2019 Honda Pilot Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
When vehicle comes to stop, auto stop/start feature turns off the vehicle when brake is pressed. When brake is released the engine does not start, the car goes into park or neutral and will not move until the vehicle is shut-off and restarted after a period of time. Time varies. Dealership is blaming after-market battery, stating vehicle auto idle stop/start feature requires Honda OEM battery with specific voltage. Incident occurred in January 2024, reported at 50K mile service and again in June 2024. With both incidents there were no warning lamps, messages that appeared. Honda stated they could not recreate the issue then worked with Master techs that stated it was a battery issue. Blaming it on our specific vehicle and did not inform us of investigation of thousands of claims with this specific issue. There has been an issue with multiple occurrences when auto stop/start is engaged when stopped at light then restarted the navigation system would go blank and error No Audio Connection or the apps will remain and the No audio connection error will be on top of screen and cannot turn on any of the apps such as radio, etc.
Stopped at a light and the auto start/stop system engaged and the cars engine turned off. Once the light turned green and took my foot off of the brake the engine did not automatically start. It would not start for about 30 seconds after trying to start it multiple time. The car was completely dead. Luckily the driver approaching me from behind was stopped without hitting me. This was very disturbing and dangerous.
Auto start stop did not restart engine after stopping at red light.
Auto start-stop feature is malfunctioning. It is terrifying. I have pulled up to high traffic, busy intersections and my car will idle into stop at the light. When the light turns green and I proceed to push on the gas, the engine does now restart. I have been in extremely dangerous situations where I am stuck in the middle of very busy intersections with my young children in the car with me, and my car will not move. After about 10 minutes of attempting to restart, it will eventually turn back on and I can drive again. I cannot begin to tell you how terrified I have been a couple of the times this has happened, given the conditions of the traffic. I have tried to ask Honda about this several times and they act like they have no idea as to what I am referring to. They tell me there is nothing they can do because it cannot be replicated. I know that I am not the only one that has been affected by this, as I have done a ton of research online to try and find an answer. It seems to be a fairly common issue. i now worry every time i drive my car that it will happen. So far I have been lucky enough to avoid an accident each time this has happened. One occurrence was very close, as a car swerved at the last second before running right into me. It is utterly irresponsible of such a large automobile manufacturer to turn a blind eye to this issue. One of these days it could be catastrophic. It is my understanding that It is the responsibility of your organization to hold these manufacturer’s accountable. I really do hope that something is done about this before someone gets seriously hurt. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated after starting the vehicle, there was a chirping noise coming from the timing belt. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The first time, the dealer stated it was normal, the second time, the dealer replaced the serpentine belt, the last time, the dealer acknowledged the noise but stated they did not have a solution to fix the issue. The contact stated the vehicle was taken to another dealer who stated it was a known issue called the timing belt chirp. They also stated when replacing the timing belt, they install a part to prevent the noise as well as prevent wear and tear. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced Hondas Service Bulletin 16-054, which applied to the year make and model of the contact's vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, a case was opened and then closed. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.
In October 23, 2023, The Honda Pilot Touring 2019 activated the alarm system alone. When I attempted to stop the alarm the unit did not stop and start blinking. It displayed the codes keyless start system problems and auto engine idle system problem. The unit drained the battery. It was replaced by a new one and it showed the problem again in October 24, 2023. The unit turned ON alone the alarm, control panel motor fans and I was unable to turned Off the unit. The only way to turned Off the unit was disconnecting from batery. On October 24, 2023, the car was sent to the Honda dealer and the diagnostic was problem with the control module part 38320TG7A91. As of today I still waiting for repair due to part backorder. Neither the part is available in Honda part supplier in US. Why? It has been a part recall from supplier? Did Honda knows already of this part problem? I want to issue a safety complaint because the Honda Pilot turned On alone due to these problems (codes) described above while I was out of home. This must be investigated since the unit did not turned OFf unless battery is disconnected. In addition I have been waiting since October for repair while the unit is in a parking lot. I trusted in Honda when I adquired this car. Also, all maintenace have been provided by Honda dealer in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I never expected this type of problem in this car. A Case was opened and no response has been received yet. There has been many incidents reported on internet with the same problem in Honda Pilot. Is there is any additional information, please contact me.
Experiencing what I believe to be a low idle misfire around the 1200 to 2000 rpm’s. I don’t know whether this will lead to an engine failure at a crucial time in traffic. I have 50k miles and this has been reoccurring since 35k miles. Blogs has suggested that this is a common problem with this model.
The problem started about a year ago and has happened a number of times. When stopping with the auto idle stop enabled the engine would sputter and nearly stall. This happens more frequently, but recently the engine will not restart and you have to manually shut off the car and then restart the car which can take upwards of 30 seconds to a minute. This tends to happen in dangerous situations like stop and go traffic, exit and on ramps during rush hour with lots of traffic. I took to the dealership thinking it was a battery issue but the battery tested fine. This seems to happen more frequently now.
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.
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
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.
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.
This 2019 Honda Pilot Elite has an Engine Auto Shut Off that engages when stopped at traffic lights, stopped traffic, etc. It can be turned off manually each time after starting the car ignition but when it is not - it will engage in these stopped positions. Recently, the Auto Shut Off has been engaging and the vehicle will completely shut off and go into Neutral. This has happened to us at stop lights with some frequency but has recently happened two times in stopped traffic on Interstate 95. We cannot get the vehicle to start back up without completely shutting off the ignition and going through the restart sequence. It is not an immediate fix and we are in a compromised and unsafe position on a highway without being able to start the car
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.
When driving and coming to a stop the idle - stop engages but when the brake is released the engine does not restart. The vehicle dies and has to be completely shut off and restarted. The vehicle start button has to be pressed 2 or 3 times before it finally restarts. This has occurred multiple times and has happened in a high traffic area. The vehicle takes 3-5 minutes before it can be fully restarted.
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.
There are 2 issues. First, the engine fails to restart when auto start/stop is engaged. This has happened at traffic lights/stop signs in traffic at least 15 times in the past 2 months. However, the issue randomly happened prior to that timeframe. The engine never restarts right away. This puts the passengers in the vehicle at risk of being rear-ended and/or stranded on the roadway. When the dealer was asked about this a few months ago, they dismissed it and told me they would charge $189 to look at it. Sometimes when the engine won't restart, the display will very quickly (for a second or two) flash "Collision Mitigation System Problem". The second issue happened yesterday. I tried to start the car and it wouldn't start. After about 10 minutes, I got out of the car and used remote start. It started. The vehicle is available for inspection, if requested.
Our Honda auto engine idle stop system routinely malfunctions. On numerous occasions, our car has completely turned off (radio and other power features go off as well) when it was in idle-stop mode and tried to start again. This has happened on major intersections when we come to a red light more than 10X with my family in the car. It causes delays in getting the car to start again. We have to put the car back in park, press the brake, and push the start button. We have to repeat these steps numerous times before the car will start again. Extremely dangerous. While not as dangerous, it does occur at stops signs. We've taken the care to the dealership multiple times. We are told they are aware of the issue but there is nothing they can do. The only solution is to disable the auto-idle button each time we restart the car.
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.
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages. On several occasions when coming to a full stop at a red light/stop sign or heavy traffic, the auto start/stop feature turns of the engine. However, when releasing the brake, which is supposed to turn the engine back on, the engine stalls and takes several attempts to restart the engine via the push button starter. Have taken the vehicle to our local Honda dealership several times. First couple of times they said it was a weak battery and they replaced it twice under the vehicles warranty. The third time they said it was our aftermarket forward camera that was causing interference and was charge by the dealer to remove and reprogram the "system". Fourth time they said it was a dirty throttle body and also had to pay to have it cleaned. Eventually found article on the internet from June '22 that there is an open investigation by NHTSA on this issue. Took vehicle back to dealership again and they wanted to charge for cleaning the throttle body but declined. Vehicle is not safe to drive with Auto/Stop feature on. We consciously have to turn off feature when initially starting the vehicle to avoid it from stalling in busy traffic or intersection.
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.
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.
NUMEROUS RESTART ISSUES WHEN CAR IN IN IDLE MODE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. APPROXIMATELY 6 TIMES, MY CAR HAS BEEN STOPPED, IN IDLE MODE, AND SHIFTED INTO "NEUTRAL" & STALLING. I'M REQUIRED TO PLACE CAR INTO "PARK", TURN ON POWER, SHIFT TO DRIVE IN ORDER TO ACCELERATE. MESSAGES REGARDING "COLLISION MITIGATION SYSTEM" AND ALMOST STALLING ALSO OCCURS WHEN CAR IS STOPPED IN IDLE MODE. MY BATTERY (OF LESS THAN 3YRS) HAS BEEN REPLACED AS NOTHING ELSE HAS BEEN "DIAGNOSED" BY HONDA. ALTHOUGH THESE ISSUES HAVE SINCE OCCURRED SINCE REPLACING MY BATTERY.
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.
The contact owns a 2019 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while at a red traffic light, the vehicle lost automotive power on several occasions. The vehicle was able to restart. The contact stated that while she was driving uphill and was stopped at a light waiting to make a left, the instrument panel displayed various unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle was able to restart after attempting to restart for 5 minutes. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer and the contact was informed that the diagnosis was that her battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that as she was driving uphill and waiting at a red light the gear shifted independently into neutral(N) without warning lights that illuminated and the vehicle then lost motive power. The contact stated that after attempting to restart the vehicle various times for 20 minutes the vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who informed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact had a case opened. The approximate failure mileage was 40,227.
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The 2019 Honda Pilot has 83 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.