On four separate occasions, while operating my 2025 Honda Passport, the vehicle has experienced an abrupt and dangerous electronic transmission failure. While coming to a complete stop at active traffic lights, the vehicle's Auto Engine Idle Stop feature engages and shuts down the engine normally. However, upon releasing the brake pedal to accelerate, the vehicle experiences a severe electrical/electronic fault during the automated engine restart phase. Instead of restarting and shifting into Drive, the electronic gear shifter loses communication and automatically forces the transmission into Neutral. The vehicle is instantly left stranded and immobilized in the middle of live intersections, leaving me completely vulnerable to rear-end collisions. To resolve the issue and safely move the vehicle, I am forced to completely turn the ignition off and cycle the vehicle power back on to manually reset the transmission control module. This is a severe, recurring safety hazard that puts myself and other motorists at immediate risk of injury.
Honda Passport transmission failure problems
16 of the 1,700 owner complaints about the Honda Passport describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 16
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical mileage
- 39,000
By model year
- 20262
- 20251
- 20222
- 20211
- 20194
- 20001
- 19991
- 19981
- 19972
- 19961
Often reported together
Stalling 4Loss of power 3Hesitation 3Jerking 2Harsh shifting 2Start-stop 1
Trouble codes mentioned
U3500 1P097F 1P07A8 1P07A6 1P07A4 1P0730 1P0700 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2026 Honda Passport. The contact stated that the wheel alignment was required due to an off-center steering wheel. The contact stated that on the second day of ownership, the vehicle shuddered, jerked, lurched, and hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. No warning lights were illuminated during the transmission failure. Additionally, the multi-view camera system malfunctioned while driving, and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was determined that the transmission and the camera system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the transmission failure recurred within five minutes of retrieving the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. A district manager informed the contact that the transmission function was related to the adaptive learning and might be resolved with continued driving. The contact stated that the manufacturer failed to accept responsibility for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190.
While passing at highway speeds under heavy acceleration, the transmission system on my 2026 Honda Passport with approximately 7,000 miles malfunctioned. Multiple warning messages appeared, including “Transmission system problem. Reverse gear not available. See your dealer,” “Transmission system problem. Avoid heavy acceleration and high speed. See your dealer,” “Transmission system problem. Paddle shifters not available. See your dealer,” and “Emissions system problem. Power may be reduced. See your dealer.” The vehicle then shifted into a middle gear and remained there, reducing normal drivability during a passing maneuver. I was able to pull over safely. After turning the vehicle off and back on, the warnings cleared temporarily, but the failure repeated multiple times. The safety concern is that the malfunction occurred during highway-speed passing and affected propulsion/gear availability. No crash or injury occurred. A Honda dealer pulled diagnostic codes P097F-17 and U3500-16 and stated that the TCM inside the transmission needed replacement. A second Honda dealer later reproduced the problem, consulted Honda technical support, and Honda approved replacement of the full transmission under warranty. The vehicle has been repaired and is available for inspection upon request. The failed transmission was replaced under warranty, so whether the original failed component remains available for inspection is UNKNOWN.
My 2019 honda passport with just over 100k miles just had complete transmission failure. The car was running fine and has regularly had random hard shifts since the day I got it and ive brought the issue up to the dealer every time it is brought in for service. They always tell me they cant find anything wrong with it. After just driving to get my child from school and coming home parking my car and running inside the car was fine. There were no warning lights system lights or warnings that something would go wrong. But I go back out 10 minutes later to turn it on and the engine starts and idles fine but there is an error on the screen saying transmission problem and the car wont go into any gear. I had the car towed and the dealer does not yet know how much its going to cost. They have had it for 3 days now and wont tell me exactly what part of the transmission failed, how it failed, or what would have caused it. I was only told they are waiting to hear from parts and its going to be pricy! For such a young car it should not need the transmission replaced at this point in its life. This is a manufacture issue and should be replaced by honda. This will cause major issues for people living their everyday life paycheck to paycheck. I dont have money to pay for such an expensive fix! I just paid it off.
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.
Our vehicle experienced total transmission failure with no warning while I was driving on a narrow country road. The car shifted into neutral, and I was unable to go anywhere, so I sat in the middle of the road with hazard lights on in a state of panic. We had the car towed to a nearby Honda dealership and were informed of the transmission failure, which was identified through a diagnostic test. Codes that failed were listed as: P0730; P0700; P07A6; P07A8; P07A4. I have owned the car for one year and three months (purchased October 2024 for $34,000). I am being told it is just past the power train warranty, and Honda is not offering any assistance in covering the repair cost - $10,000.
I was driving along at 65 miles an hour when the car randomly threw itself into neutral. I turned the car off restarted it drive a little bit. It continued to happen over and over and it usually does not matter on the speed. After the transmission replacement, the transmission still continues to hit hard on third and fourth gear..
When driving on Highway the engine will lose drive power, hesitate and temporarily stall. This happened soon after we purchased and again multiple time and when in traffic nearly cause cars behind to crash into us. This is very scary. We have taken into Honda dealership multiple times and the first time they said it came back with code for transmission failure and scheduled a new transmission but later said they are disregarding code and no problem with vehicle. The problem is not collision avoidance since sometimes happens when no other vehicles around. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
With less than 1,000 miles this car had to go in multiple times for a radio electrical issue, floor harness, IP harness etc replaced. Now at 60,000 I’m getting transmission failure faults where my car will stall out and not engage. HUGE safety issue. Now I’m waiting 2 weeks to get into a dealership
48 hours after I purchased my 2019 honda pilot the transmission blew. I was driving on the highway on my way to a vacation with my car packed for the week and I heard a bang as if I hit something and then it sounded as if something was dragging on the bottom but nothing was there. I was extremely scared because I was stuck alone on the side of the highway because the transmission blew on my brand new car with less that 100 miles. My vehicle had to be towed away and they had to place a brand new engine. I was offered no compensation and they refused to give me a new vehicle.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Honda Passport transmission failure
Which Honda Passport years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (4 complaints), 1997 (2 complaints) and 2022 (2 complaints).
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