2018 Honda Pilot ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE

Start stop system would not restart vehicle. Came to a stop at a stoplight. Engine stopped with system engaged. Let go of brake to creep up in traffic and the engine did not restart. Warning on Dash told me to place vehicle in park and restart. It took a couple of tries to restart . The vehicle eventually did restart.

As of 11/21/23, our honda pilot has approx 75,000 miles, we purchased it new so we are the only owners. A few weeks ago, the vehicle while driving about 45 mph, completely shut off, all lights on the dash cam on and the transmission became disengaged. We were able to shut it off for a few minutes, and drive it about 1/2 mile to the local Acura dealership. The car did not operate normally though, it would only go about 20-30 mph, before the transmission disengaged for a few seconds, then re-engage and continue driving. Acura said it was a producing a bad cam-shaft sensor code, they reset it, but said if it happened again, they would need to open up the engine to inspect the cam-shaft. Two days later, the exact same thing happened, we returned it to the same Acura dealership, where they said the cam shaft, and abunch of other parts needed replacement, at a cost of about $2,500. We had no choice since the car was immobilized. Now, the week of 11/20/2023, a recall regarding the rod bearings was issues, which cause the exact same immobilization issues we experienced, which is very dangerous as a driver. Upon research online, the cam shaft sensor and faulty cam shaft is more common than I expected, and I believe should be investigated before someone is seriously injured. To add, our specific pilot is not showing the engine rod recall, but we have experienced issue with the vehicle in regards to the auto start/stop feature and the car not restarting, as well as cruise control issues where the car will go into neutral at 70+ mph when cruise control is activated. We will probably not have this vehicle much longer because of the issues we have had in the first 75K miles, and the continued safety issues that plague this model. More needs to be done for the safety of it's drivers and passengers.

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.

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped, the Auto START/STOP activated, the vehicle shutoff but failed to promptly restart while depressing the accelerator pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Emissions light comes on due to a faulty Fuel Injector and Catalytic Converter. This continues to show up in multiple forums when it comes to this problem.

The car has an automatic engine shut off when the car comes to a complete stop (brake pushed fully). Over the course of a month, the car will stop and start correctly many times, however 5-7 times a month the engine will not come back on...the lights and radio will all be on and the engine will not come on. This requires me to put the car in park, turn the car completely off, restart the car all while the light is green and cars are behind ready to go. The battery is fine. There is an issue with the automatic system. Unfortunately Honda Dealership has not been helpful and is more interested in charging extra money. I have read this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

The problem began in May this year and has gotten worse over time. The idle engine stop does not always work properly. After driving for 10-15 minutes in stop and go traffic, when the brake is released, a popping noise or click is heard and the electronics (radio, AC, etc.) go off momentarily. When the idle engine stop is working properly, there is no noise and the radio, etc. are not interrupted. After several additional miles of driving, the noise or click becomes louder and the engine will not restart. I have to put the car in park and restart the engine. This is a safety issue in that my vehicle blocks traffic and given the number of aggressive drivers today, I am concerned someone could react in an inappropriate manner. Now, whenever I begin to hear the noise, I am forced to manually turn off the idle-stop feature. Honda responded to my concern by saying they have no "open campaigns" on the issue and for meeting to see the dealer. In the past the dealer says they have never heard of this problem and said they could not do anything. I saw online there are multiple others with the same problem and the NHTSA has opened an investigation as of June 2022. I am very disappointed that Honda US does not seem to be addressing the problem so I am adding my complaint to the NHTSA investigation. I look forward to hearing what can be done to alleviate the problem. Thank you, Dan

Car does not turn on after stopping at a red light with auto start/off on. Turns on after being jump started. Also windows automatically come down without pressing any buttons after opening or turning off car. Dealer reports no issues. Battery has been changed with no solution. Car is inoperable with concern for pedestrian safety and personal safety.

The engine stop start function fails to "start" the truck in traffic when the failure happens 60% of the time you can follow on dash instructions and restart the truck - the remaining 40% it will ONLY restart after you JUMP Start the vehicle with another car. This has left my Wife Stranded 2 times in a busy intersection and we had to get jump started in the busy intersection While in this state we also could NOT put the vehicle in neutral to move it from the intersection trapping it where it was until it was jump started.

Auto idle system failed and the car stalled at a streetlight. The auto-idle kicks in when car comes to a stop like it’s supposed to but when I release my foot off the break and the car is supposed to start back up it stalls. It can take anywhere from 45 seconds to 1 minute to get it into park and get the car to restart. During which time I’ve been honked at by other cars but thankfully haven’t been hit yet. I worry about it happening and I get hit because I’ve been in the way of traffic and unable to move. Very scary situation to be in. This has happened on 4 separate occasions over the last couple months, the most recent one was June 19th. I now try to remember to turn the system off every time I get into the car to drive. Dealership tested battery and it came back fine.

When stopping at a traffic light the engine auto stop/start engages, but then the engine will not power back on when I release the brake. I have to completely restart the engine, causing a safety concern with other vehicles behind me. This just started in December 2022 and seems to occur daily.

The automatic engine stop-start feature of the car is having serious issues, the car engine shuts off automatically after stopping the car at stop signs/red lights etc and does not restart automatically after releasing the brake. This has been an intermittent issue and has happened noticeable number of times till now. When the system does not restart its asks to pull over without having engine turned on which is conflicting message. I have spoke to the dealership and they say there is no known issues with the system which says otherwise based on my research multiple customers are facing this issue. Though not a huge safety risk, unable to start a car in busy intersection induces some amount of safety hazard.

The automatic Stop-Start feature has had multiple issues in the last two years on my 2018 Honda Pilot Elite. The lesser issue has resulted in ALL systems turning off when the brake pedal is pushed all the way down. While the usual, expected result is just the engine cutting off, many times the entire electrical system shuts down. On two (seemingly random) cases, however, the car did NOT restart for quite some time. Once was at an interaction, the other was in stop/go traffic in the rain on the highway. Here is where it could have been catastrophic as I could not even turn on my flashers to warn (in low visibility) that I was stopped while all other traffic was flowing. In neither case did I require a jump start and I have never had any reason to blame the battery. Even in the winter, the car starts right up (here in Virginia). My local Honda dealership is claiming that I need a new battery and a software update. I have a claim in to Honda CustomerCare (even have a Case Manager assigned), but I have not heard from them in the last 3 days.

On multiple occasions / almost daily the engine auto shut off kills the engine completely. The vehicle needs to be restarted to get moving. This poses as a significant safety hazard. This delay is going to get someone killed. The engine dies at stop lights, stops signs, off ramps and sitting in traffic. A complaint was made to the Honda dealer on 4 or more occasions with them informing us they can not replicate the issue and there isn’t a safety recall on it yet. This issue has gotten so bad that I am thinking about selling this car do to a safety issue. Honda is usually a trustable brand and stand by their brand, but some reason they will not admit to this reoccurring problem in the Honda Pilots.

The automatic stop/start for the engine is failing. It stops at inopportune times, and it is very slow to restart. Sometimes i have to put it in park and push the start button. This has been problematic at intersections and it has been happening more and more frequently. The SUV only has 24,000 miles on it.

Car shuts off and does not turn back on properly when stopping while driving. It does not happen all of the time, but when stopping at light/stop sign the car will turn off like it is supposed to but fails to start back up. When it fails to start it will not start back up, because the car is not in park, so the push button will not work until you hit the park button.

The auto engine idle "feature" automatically shuts the engine off when the car comes to a stop. This "feature" is supposed to improve gas mileage, however, I believe it is very dangerous. This "feature" has caused my vehicle to stall numerous times in stop and go traffic, requiring me to completely stop the vehicle, place it in park, and then restart the vehicle. This sequence has created several scary and dangerous situations where I was completely stopped on a busy freeway. This "feature' WILL cause accidents if it has not already caused them. This feature currently cannot be permanently disabled. It must be disabled manually every time I drive the car. I have also contacted Honda directly to notify them of this defect.

My car shuts off all the time. I called Honda last year to let them know because I was concerned there had been a recall. I took it to the dealership. They did some transmission work. One time it shut off when I was going 60mph on the Highway. It will also shut off when I’m actively breaking and not to a complete stop yet. I’m very concerned for my safety. Again, I reported this to Honda customer service and they told me there was nothing they could do. This has been going on for over two years.

Car when in the idle stop has not restarted for several minutes. Some times it starts back up within 5 seconds. Other times it shuts the engine down and tells me to hit the start button to turn vehicle on, but then nothing happens. I am not even able to put car in neutral. Most recently this happened while exiting off a highway on the ramp. A bus driver pulled over in attempts to help me get the car off the ramp. However, a minute into trying to get it into neutral, the car popped back into drive and the engine on so I could get home. Car has been brought in multiple times and the dealership says they cannot find anything wrong with the car.

The vehicle routinely shuts off at intersections and is unable to restart. This often causes traffic to back up behind the vehicle and vehicles around us having to make sudden stops. This occurs during normal driving conditions about 3 times/month. It seems to be attributed to the automatic shut-off feature but does not restart as it should when operating properly.

Push start does not work, says wireless key issue. Car does not start up (crank) and it does not turn completely off (it's stuck in start/ignition on, car is not running). Alarm would randomly discharge and have to relock the car, but would go off again. The ignition would flicker on and off constantly draining the battery. Doors would eventually unlock and stay unlock.

AFTER ABOUT 20 MILES OF FREEWAY DRIVING I EXITED AND STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT. I BELIEVE MY CAR WENT INTO THE ENGINE STOP MODE WHERE IT TURNS OFF THE ENGINE TO SAVE GAS. IT DID NOT RESTART AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE CAR TOLD ME TO PUT IT INTO PARK, SO I DID. I TOUCHED THE CAR START BUTTON AND IT WOULD NOT START IT KEPT REPORTING AN ERROR ON THE SCREEN. I PANIC'D BECAUSE MY FAMILY WAS IN THE CAR AND THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN WITH CARS COMING FROM BEHIND VERY QUICKLY I KEPT PRESSING THE BUTTON GET THE CAR TO START BUT IT WOULD NOT. IT KEPT REPORTING ERRORS. FINALLY,AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES, THE HONDA LOGO SHOWED ON THE SCREEN INDICATING THE CAR WAS EFFECTIVELY REBOOTING AND THE CAR STARTED AFTER THAT. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE FOR ANY CAR. RELATED: I'VE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THAT THE CAR ENGAGES THE ENGINE STOP FEATURE FAR TOO QUICKLY, LITERALLY WITHIN A SECOND OF COMING TO A STOP, WHICH IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE YOU MAY JUST BE STOPPING QUICKLY AT A STOP SIGN OR EXIT WHERE YOU'RE REQUIRED TO STOP. THE CAR CUTS OUT AND IT TAKES 3-5 SECONDS TO GET ACCELERATION. AFTER REPORTING THIS TO HONDA DIRECTLY THEY DECLINED TO CHANGE THE FEATURE TO BE FULLY DISABABLE AND I'VE SINCE GOTTEN INTO A COUPLE OF SITUATIONS WHERE I NEED TO GO, BUT MY CAR WAS IN THE STOPPED MODE B/C I COME TO FULL STOPS AT STOP SIGNS, APPARENTLY UNLIKE HONDA'S TESTERS. THIS FEATURE IS ONLY ENABLE ON ELITE MODELS OF THE PILOT AND IS FAULTY, IT IS DANGEROUS AND NEEDS A FULL REVIEW. AS SOMEONE WHO WAS ALSO IMPACTED BY THE SATURN IGNITION SWITCH INCIDENT THIS SEEMS VERY SIMILAR.

VEHICLE WAS STOPPED IN A PARKING LOT IN "DRIVE" WITH THE AUTO-IDLE FEATURE IN USE. CAR WOULD NOT RE-START WHEN FOOT TAKEN OFF BRAKE. RADIO CUT OUT BRIEFLY AS WELL. DASHBOARD LIT UP WITH MANY ERROR MESSAGES - ONE OF THEM WAS "COLLISION MITIGATION PROBLEM" OR SOMETHING SIMILAR. PLACED CAR IN PARK AND PUSHED START BUTTON NUMEROUS TIMES. ONLY GOT CLICKING SOUNDS, WITH OCCASIONAL ENGINE TURNOVER NOISE, BUT IT WOULDN'T START. TURNED OFF A/C AND RADIO. CAR FINALLY STARTED AFTER SEVERAL MORE MINUTES OF PUSHING START BUTTON WHILE IN PARK WITH FOOT ON BRAKE.