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.
Start/Stop malfunctioning. If activated engine stops and have to physically restart. This is dangerous because can happen in redlight, stop sign, or random. Rear suspension is rough, bumpy and unstable. Yesterday almost lost control going over rough spot in the freeway. Complained numerous times to dealer and opened case with Honda of America. They simply ignore the issue. Many people having the same problem.
My vehicle has completely shut-off numerous times after stopping at a stop light or stop sign while my idle stop option is on. I biught a new battery, which did not resolve the issue.
My 2019 Honda Pilot is repeatedly having problems, when the vehicle is started and running, first thing in the morning. There is hard jerking when the vehicle is shifting on low speed (ex: from first to second to third gear). This happens repeatedly in the morning start, then doesn't occur again on that day. It reoccurs again, the next day. Have taken the vehicle to the Dealer Service, they notice the issue but are unable to find the root cause. There is no Error Code generated. I find the same issue is being faced many other Honda Pilot owners, refer the link https://www.piloteers.org/threads/rough-shift-from-1st-to-2nd-gear-while-accelerating-slowly.167864/. There was an earlier TSB 17-014 and 17-015, but that is only applicable upto 2017 models. Need a resolution from Honda, as this is not only a nagging unresolved problem, but also a potential safety hazard. Details on this issue for the vehicle, can be found from Honda of Gainesville, Florida. Thanks
Auto Idle function stopped the engine while waiting to make a left hand turn on a busy street. When trying to make the left hand turn the engine was unable to restart resulting in engine warning lights as well as battery warning lights and a complete shutdown of the car and all systems. Warning lights only appeared when I took my foot off the break and pushed the gas pedal to reengage the engine and move. This left the vehicles lifeless and stranded in the middle of the street for a few minutes before I was able to restart the car after a few failed attempts to do so. This left me stranded in the middle of a busy multi lane street in San Diego with cars having to go around me back into traffic to get by. I have had other instances of stopping at lights where the auto idle stop function engaged and my entertainment system / radio / navigation system shut down until i turned off the car and restarted it completely later. The other instances did not have a failure to restart the engine. Honda has told me there is no current recall for the auto idle function and that I had a software update for this last visit prior to this latest incident occurring. They are also stating I can come have a full diagnostics run but it is no longer covered by warranty. I will be taking the car to Honda for a diagnostic but have read about ongoing issues with this feature and feel like i will be stuck with this ongoing issue. Currently manually turning off this function every time in the car now and have had no further issues since manually disabling for all trips.
When my car is at a stop, the engine idles and will not restart. Sometimes, charging the battery will upstart the engine, while sometimes it will not start at all. We've had the battery checked several times, and the battery checks out fine. The car has an electric shift, and I can't place it into neutral to push the car tot he side. So, we wait in the midst of a heavily trafficked intersection until a tow truck comes. This has happened several times in heavy traffic and once in our driveway. After yesterday's incident, I asked my friend who has the same car to see if she has similar issues. She said YES! After bringing the car to the dealer numerous times, she turns off the idle engine everytime she drives, and she hasn't had the issue. I also researched on Google, and this seems to be a recurring problem for Honda cars with the same engine. This needs to be remedied as a global recall. My car is at the Firestone waiting for tomorrow to come, so I can call Honda dealership to remedy this problem. It won't start, even with a charge. We had the battery checked in July, 2023 when it last happened, and the battery is fine. This defect is a safety hazzard for its owners and passengers.
- Dallas, TX, USA
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My 2019 Honda Pilot Touring (7 passenger) has a defect with the auto stop-start system that is a major (and scary!) safety concern. On a handful of occasions over the past couple of years, when stopped at a traffic light (and the auto stop-start feature engages) the engine will fair to restart. My wife has complained that this happened to her several times, and finally this week I was in the car to witness it for myself. The car went from drive to neutral ON ITS OWN, instruments began flashing, the "i" indicator came on, and we couldn't get the car back into drive. We had to turn the car all the way off and back on in order to get it back into drive. I took a picture of the dash and will upload it here. I've read online that this might be caused by a cold battery; however, this incident occurred on a warm September day in the southeastern US. Also, we've had the battery on this car replaced a couple of times (a whole other issue that puzzles me). This is scary and dangerous in the middle of a busy intersection! In fact, my wife now refuses to drive the car, so we've switched cars for the time being. We were going to give this car to our daughter in a few years when she can drive, but that's definitely not happening now....way too dangerous! I'm at a loss for what the next steps are and would really appreciate some guidance. I'm taking the car back to the dealership tomorrow for diagnostics, but in the past they've suggested they can't replicate it so it's not a problem. Ugh. Please help.
Pulled to stop. Engine Auto-Stop shut down the engine. When I released the brake pedal the car did not restart. The display stated that I needed to shift the car out of drive before starting. I put the car in park, pressed the Car On/Off button to restart the car, and it restarted without issue. Shifted to Drive and car moved without issue. This has happened 2 times.
Brought vehicle to stop on a hill at a traffic light intersection. Auto Start/Stop activated, shutting engine off. When releasing the brake the vehicle did not restart. Placed foot on the accelerator, there was no response. The vehicle then started to drift backward down the hill toward other vehicles stopped at light. Slammed on the brakes. Had to restart the car manually with the push button starter switch. Vehicle was able to start and move under its own power.
Our 2019 Pilot has experienced intermittent stalling at lights since 2019 and the incidents have occurred more frequently in the past few months (multiple times per week). It has been taken exclusively to the dealer since purchased and for years, they said they were unable to duplicate it. Last service was 08/2023 and Sheehy Honda of Alexandria, VA stated that they duplicated it and fixed it (by resetting codes). Six days later, the stalling began again. I believe it's related to the Auto Idle Stop function. Yes, it's available for inspection. This puts us and others at risk when the car suddenly stalls and stops at a busy intersection with people lined up behind us, not expecting to have to brake. It requires putting vehicle in park, turning it off and restarting engine. It has not been inspected by anyone except the Honda dealer. Warning lights come on when this happens, as it's dying....collision mitigation, battery, and this has been told to the dealer. I recently read online that turning off "Auto Idle Stop" helps and this seems to be true.
Auto-stop failed to restart the engine when stepping off the brake pedal after it had engaged while stopping for a traffic light. Although the car never had an issue with auto-start, the auto-start recall was applied at the same time as the hood latch recall. Since the auto-start fix was applied, the car has had several instances where it seemed at first like it might not start, but eventually did. This failure happened while on a road trip with my family and we were hundreds of miles from home. Sitting in a turning lane off a highway with when your engine doesn-??t restart is very scary, especially as you-??re trying to figure out the state of your car-?"while surrounding drivers are reacting to the disabled car in front of them-?"in order to figure out how to try restarting it. Dealing with a push button start, a push button transmission, all the safeties involved e tween the systems, and an engine that should be running is panic inducing.
came to stop sign at busy intersection and engine shutoff as part of the auto engine stop. The issue is when I let off the brake the engine did not restart and put the car in neutral. had to cut off and restart.
When the vehicle comes to a stop it shuts off and will not restart. We have had it to the dealership for more than 7 times for the same time. They have sold us 3 new batteries and the car is only 4 years old. It is not the battery. It is a safety concern because of the damage of being rammed or being attacked in an unsafe area.
Auto start-stop failure. After the auto start-stop engages (turns off engine at intersection), sometimes the vehicle does not restart. I have to press the starter on the dashboard to restart and put the transmission back in gear. Other times, when it does restart like it is supposed to, it flashes a "collision alert warning" on the dashboard when it restarts. These incidents started about three months ago and are now happening much more frequently.
The car did not auto restart when it shut off at a stop. I had to put the car into park and press the engine start button again. Supposedly there had been a software update done a few thousand miles ago but the car has shut off and not restarted 3x in the last 2 weeks so issue isn't fixed
Drove for about 12 minutes, parked, then returned less than 5 minutes to find that the car has caught on fire! The fire started to appear in the space between the hood and windshield, then burned aggressively within a few minutes.
While waiting at a busy intersection, waiting to turn left, the idle stop malfunctioned and the engine would not restart. I was left in the middle of a busy intersection with my son in the car. After 20 minutes I finally disconnected and reconnected the battery in order to get the car out of the intersection. I have had this problem for the past 4 years and have been given different possible solutions over the years. They've told me it was a software problem, then they told me I should stop connecting my phone to the car, then I was told I needed a new battery. Obviously none of those "fixes" have worked. I have an appointment later this week to address this latest incident. There were no warning messages before the failure but now there is a "remote starter" warning, the heat and A/C no longer turn on and my seats no longer move.
In multiple incidents, our 2019 Honda Pilot stalled and would not restart. In two such incidents, the vehicle stalled and all systems became inoperable (including the hazard lights) at busy intersections, endangering the lives of my wife and two small children. The vehicle has been to the dealership where it was originally purchased (brand new) without resolution. There were no warning or indicator lights prior to the incidents. Honda has indicated that there may be an issue with the auto-idle system on certain vehicles (which this may be related to), but has not issued a recall despite this incredibly dangerous and life-threatening issue.
Auto stop/start in vehicle activated at red light, vehicle engine turned off and would not restart. Vehicle kept saying shift to Park to turn on engine, vehicle was in park. Waited a few minutes at the intersection, engine finally turned over and car started. An issue had occurred multiple times before stopping at a red light, but usually it just turns off my radio or digital dash board when auto start/stop is activated, and the radio comes back on if you let off the brake and the feature is disengaged.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mapleton, UT, USA