Car has died twice when coming to a stop at red lights. seems to be related to the auto stop/start engine setup. Car turns itself off but cannot start right back up again. Every red light flashes but will not easily restart. hundreds of complaints regarding this on the federal safety agency website. the federal safety agency needs to investigate this, cars being stuck in traffic is a safety issue. since its affecting cars years off the line, it must be some component that is failing prematurely. All of these are extreme safety issues as the car is stuck in traffic, or at light and has to be completely shut off, wait and then restart. Last time took a good 3-4 minutes to get it started again.
2017 Honda Pilot engine complaints
Page 9 of 18: complaints 221 to 250 of 491, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I stopped at a red light and the engine wouldn’t start. It took several tries to restart the engine and after 5 minutes, it finally restarted. I had to put on my hazard lights and held up traffics on the road.
This car is equipped with an idle atop feature that shuts the engine off when the brake is engaged (for example, when idling at a traffic light). Upon releasing the brake, the engine should automatically start. However, in many instances the engine does not restart and remains unresponsive. It is not resolved even if I shift to park and return to drive mode. It seems to reset when I turn off the engine completely.
When I come to a stop (like a red light) the auto idle kicks in. When I move my foot from the brake to the gas pedal, the engine shuts off completely. It then takes a couple times before I can get the starter to start again. Therefore I am sitting at an intersection with an engine that is dead while other cars are coming up behind me, either from a stop, or coming up behind me at full speed. I am concerned I will be rear ended. I have taken it in and they replaced the battery which helped for awhile. I then got a notice from Honda, took the car in and they did an "update" on the computer system. Again the other day, while at a light, the engine cut off when I moved my foot from the brake to the gas pedal. No warning lights, no other symptoms that give me warning as to the problem.
For the past two years, I have been taking my Honda pilot to a Honda dealership, complaining of the auto shut off feature. I will come to a stop at a stop sign or stop light. The car would do the auto shut off and when I lift my foot from the break for the car to start again, it won’t. The car will have its lights lit up, but I won’t be unable to turn the vehicle on. I will then have to turn the car off and then start it all over again. All while cars are honking and I’m in the middle of the road. Holler Honda never fixed this problem. I took in videos and photos and I explained it to them and they said they could not replicate the problem and therefore could not fix anything. I continued to drive the vehicle like that. In January 2023 a service bulletin was released where Honda described this exact issue that were happening amongst other 2017 Honda pilot. I took my car in and I said this is exactly what’s happening. My service advisor told me that he needed to do the software update first per the service bulletin. He said if it doesn’t work then to bring the car back and they will do the remainder of the repairs, such as replacing the starter and the assembly. I asked him if we could skip the software update since we’ve been having this issue for over two years and he said no. Six months later I am driving down the interstate and come to a complete stop and the entire car shuts off and never restarts again. I was stranded on the interstate for over four hours, waiting for a tow truck. I had to have the police come because it was at 6 PM and soon after got dark. It’s a huge safety issue especially considering that I have two kids. Something could’ve happened to me. I have the police report number and receipt for the tow truck ($281.00)
I had been driving for over an hour at 70 when I crossed into Pennsylvania and encountered crawl speed traffic. I exited the highway at exit 1. At the top of the ramp there is a traffic signal. I stopped at the red and the vehicle shut down. The light turned to green and the vehicle immediately in front of me proceeded into the intersection. I removed my foot from the brake and attempted to go. The engine auto stop-start kicked the engine but then the engine immediately cut off and the chimes went off. The car behind be stopped abruptly to avoid contact. Attempting to understand what occurred i looked at screen. The screen indicated to shift the vehicle into park. I did. The vehicle did nothing. Since there is no way to to start the engine without it, I was forced to turn the vehicle off using the On/Start/Off button. Hitting the button turned the car off, a second press would normally start the vehicle but it did not. I cycled the button 2 more times and the engine started. This system is flawed.
While Stopped at a stoplight the Auto Start/Stop feature stalled the engine. This has happened to us multiple times.
A few months ago, car started alarming randomly. Upon entering vehicle all lights on dashboard were going on and off, screen was going through each system followed by "problem" and repeated clicking heard in steering column and captured on video for 1 minute. This continued for several days but car drove okay. Alarming bouts came and went for a few days. I researched and found that it was probably the Keyless Access Control Unit based on other owners of similar years/models. Took to dealer and showed my video. After inspecting they came back saying that they called Honda and it was a different part (unknown) but described as more of the control computer for the car. They placed the part on order, but said that another customer had the part on order for over 4 months at that time with no ETA. Six weeks later, without an incident, the car started alarming again on a hot day. Dashboard lights lighting up, clicking in steering wheel, etc. I drove the car for a few errands just fine, until I went to pull out onto a US Hwy and the clicking began, lights flashed, and the car felt as if it stalled as I was entering the road. Suddenly, it couldn't go more than 2 or 3 MPH, although speedometer wasn't working. I was able to stop it and reverse back (2-3 MPH) into the driveway quickly just before oncoming traffic hit me. When the clicking and flashing stopped, the info screen went through every car system alphabetically and listed "Problem" afterwards. I couldn't get the car to drive normally after turning it on/off several times. I disconnected the battery and that stopped the problem. Two weeks later, dealer said part was in so I scheduled replacement. Dealer replaced "Keyless Access Control Unit" despite telling me 2 months beforehand that it was something different. Car has been problem free since replacement, but it has not been long. Additionally, my neighbor has Pilot of similar year, and has the same exact problem of alarming/clicking, etc.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while at a complete stop, the vehicle stalled due to a defect with the Auto STOP/START feature. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions where a software update was performed, the starter motor, starter switch, fuel injector and valve adjuster were all replaced; however, the failure persisted and worsened over time. The manufacturer was contacted and filed a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
This vehicle keeps having a "Emissions System Problem" Then other times says "Transmission Temperature Too Hot" I bought and get this serviced at my local dealer. They don't know what the problem is and it goes away after I see them for a couple weeks but the problems come back. They say no problem. It's unnerving to drive a car with theses messages and I drive long distances.
Emission system problem , transmission system problem. Car frequently stops with these error messages and it stopped the acceleration during driving on a freeway. It could have caused a major accident if I had not pulled over safely.
When stopped at a stoplight in traffic, the auto stop/start feature failed to restart the engine after removing my foot from the brake to the gas. All lights on the dashboard were lit and there was an orange message on the dashboard saying I needed to push the brake to restart the engine. However, I needed to put my car in park, fully turn off the engine and then it took several attempts to restart the engine in the middle of traffic, causing a safety concern of a stranded vehicle in the middle of a busy highway. I attempted to push the brake to move the vehicle into neutral and try ti coast to the side of the road, however, I was not able to move my car out of park until the engine was fully restarted.
On March 18th, 2023 at 6:30 PM I parked my car and waited for the curbside pick up at a cafe with my 3 girls 6 (my niece) 7, (daughter), and 11 (daughter) years old. The car started blinking all the lights started accelerating by themselves and turned off immediately. while I tried to turn it on it never started instead it blinked and displayed many messages, including transmission system problem, emission system problem, etc. I thought the battery died and called my husband to jump-start the car and it took 30 minutes to get driving with all these scary movements. my kids were traumatized by the experience and I thought thank god they were safe and the problem is solved. After almost a week once again on March 27th at I'm driving the kids to Karate and driving back at 5:45 PM all of sudden it started blinking, shanking, grinding noise, loud noise, and many messages, transmission system problems, emission system problems, etc. "D" drive started blinking. smoke came and I was still on the road not sure what to do. I thought I will be hit by the other cars behind me. luckily I was almost close to our street and it made a loud noise and I parked the car. it still blinked and smoked heavily and I turned off and got out of the car. It was a very scary movement of my life. I have 2 kids and I drive them every day for their day-2 day school/activities. I cannot believe I bought a new car in 2017 trusting the brand and it is already failed, my family. The car has to be towed to the dealership the dealer gave me a code P-2652. I want Honda to take care of their mechanical issues. I cannot get over the trauma I went through and I'm still shaking while I'm writing this. My 7 year old do not want to talk about the car which made me very sad. My girls loved the family car and now I'm in tears thinking about their safety. I want the federal safety agency to safeguard the consumers who go through these issues. HONDA PLEASE WAKE UP. My girls are ready to draft a letter to HONDA and the federal safety agency.
The autostop feature on the car fails to restart the engine. The car completely shuts down and all electrical is dead. This has happened multiple times over the course of many years. Often is takes multiple attempts to restart the vehicle while sitting in dangerous traffic situations (e.g. highway, nighttime with no lights). This is a significant safety issue. Honda has failed to fix the problem despite a new ignition switch and new battery. They don't seem to know how to fix it.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while making a stop, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The dealer was contacted, and the dealer confirmed being aware of the failure; however, there was no fix for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Vehicle's start/stop system continuously failing. Vehicle will "stop" or shut off at intersection as intended, but then fails to restart, leaving my family stranded in the middle of traffic. This obviously creates a very dangerous situation for my family. This has happened several times. When you try to restart the vehicle it acts as if it doesn't have the power to do so. Inspections of the vehicle at the dealer continuously show the battery is in the "green" or great working condition. Although they've said this, their only response to the issue so far is to replace the seemingly fine battery.
The vehicle will start fine from being parked but when the auto stop turns the engine off, the vehicle fails to start back up. This has happened a few times now in heavy traffic creating a problem with traffic flow, putting us in an unsafe situation. Each time this happened, the vehicle has needed jumped, creating additional issues with traffic and our safety. We have had the battery and alternator tested and both appear to be fine. Looks like this has happened to quite a few others, so I feel that it is important to bring light to the defect.
Fuel injection problem Vehicle less than 37000 miles on it
Was stopped at a very busy intersection today (2/12) and the vehicle's auto start/stop turned the vehicle off. When the light turned green, I attempted to apply gas and the engine stalled out. Was unable to restart the car again after many retries. I was very concerned that another vehicle would hit me since we were at a very busy intersection. All the electronic warnings on the dash appeared to flicker on and off when trying to restart. Eventually had to have the vehicle towed to the Honda dealer since the vehicle could not be jump started or restart on it's own.
Car turns off at stop after auto shutoff will not restart
The 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. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// This is an extremely dangerous vehicle malfunction and needs to be addressed as soon as possible before someone is killed. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// While driving on the freeway or highway, traffic comes to a complete stop, the engine idle feature stops the engine, and upon restart, the vehicle stalls. This leaves my wife and kids stalled, sometimes on the freeway for up to a minute until my wife can get the car restarted. During that minute, she's at risk of being hit by other motorists traveling at freeway speeds. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// I brought our Honda Pilot to the dealership, and they could not diagnose and fix the issue. The Dealshp also claimed they were unaware of any issues with the Auto Start/Stop feature. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Scott Robinson Honda 20340 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// I recently purchased a new battery to resolve the issue myself, and the issues continue with the new battery. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The auto stop/start does not restart after stopping at a red light.
Engine Idle Shutoff engaged while at stoplight, however, upon removing foot from brake and attempting to move along with the greenlight signal the vehicle failed to restart. This is the second occurrence with this vehicle since 2018. Engine failed to restart for several minutes while dangerously blocking moving traffic on a busy city street.
For the past couple of weeks, I have seen an quick error message (flashes and then disappears) and my Pilot has hesitated upon restarting after the auto engine idle stop has engaged at a stop sign. This was a longer hesitation (almost a failure to start) than the typical hesitation I feel when this feature engages. Yesterday, an error message stayed on the information screen, warning me that the auto idle stop feature was not working. This morning the error message was not there on startup. When I was at an intersection, my Pilot failed to restart after the auto idle stop feature engaged. It took a couple of attempts (pushing the start button) before the vehicle restarted and I could resume driving. This is a safety hazard for both me and other drivers. I have not yet taken the vehicle to the dealer for inspection.
My 2017 Pilot Elite has been suffering repeated issues with stalling out / engine not turning back on due to some sort of issue with the stop/start function (which will automatically turn the vehicle off when the break has been suppressed for more than 3 seconds). This is extremely dangerous and has put myself, my family, and others on the road in harm's way on multiple occasions. It appears that both the federal safety agency and Honda are both well aware of this issue, but for some reason are not moving forward with formal resolution despite the severity.
The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while her husband was driving approximately 5-10 MPH, the vehicle stalled at an intersection. The contact stated that while driving, the engine seized. 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 about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.
Emissions System Problem message and light on after reset 2 weeks ago. Please refer attached jpeg file.
My Pilot is suffering the auto stop/start fault that many others have reported online. The vehicle will sometimes fail to restart from the stopped state, forcing us to manually turn off, and restart the engine. As of this morning, the vehicle permanently reports an "Auto Engine Idle Stop System Problem" error.
I am reporting 2 safety issues in this report, both involving the AUTO STOP/START function in my car. SAFETY ISSUE #1: MALFUNCTIONING AUTO STOP/START (ASS) FUNCTION: At least 4 times during the past 2 months, I have had a serious safety issue with my 2017 Honda Pilot wherein it stalls and is completely inoperable for a short time, while I’m stopped at an intersection. This has caused me undue stress and jeopardized the safety of myself and my passengers, and disrupted traffic. According to my best recollection, the situation occurs when the ASS function stalls the engine (when stopped), and I manually press the ‘Disable ASS’ button to restart the engine. But instead of the engine turning back, all systems completely ‘black out’ as I frantically try to re-start the engine, to no effect. After several scary seconds, somehow it re-starts. SAFETY ISSUE #2: CORRECTLY FUNCTIONING ASS FUNCTION: Even when functioning correctly, the ASS function has caused a safety issue for me at least twice. When the ASS function was automatically engaged, I was unable to immediately accelerate to avoid a potential collision. Although no collision resulted, these few scares ‘trained me’ to manually disengage the ASS function whenever I remember to do so. Based on my experiences, It would be safest to have no ASS function at all.
The auto start stop function has failed multiple times on this vehicle in different situations with multiple different drivers. When my mother in law was driving my vehicle with my kids in the car the vehicle would not restart at a stop light in the middle of town with moderately heavy traffic. It took several tries to get the vehicle started again. This has happened to me several times at stop signs and traffic lights since I don't primary drive the vehicle I forget to turn off the auto start stop function. It has failed several times on my wife as well in similar situations. I have not brought this to the dealerships attention due to no fix available and not want to pay to have them tell me the same thing I already know.
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