2021 Honda Pilot Engine

The Auto Idle system that enables the cut off the engine is now working intermittently some or not at all, regardless of temperature outside or inside the cabin. Note: Took to Honda Mall of GA dealership to look at this very issue, and according to the technician, it is 'heat' related. I feel this is 100% incorrect, as the temperature in the evening has dropped into the 70s and the issue continues.

The issue is with a restart after the car engaged the auto idle stop feature. Outside temperature was about 43F, Car had been driven earlier in day, and was parked for about 1 hour. The car started okay after sitting for an hour, then driven at highway speeds for about 10 mins. Car then came to a stop once coming off the highway at a red light. The car's auto idle engaged and the car's engine shut off. As the light turned green, my foot was taken off the brake to start the engine again and the car did not start. I received a message on the dash stating to place car in Park and start the engine, this was done but did not restart the engine. I shut the car off completely and had to use a lithium ion jumper battery pack to restart the engine. At that point the engine did start back immediately. Once home I tested the battery's voltage with a voltage meter, which read about 12.1V. I started the car with the voltage meter attached and voltage did not get below 10V and the car started without assistance. Thus proving that the battery is in good condition. The car was purchased in November of 2020, thus the battery about 2 years old and the car has just under 30K miles. I have not contacted the dealer yet. This is the first time this issue has occurred though there have been other times when starting from the idle stop the car has had difficulty in starting, starting this summer (July 2020). Difficulty has been noticed in the hotter or colder weather.

Engine shuts off when you are at a red light and you press the foot brake pedal hard. When you release the brake the engine starts. In my case the engine shut off and when I released the brake the engine did not start had to put transmission in park and then did a restart.

Vehicle failed to restart after stopping at a stop light while auto stop feature was on (defaults on). Vehicle was only 18 months old since purchase. Battery completely dead, only started after tow truck applied jumper for a long time. Had to be in busy six lane intersection for almost an hour. Car could not be shifted out of park into neutral to tow because push button transmission controls rely on battery power. Car is AWD. Vehicle is used mainly for 4 mile commute, often in stop and go traffic, to work and errands within that radius. I suspect the auto start feature drained the battery. The feature stops the engine anytime you come to a stop. It doesn’t seem to take into account how often it stops or how long the engine has been able to run and charge the battery.

Incident occurred 9/28/21 4:20 - 4:30 pm PST while driving in the 3rd lane of southbound 880 Highway about 1 mile before the the exit of 16th Ave & Embarcadero in the city of Oakland. The speed that the vehicle was moving at the time of the incident was between 50 to 55 MPH. The vehicle has more than half a tank of gas and the battery has never been discharged. Also all the required vehicle inspections and services has been performed by the same service center of San Leandro Honda since acquiring the vehicle on 2/10/21 from San Leandro Honda. There are 3 occupants in the vehicle; my wife, our 5 year old child and myself (driver). Our 2021 Honda Pilot EX-L with only 9,209 miles without any accident records started to show different kinds of warning signs lighting up on the dashboard, then followed by steering and engine failure. I immediately turn on the hazard lights and pointed the vehicle towards the right shoulder of the freeway. Thank goodness that at the time of the incident the traffic is heavier and moving slower. Also other motorists are accommodating enough to let us get to the shoulder without any accidents. If it was lighter traffic at the time it could have been devasted for us. Tow truck driver Manuel Escalante that works through FSP in partnership with CHP helped us get out of the shoulder of the 880 freeway onto a safer location in the city street to await further towing assistant from my roadside service with Honda. After getting towed by another tow truck driver to San Leandro Honda on 9/28/21, my vehicle still remain there. The service department haven't provided any detail report to why the engine seized from working while we were driving in the freeway.

We just got the car from the dealer and it is still less than 200 miles and it’s leaking oil. There’s oil leaks in my garage which I thought was water coming from AC. When I check the oil dip stick. It was empty.