2019 Honda Pilot: start-stop system problems

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · IN

Auto Start / Stop for the engine when coming to a stop at idle. We cannot replicate the situation over and over, but it has happened numerous times. If the auto start stop feature is allowed to function and the vehicle motor turns off at a stop sign or a stop light, it sometimes does not turn back on when you let off the brake and push the accelerator. This puts us in a very dangerous situation at intersections with a stalled out car. It sometimes takes several minutes to restart the car, all the while (my wife usually drives this car) she is panicking while cars honk and swerve around her disabled car. Honda dealer has been less than helpful stating they cannot do anything unless they can replicate it in the shop. Most recent incident happened today while my wife was driving to work.

Filed Aug 21, 2026 · Engine · WI

The Auto Idle Stop/Start system on my 2019 Honda Pilot has failed at least a dozen times. When the vehicle is stopped and Auto Idle Stop shuts off the engine, the engine sometimes fails to restart when the driver attempts to proceed. The dashboard lights illuminate, but the engine does not restart. The driver must turn the vehicle completely off and manually restart it. The vehicle is available for inspection. This has created a serious safety concern. On multiple occasions, the failure happened to a young driver in my family while stopped at a busy intersection. When traffic began moving, the Pilot would not restart and remained unexpectedly stopped in an active traffic lane. There was no warning that the vehicle would fail to restart, leaving the driver trying to shut down and restart the vehicle while traffic was moving around them. I have taken the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealer multiple times regarding this issue. This is now my third attempt to have the problem addressed. The dealer is now performing the applicable Honda warranty work related to the Auto Idle Stop no-restart condition. There have been no warning lamps or messages immediately before these failures. The Auto Idle Stop system appears to operate normally until the engine is supposed to restart. At that point, the engine fails to restart and dashboard warning lights illuminate. The vehicle has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives.

Filed May 31, 2026 · Engine · IN

Vehicles auto stop/start turned the engine off while at a stop light. When I accelerated on the gas my car would not go. It said to take it was in neutral so it went into neutral on its own. The entire car appeared to have turned all the way off at this point and I was able to restart and drive.

Filed Aug 29, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · IN

Stopped at an intersection at approximately 2:40pm on August 28, 2025. The auto -stop/start stopped the engine and it would not restart.

Filed Apr 16, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · IL

Sometimes when I stop in traffic, the idle-stop feature doesn't turn the engine back on. 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 has happened multiple times. I try to remember to disable the idle-stop feature but don't always remember to.

Filed Apr 15, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · IL

My vehicle has stalled twice since purchased a little over year ago. When stopped at a stop light the auto start/stop function failed to re-engage. I had to put the car back in park and restart the vehicle both times before I could drive forward. There were no warning lights either time this has happened.

Filed Feb 21, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · MI

At random times, but seemingly becoming a more frequent occurence, when the stop/start system engages & shuts the vehicle down at idle (at a stop light for example), the vehicle will not restart for a period of time afterwards. This has also happened on the highway multiple times in traffic in which the vehicle will not start for a short period of time. This is a big safety issue and I was almost rear-ended a couple of times in those highway cases. When the problem happens, the lighting on the meter (indicator lights) will randomly flash & the clicking sound from the blinker will continuously go on/off during the timeframe of when the vehicle will not restart. I've raised this concern to Honda multiple times with no support coming back from them since they can't re-create the issue.

Filed Aug 6, 2024 · Engine · NY

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.

Filed Jul 30, 2024 · Engine · NJ

Auto Start/Stop. Car stopped and would not re-start while in an intersection. Restarted manually after a few minutes.

Filed Jun 20, 2024 · Engine · AZ

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.

Filed May 26, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · NY

Auto start stop feature did not restart engine after I stopped in traffic ahead of me on [XXX] in New Hyde Park. This has happened twice to me and a few times to my wife although she did not report them through this site. All this is after I had reported earlier the same incidents and Honda diagnosed it to the battery needing replacement after 2 years. There is a problem with this feature and the federal safety agency SHOULD ACT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed May 26, 2024 · Engine · NY

Auto start stop did not restart engine after stopping at red light.