2019 Honda Passport: start-stop system problems

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Engine · MA

My 2019 Honda Passport (VIN [XXX]) has an intermittent, dangerous failure of the Auto Idle Stop (auto start/stop) system: when the engine shuts off at a complete stop and I release the brake, it fails to restart on its own, leaving the vehicle dead and immobile in live traffic. There is no warning light before it happens. This has stranded me at intersections and in traffic, creating a serious risk of being struck from behind. The condition matches the federal safety agency's open Engineering Analysis EA25004 and the defect at issue in the In re Honda Idle Stop Litigation settlement, both concerning 2019 Passport and related vehicles failing to restart after Auto Idle Stop engages. The vehicle has not received the A53 starter replacement. I am bringing it to an authorized Honda dealer, which is requiring a paid diagnostic to "verify" the defect before performing the covered software update and warranty-extension repair. No crash or injury has occurred yet, but the failure is ongoing and I consider it an active safety hazard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 14, 2026 · Engine · CA

04/10/2026 at around 8am and 04/14/2026 at around 7pm - At both times, car stopped at red light. Auto start-stop shut off car engine. When light turned green and stepped on gas, engine shut down and warning lights came on. Car was still in “drive.” Had to push “park” button and then started engine.

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · MA

My vehicle has experienced multiple dangerous incidents where it shuts down or shifts into neutral while driving. This has happened on highways, tunnels, busy on-ramps and main streets. The car loses power and requires restarting, which takes about 30 seconds. On a busy highway or street, this is enough time for a serious accident to occur if other vehicles cannot switch lanes on time. This has happened multiple times with my child in the car, and me being currently pregnant. The vehicle has never given me a warning prior. The issue appears to be related to the Auto start/stop system and/or electrical drivetrain controls. the vehicle is unsafe to operate because the driver can forget to disable auto start/stop and the car can suddenly lose power in traffic. There was also a separate incident (in between the multiple incidents above) where I was on the highway, my car accelerated, brakes wouldn't work, and my foot wasn't on the gas. the car then shifted to neutral and the only way I could stop was by shutting it off and moving to the breakdown lane. There have been two repair attempts. The first repair was done in 2024 after the initial loss-of-power incident related to the auto start/stop feature. In this repair, the battery was replaced and I was told a full diagnostic was run and the car was safe to drive. On 11/11/25 the serious incident with acceleration/ loss of brake function on the highway occurred. A full diagnostic was run and the transmission was replaced under warranty. However, a month after the transmission replacement, the loss of power issue returned. It has now been at least 4 incidents since the transmission was changed. I reported this to Honda corporate and received a case number, but despite multiple attempts to receive an update over the past 2 months, I have not been contacted by Honda, and no resolution has been provided. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle and no longer trust further repairs.

Filed Oct 25, 2025 · Fuel system · AL

My car has been stalling and not starting back up once turned off. It does it every almost every instance at startup. I can no longer use the auto start/stop feature on my car due to it stalling a few times in the middle of the road. I had to turn the car off and attempt to turn it back on. There is a recall on the fuel pump and fuel injectors but every dealership I have called stated that there are no available fixes while online they state there are available repairs.

Filed Mar 28, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · CA

My Auto Start/Stop repeatedly fails to start after engaging during a traffic stop (stop sign, red light, etc.). The engine cuts off and will not start again, causing safety issues as the car is idle and “stalled” when traffic begins moving. Things an ongoing problem that I have reported to the dealer several times. The below questions ask for dates and mileage of incident, but this has been an ongoing incident for several thousand miles. I have completed the info using approximate dates and mileage of first of many occurrences.

Filed Oct 14, 2023 · Electrical · NY

The idle stop start stalled the suv at intersection while waiting at light. This has happened multiple times already over the last couple of months. The latest took several repeat attempts to get it started again

Filed Aug 19, 2023 · NC

On two occasions this summer, after coming to a complete stop at an intersection, the car initially failed to restart (with the stop-start feature in use). On both occasions I was able to restart it within 30 seconds. Other than temporarily inconveniencing the drivers behind me, so far this has not yet caused a bigger problem. I have not yet tried to have a dealer or independent service center reproduce or confirm the problem. If any type of message appeared when this happened, it appeared too briefly for me to notice or read it. This problem appears to me to be the same that has been reported for some Honda Pilots and other models. This Passport has a 3.5 liter V6 engine and 9-speed automatic transmission.

Filed Feb 4, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · AL

With auto stop/start disabled as this feature regularly fails, stopped to turn left and car shifted itself into neutral, could not be shifted into drive or restarted for a few minutes despite multiple attempts. If car had auto stop start feature engaged, this often happens, which has been reported, but this time it happened without that feature on. Luckily we were turning from a parking lot so did not hold up traffic or have risk of being hit.

Filed Jan 23, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · FL

On several occasions 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. Car shifts itself into Neutral and cannot be restarted by pressing Start button. It required jump was required for the vehicle to restart once. Usual work around posted by Honda is to put car in Park and then attempt to press Start button. Crash was avoided once in heavy traffic.

Filed Dec 2, 2022 · Electrical · TX

The auto stop/start feature has on multiple occasions failed to restart once the foot is taken off of the brake. The Passport's engine will stall, and the vehicle goes into neutral. The engine is completely dead and will not immediately restart. This has happened multiple times in traffic and is a safety concern. I have had the Passport looked at by a Honda Dealership. They advise that there are no error codes and advised me to replace the battery, but could not guarantee that a new battery would eliminate the issue. I am concerned about my family driving this vehicle due to this issue.

Filed Sep 26, 2022 · TX

My 2019 Honda Passport has the fuel-saving stop-start system. At least once a day while driving, my engine will not restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or intersection. While I am waiting at the intersection, the engine cuts off and shifts to neutral and will not shift back to drive when I release the brake. It usually takes a couple of times to try to restart the car before it can be put into drive. This situation has been going on for approximately one year and there are no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

Filed Sep 18, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · IL

I was in a stop and go situation at a stop light when I decided to turn the auto stop/start off. The car froze up on me in the middle of traffic. It turned off, could not turn it back on, the brakes locked up and a lot of lights turned on my dash. After a couple of minutes I was able to turn the car back on.