solution is to have me try to video tape it occurring, since there are no faults. i am not doing this every time i come to a stop with my 1 year old in the car. It happened again while my wife was driving; this time on an on ramp to I95 while she was yielding for traffic. auto start stop engaged, then failed to start back up- all while at a temporary stop. She has no idea what to do as the car requires you to put into park and then try and restart the car. Those were the two most severe cases; according to Honda this happens after 5 attempts to start the car. the other time it starts before the 5th time but not immediately. There is electrical failures associated with this; including collision system warnings during restart. Honda will no do anything, will not even attempt to replace starter or battery or even quote me a price to fix. This is completely unsafe to drive and we will be looking to trade the car in. Too bad as this is a wonderful car. Honda has driven it several times (according to them) and are not able to replicate the issue. Their advice to me is to manually disable the start/stop every time i drive the vehicle which is ridiculous. I have escalated to American Honda but so far no resolve. I can recall at least 20 incidents in total with this. Its not every time - but imagine how many times a day i stop and go.
Auto Start/Stop capability not working effectively and causes safety concerns with my children in the car. There has been numerous times where the car will NOT start back up leaving me stranded in intersections/traffic. Sometimes I cannot get the car to start back up for a few minutes while I am scrambling to figure out what combination I need to get it to power back up. I hate this feature and makes me extremely nervous while having the little ones in the backseat. We have asked the dealership to disable this feature all together and they refuse, I know there is the button to press but it is not convenient to press that every time I start the car back up. Easy to forget, I hope no one is seriously hurt due to this issue.
The auto stop/start gas saving feature often results with the car being unable to automatically restart. When this happens, in traffic, I am forced to put the car in park, and hopefully, manually restart the vehicle. This has resulted in the need for roadside assistance, several times (the car requires a jump). I have sent the vehicle to the dealer multiple times, but they say they cannot find the problem or are unable to duplicate it. Once they tested for battery and electrical system for power leaks and such, and though the car is only 3 years old, it is on it's third battery. I have had to regiment myself to disabling the feature, before driving, to ensure the issue doesn't happen in traffic again, as it could result in an accident. The last time this happened was the first week of August 2022, but it has occurred NUMEROUS times, and I'm pretty fed up with the whole issue.
Today and yesterday, the engine cut off when the car came to a complete stop. I tried to recreate the situation coming to a stop randomly, but found the cutting out was intermittent. Upon reading the forums, I discovered others are having the same problem and that you are investigating whether it has something to do with the auto start/stop feature, so I am reporting my issue with you. Where the engine cut off, I was either at a stop sign or at a red light with passengers including small children, and it took time to restart.
At a stop light the my car turned off and did not come back on for 5 mins. I am aware of the auto stop feature for fuel efficiency but I was in a turning lane. I literally could have been in an accident. The car brakes were locked in could not even put the car in neutral or park the car was just off completely. No signs of over heating, battery failure, etc.
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. I fear I will get rear ended due to this. Or shot b/c of crazy road rage people. We took it to the dealer and it could not be replicated so they could not fix it. no warnings prior It has happened multiple times.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle was operated normally. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 44,298.
Vehicle has auto idle feature that activates when car comes to complete stop. Typically, the engine restarts when you take your foot off the brake, however, there have now been three occasions that the system did not restart the engine and the car stalled. I have contacted several Honda dealers and they are all aware of this issue but do not have a way to fix the issue.
When the auto engine idle kicks in more and more often the car struggles to restart. A message quickly flashes about a malfunction but too quickly to read it. I disable the feature very often as I fear the car will not restart.
Stop/Start function for the engine is garbage. It happened 5 times already that the engine shuts down and the car wouldn't go at the red light or even stop sign. Every time it's scary, especially with cars behind me honking for me to go. Luckily, every time I was able to turn off the car, then restart it. I noticed that 4/5 times this happened was after I was driving for at least an hour, on a hot day, with AC on. Miniscule savings of gas are not worth the safety risks of this useless feature. And it seems that I am not able to deactivate the feature completely.
I was driving on 7/29. Stopped at the stop light. the car shut off. completely dead. The dealer cannot replicate the problem and did not fix anything. I called Honda North America and they said we are sorry there is nothing we can do. This is the second time this happened. The first time was 4/15 and the dealer replaced the battery
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fishers, IN, USA