2017 Honda Pilot Complaint Log

I was at a stop sign. Auto engine shut off on car kicked in and automatically turned the engine off. When I released the brake to proceed driving, the car stalled and automatically went into accessory mode and nearly caused the person behind me to hit me. This is the 2nd time it’s happened in the last month. I had to put car in park, keep attempting to get vehicle to start again (finally was successful) and then proceeded to drive home.

When auto idle is engaged, the car SHOULD start when the brake is released after stopping. We noticed problems when we released the brake. The radio and A/C shut down and quickly come back on again. So release brake, radio and A/C shut down and then radio and A/C come back. Reported to Jeff Wyler Honda and I believe I have a video. As of yesterday, 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. You have to put your foot on the brake, shift to park and restart. This occurred twice in two days. Once at a traffic light and once after a traffic jam on the highway. It is scary especially the first time it occurs. It has the potential of leaving the vehicle in a stopped position in dangerous locations if it can’t be restarted, I.e. the highway. I’ve read that a jump is sometimes required.

auto stop/start feature. we have to insure to turn it off when we drive to avoid it not working properly...stops completely and we have restart the car manually and it sometimes seems it doesn't want to restart. if it does work, power to other systems, radio, all blink off then on. we don't trust this feature and thought it was battery issue but shop tested battery and no issues with it. we have been lucky when this has happened, with only one car behind us when it failed to restart in the city at night. my wife was scared. i had to talk her out of the situation on my phone, the other car was patient. this could cause an accident. this has been happening since 2018 and we only avoid by shutting the feature off. honda needs to reimburse us for this worthless and dangerous feature. they also should allow us to turn it off since it is a safety issue

Instrument Cluster goes blank, audio unit goes black, back up camera & sensors not working at times. My audio unit was replaced on 5/10/21, after experiencing these system for several months. The new Display audio 39540-TG7-A42RM worked approximately 2 weeks before symptoms started appearing again, with the most severe popping sound that occurred 7/07/22. Display was sluggish for about a week, then a loud startling popping sound came from inside the dash while driving on the highway yesterday, followed by a crack under the right navigation vent trim. The display turned black, tried to reboot, & was very sluggish, and slow to respond. Then the engine transmission jumped, while this is all going on. I was on the highway, and thought I was going to crash, due to my vehicle losing function. The vehicle “jumped” like the transmission was slipping, so much so, that I thought my car was going to lose control. I had to turn around to head home fearing I could lose control of my vehicle, as the navigation display would freeze at times. Today, the display will boot up slowly, with just the lower left corner only, then slowly returning to normal. This happens when I start my car each time, and sometimes while I am driving. I have also noticed that the transmission will slip out of park to neutral at times, when I push the button to Park, then rolls forward. I’ve been to Kunes Country Honda numerous times, of which they say there is no fix. I currently have an appointment for 7/12/22 that I made last week before it actually popped so bad, because it was sluggish, and before that, I could tell it was a huge issue because now it is sluggish every time I start my vehicle. My understanding is that Honda will only replace this unit with the same, defective unit. This is an unacceptable alternative. I still have an extended warranty on my car for 9,000 miles. I am currently thinking its the module now.

The problem is related to the start/stop system. When the car is stopped in a red light or crossing the system turns the engine off. When the breaks are released and the system tries to restart the engine, the engine does not start and the car goes off. The panel turns off. After 2-3 seconds the panel lights goes. Pushing the start button, the car's engine turns on on the majority of times. Around 10% the car engine does not start when the button is pushed for the first time. Sometimes is needed to push the button 3-4 times.

Engine start stop will sometimes cut the car off completely. You have to manually restart the car. All the electrical goes dead when this happens

Vehicle stalls in the middle of intersection while attempting to auto restart with the auto on/off feature. This has been happening since we boughe the vehicle new in 2017. Dealer said they could not simulate. Happens a few times a day.

The Idle-Stop system shuts off when the SUV is stopped for two or more seconds. There are times when I release the break pedal after several seconds or more and the car engine does Not restart on its owLast episode 7/2/22

--AUTO ENGINE IDLE STOP SYSTEM. Yes, available for inspection upon request. --SAFETY CONCERN- Engine stalls in the middle of traffic... causing other traffic behind car to become angry and try and pass the STALLED car. As they attempt to pass, they endanger other traffic. Usually happens during heavy traffic, breakdown then needs driver to restart car completely in mid traffic and missing or heavy delay of green light which could itself potentially cause an accident. --The STALL happens constantly 1 once a month, but not able to reproduce every time car is stopped... therefore can not be repeated upon inspection. Happens at the worst time, during traffic stops. --Complaint was made during oil change, but dealer found no problem. No warning lights prior to stall. Problem has happened and reoccured for almost two years.

When stopping for more than a few seconds auto-idle stop turns off the vehicle completely and does not turn back on by pressing the gas pedal. Car must then be completely turned off, back on and shifted into drive to continue moving.

The auto start/stop system on the Honda Pilot is failing at intersections causing the car to stall out and be stuck in traffic. Dealer and Honda does not have remedy for this issue. This is a known problem that is well documented by other owners. This is now happening about three times per week and I am worried that it will cause a major traffic accident and or death if I get stuck in the middle of an intersection.

I was stopped at an intersection and when I got a green light and stepped on the gas my car stalled, I drifted into the intersection and braked and I was then stuck there bc my car would not restart. It took a couple minutes and it finally did. Luckily it wasn't a busy intersection and there wasn't an accident. I had 3 small children with me, it was very scary.

I moved into the left lane to merge onto another road. I had to come to a stop because a car had was stopped ahead of me. After that car moved, I lifted my foot from the brake and pushed the gas to make my left hand turn. The car didn’t move. A light flashed on the car that said something like “to start engine push brake and push start” I looked down at the gear shifter and noticed it was on N. I tried to hit “drive.” The car flashed the sign again. I put the car in park. I tried to put the car back in drive. The car would not change gears. I put on my hazard lights, turned off the car, and restarted it. The car transitioned from park to drive. There have been many instances where I’m merging onto a roadway or slowing down to turn left where the car hesitates. I will be braking. I lift my foot from the brake to press the gas pedal and nothing happens. The car moves because it’s going downhill, but the gas pedal is not causing the car to move. When the car does finally move, it moves with a huge lurch. There have been times that I'm unable to move my car with the gas pedal while crossing traffic. It's terrifying and Honda says that they are unaware of the problem and unable to replicate it.

The auto start and stop engine feature leaves the car stalled and unable to restart until multiple attempts. We have been stuck in the middle of a highway multiple times with hazards on trying to restart

When breaking at a stop. Entire car shuts off instead of just the engine. Turns off and have to restart car while in traffic. Has occurred 4-5 times so far.

The contact owns a 2017 Honda Pilot. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary at a traffic light, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the battery to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced three times within four years. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

The Idle/Stop function stopped operating at a stop light. The car completely shut off. My wife pressed the brake and ignition but the car did not immediately restart. After a few long minutes, the function worked. This is the second incident with the Honda Pilot. In May 2022, the vehicle stopped at an intersection and cut off. I took it to the Honda Service and had diagnostics ran. I was charged for the test but the Service Department did not find anything wrong. They recommended a new battery which I purchased. This was in May 2022. There is definitely an issue. No use taking it back to the dealer, they don't know the source of the problem.

The auto idle stop function caused the vehicle to stop running, needing a full shutdown and restart. This happened on busy roadways, and it has happened two times with this vehicle, one time each in different years. I think the first time was in 2021 and the second was definitely in June 2022. We have had this vehicle into a dealership multiple times attempting to resolve the issue. Each time the battery has been replaced due to low voltage, and they were able to reproduce the issue at least once. The most recent time I was informed that Honda released a service bulletin recommending a change to engine compression that may be straining the battery when restarting the engine, but I am currently waiting on Honda to decide if they will cover the cost of this service before agreeing to it. We are currently operating the vehicle with the auto idle stop disabled. Other symptoms included the electrical system blinking off and on when restarting the engine after a stop. This was reproduceable after 3-4 consecutive stops in a short period of time, such as urban driving with traffic lights. This first appeared 3-6 months after a new battery is installed.

Driving on the highway, came to a stop due to high volume of traffic, car stopped completely and auto/start turned off the engine itself like it should when brake is stepped on all the way, traffic started to move, let go of the brake to have engine turn back on like it normally would, however this time the engine did not start back on itself, tried to step on the brake and would not allow to press on it. Hit the engine start button light would come on however brake still would not allow to be stepped on, its like it is stuck. Tried this for about 5min and suddenly I was able to press on the brake and start the engine by hitting the start engine button. The component that failed is the engine, auto/start feature, power train, and electrical system. This was a big safety issue and yes it would not only put myself at risk but others safety at risk too. No the problem have not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer No the vehicle or component has not been inspected by anyone No there was no warning when it first appear, it just happen.

It took my Pilot into the Honda dealership because the car repeatedly stalled at when the auto engine idle is engaged and I let off the brake, putting mine and my families in serious danger. Honda originally said they couldn't duplicate the issue or figure out why it was happening and sent me on my way. When it happened again, I took it back to Honda and was told it was the battery. I was hopeful that this was going to solve the problem, but it has not. It continues to stall intermittently if I forget to manually turn off the feature after starting the car. After searching the internet, I found that this is a common problem and that Honda is not doing anything to permanently solve the issue. Please investigate this before someone is killed!

I own a 2017 Honda Pilot Touring addition and recently learned there is an investigation on the auto start/stop feature. We have experienced the vehicle stalling too many times to count. However, it does seem to be getting more frequent as the vehicle gets older. When the vehicle comes to a stop the feature will engage and two things may happen: 1. The vehicle will immediately die causing us to put the car in park and restart or 2. The vehicle will stall/die when in the movement of taking my foot off the brake and pressing the gas pedal. On some occasions we have had to try multiple times to restart the vehicle. The most memorable stalls happened during busy traffic and of course caused a panic as the time to restart feels like minutes when it’s really only seconds. When this happens it has caused us fear of being rear-ended as there has been many times we braced for this as we saw an oncoming car from behind. Our local Honda dealer (Basney Honda) has attempted everything to fix but you can feel they are growing impatient with us as we demand the vehicle to be repaired.

At least once a week the vehicle shuts off and don’t restart at stop light/ sign.

The engine with shuts off normally when I come to a stop when I have the system engaged. The problems begin when I take my foot off the break expecting the engine to start up again. What happens consistently (though not all the time) is that when I take my foot off the brake, the engine shuts off, shifts itself into Park, and I have trouble getting the engine to start up again. When I disengage the system, which I do practically every time I drive the car now, everything works fine. The dealer din't find anything when they ran a diagnostic, so I'm at a loss.

I was at a stop light on a very busy roadway and when I let off the brake to start going, my engine wouldn’t start and completely shut down. I was using the engine idle option. I couldn’t do anything- my car just stalled. Some lights came on the dashboard. I tried to step on the brake to either change gears or shut the car off but it was like I pushing against a brick! The brake wouldn’t move. Eventually I was able to shut the car off completely. After a few minutes, I was able to turn the car on but it didn’t fully turn the engine on. After a few more minutes, I was able to turn the car like normal. I took my car to the Honda dealership near me but they couldn’t find any problems and said they hadn’t heard of this problem. I recommended that they Google it because I had seen a lot of complaints. I’m now nervous to drive my car!!

I come to a full stop at a red light at a busy intersection. The auto engine idle shut off engages. When traffic begins to move I lift my foot off the brake. Usually this restarts the car. However, the engine turns off as if it is in Accessory mode. I try to put the car in Park and Turn Off and Turn On, but it requires me waiting a minute or two before I can restart the car. This problem has happened many times and I have reported it to the Curry Honda service in Yorktown Heights, NY (10598) many times. The are aware of the problem and says that there is no fix.

Twice now and it seems to be worse in the summer when the air conditioning is running the auto shut off at a stoplight fails to restart the engine and the car dies at an intersection. This feature is dangerous and very frustrating to the point where I turn this feature off every time I get in the car now. This is happened both to me and to my 16-year-old son. Many times when it tries to reengage it has a hard time starting right back up. This is in addition to the two times it completely died.

The start/stop feature on our 2017 Honda Pilot Touring has failed continuously since we owned it. The vehicle stalls when trying to re-start from the traffic signal, leaving angry drivers behind us. We now turn it off to prevent recurrence. Our local Honda dealer in Fort Walton Beach has changed a switch, but the problem continues. Their next "guess" is to change the battery, which tests good otherwise

When the engine stops when the brake is applied, there are times when the engine shuts down completely, restarting electrical systems and not starting up again. This incredibly scary and dangerous. I have brought it to the dealer who has no idea how to fix it. I read an article that this is something the NHTSA is investigating and am very relieved that there is finally some attention being paid to this problem. I wanted to log my vehicle as being effected also.

The auto start\stop feature doesn't work and is extremely unsafe and dangerous. I will be sitting at a stop light and when the light turns green I take my foot off the break and the car will completely turn off and error messages will appear. Multiple times it has completely turned off the car and the car couldn't be restarted right away, leaving us stranded in the middle of the street trying to restart the car while cars are going by me. It takes at least a minute for the car to restart once it turns itself off. This has happened at least 10 times. We always turn the feature off when we drive now but sometimes we just forget because it's extremely inconvenient and difficult to remember that we have to turn off the feature every single time we start the car. When we took it to the dealership mechanic they told us we needed a new battery and that would fix the problem. Our battery was still at 50% and yet we still changed it but the problem has never gone away.

Engine doesn't starts automatically when using auto stop feature. It has happen multiple times and decided to turn off the feature completely. What happens is when using auto stop feature and if the pilot is at signal light it stops the engine. but when you lift up the break instead of vehicle to starts back up it doesn't and in fact we have to press start engine to turn on the pilot. taked to dealer about it but they say nothing is wrong with the car and never heard about it. in fact the battery seems fine to as per the dealer.

I would like to formally report an issue with my 2017 Honda Pilot Touring's auto stop/start feature. I have had several scary incidents where my Honda would not restart at an intersection or on the highway due to high traffic and needed to stop. This is very scary and it is not easy to restart with the fear of getting rear ended by vehicles approaching. With the push button start feature it can be very difficult under stress to re-start your vehicle when the auto stop/start features stalls and needs to be restarted. My wife refuses to drive my car and the inability to permanently turn off the feature creates risk if you don't manually turn it off after starting the vehicle each time.

On multiple occasions with the auto engine restart engaged, the engine has shut off while stopped at a stoplight and then failed to restart the vehicle upon attempting to go. On some occasions, the power blips but the engine restarts. On other occasions, the power blips and the car stalls, leading to having to fully shut the car down and turn it back on, with a successful restart. On a few occasions, this has taken multiple tries leading to the vehicle sitting at a green traffic light for over 15-20 seconds while attempting to restart the engine. This is a safety issue as I am now scared to leave the auto-restart feature engaged for fear of being stuck at a green light and rear-ended. I have tried to turn the feature off, but there is no way to disable it permanently… instead, I have to remember to turn it off at the beginning of each drive. This issue has been ongoing for over two years. I have replaced the battery which did not solve the issue. It has not been looked at by the manufacturer, police, or insurance.

My 2017 Honda Pilot Elite is equipped with an auto idle/stop functionality. I depress the brake all the way (at a full stop) and the engine temporarily turns off. Much like the other 200+ complaints you received, I'm also experiencing the issue where the car stalls after I remove my foot from the brake (so that the engine turns on again). Sometimes the electrical system "resets" (sounds like everything clicks off and then on again), but recently I have had the car stall (more than once). Additionally, the other day when this happened the car "shuddered." A couple of times I've had to turn off the car completely and then turn it on again. Fortunately, I have not needed a jumpstart.

Vehicle will stall out at an intersection, or stop sign after the auto restart shuts the car off. When I lift my foot off the brake for the gas peddle, the entire car stalls and I get a series of warning lights and messages about shifting the car into gear before restarting. Despite attempts to restart the car, I'm generally stranded for 1-2 mins. I brought the issue up to the dealership last time I brought the car in. After 1 test drive they claimed to have found no issues, and that if it happened again I should "film it happening with my phone". This is now the 4th time this has happened within the last 6 months.

stop/start functionality stalls the engine, forcing me to restart it

When at a stoplight, auto idle causes car to completely stall and shut down and won’t restart unless car turned completely off and try to restart again. This has caused me to be placed in some dangerous situations where I have almost been rear ended from behind. Dealership says that it’s the battery but from hearing from multiple people, this has not fixed the problem. It seems like it’s something electrical with auto idle stop feature.

This car has an automatic start/stop feature/function that shuts the engine off when the brake is fully pressed. The purpose is to save fuel when stopped at a red light or in heavy traffic. As soon as you release the brake, the engine is supposed to restart automatically. Unfortunately whats been happening is either the engine does not restart or it begins to restart and then stalls. In either case, the car needs to then be put into park, fully turned off, and then restarted. In most cases, it more an annoyance for everyone involved. However, what has happened a number of times is that we’ve moved into an intersection to make a left, stopped for oncoming traffic to pass, and then started our turn. The car has stalled then. Luckily there has been no accidents, but that is by luck. As the lights change, we have to quickly restart and get out if the intersection. I’ve searched online for a solution. Many people have post about the same issue in various forums. Many have also taken their car to Honda dealership for service, but there has been no consistent response as to the cause or a solution. In more recent models, Honda has changed how this feature works, but they have not provided any solution for models preceding the change. Thank for any resolution you can bring to us the many others impacted by this point problem. FYI this is not an issue on a single date; it is inconsistent but recurring.

Auto engine idle stop not working correctly. Have seen others online with same issue.

I own a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite, with 65000 miles, that was purchased new. The vehicle has repeatedly stalled at various point of operation. Upon stalling, every light appears to activate on the dashboard. The vehicle remains stalled until the computer "recycles." I can usually restart the vehicle within 2+ minutes. The dealer, located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, has identified the vehicle’s stop-start as the problem. The dealer suggested to turn off the stop-start while driving the vehicle but that is problematic as this needs to be done each time the vehicle engine is turned off and then restarted. The dealer, upon inspection, found some errors in the ECU, but none that would create this problem. The dealer is unable to recreate the problem and admitted that many Honda Pilots have this issue. To possibly fix the problem, the dealer suggested a valve replacement at a cost of $1000+ and a new battery, even though the battery has been tested and is fine. These vehicles are dangerous, and Honda has done nothing to correct the problem.

Hello, I was driving down the road and my collision mitigation light quickly flashed on and then went off with no objects in front of me or bad weather or rain. Also, my vehicle felt like it tapped the brakes and the steering wheel slightly jerked a little. It was maybe a half second long and then went back to normal. I kept driving and the vehicle did it once again and then 2 more times. The last time I was pulling up to a light when it did it. I should have pulled over first but I decided to turn the vehicle off and turn it back on to maybe reset the computer. Also, I know the car does this anyway when I have my auto start/stop button on. I usually turn it off when I drive. I've had the vehicle since 2018 with no issues before so I was pretty confident it would immediately start. When I tried to turn the vehicle back on, it had completely lost all power and wouldn't start or give me any sign of power. The scary thing was that I was in rush hour traffic with my young kids in the car and I couldn't put my caution lights on or put the car in gear to push it to the side of the road. Again, I should have pulled over first, but there was no logical reason the vehicle wouldn't start. I put the hood up but nobody behind me could see the hood up. I'm stuck in the middle lane of traffic and had to get out of the car to signal traffic to go around me. I checked my key fob batteries and the vehicle battery connectors and everything was fine. I kept trying to use the key fob to unlock the doors every minute or so to see if I could get any kind of power, as well as try to start the vehicle again. After about 7 minutes or so I regained power and was able to drive home, which was about a half mile away. A message on my dash screen displayed "Anti theft System" "This system has lost power. Push and hold the power button for more than 2 seconds to enable the system". I did this and cleared it. I think the Anti Theft System turning on when it shouldn't is the real issue.

We have had several instances when our Honda shuts off and will not restart. Several times we either a) have to leave it sit for hours b) press really hard on the brake pedal and hold the start button down for an extended period of time c) get the other set of keys which seems to then allow the vehicle to start or d) jump it to reset the issue so it will start and run. We also think this is somehow tied to the auto start stop or restart function.

The engine won’t restart on its own from a complete stop, have to disable the auto engine shutdown due to concerns of car not re-starting.

My 2017 Pilot has a "feature" where the engine will turn itself off when fully stopped and in drive. Sometimes the car won't restart when you remove your foot from the brake, and sometimes it struggles to restart. I have been stuck at an intersection before and had to restart it myself manually. When this happens, it also gives me a warning that one of the safety features has a problem (I'm not sure which one, maybe collision warning?) I've started to simply turn off this "feature" when I start the car, but sometimes I forget and then it happens again.

The auto stop/start feature does not always restart the car when I release the brake after stopping. Mostly in town at stop signs and red lights but recently it happened while I was in stop and go traffic on an interstate. At all locations I was blocking traffic (flashers on of course) and hoping no one hit me while I sat for a few minutes trying to restart my car. From experience I have found that I have to release the brake and push my engine start button a couple times to completely turn off everything then push the brake and button to start the car. A few times it I had to do that cycle several times before it actually restarted. Meanwhile I am in the middle of the road completely blocking traffic. My dealer was “unable to replicate” so my solution has been to turn off that feature. Unfortunately, auto stop/start is automatically on every time I start my car … so this happens when I forget to turn it off. There are times that it works and the car restarts but even then the electrical system shuts down. Radio turns off and back on as the car is restarting and dash lights turn off then on, which reminds me to once again turn the feature off. I have had a lot of electrical issues with this car due to a sunroof leak so I chalked it up to my ongoing electrical problems until I saw the article today about other complaints from people having the same issue. The date listed below was the most recent incident but it has occurred many times.

The automatic start/stop sometimes fails to restart and car stalls. The car must be shut off and turned back on. At other times, the engine shuts down immediately upon stopping, such as at a 4 way stop or in traffic. I must pump the breaks to restart. These are intermittent problems that sometimes go away on their own and it has not been able to be replicated when in the shop. No warnings or engine lights appear as a result of this problem. Because it is intermittent and can happen in traffic, it is dangerous. This problem has been recurring for months.

Auto start stop - car turns off and will not restart via auto start/stop system at red lights and stop signs. This is extremely dangerous in a heavy traffic situation. The system, if doesn’t completely shut down is very delayed in responding to turn back on. I’ve had this issue since I purchased the car. Dealership had no idea how to fix. They replaced the fuel injectors, thinking it would solve issue, which didn’t help. I still own this car. 75,000 miles and this still happens.

The car auto stop/start feature is failing to restart the engine when coming to a complete stop, sometimes while in a turn lane turning left with oncoming traffic.

This vehicle has the auto engine stop when sitting at a stop light. Occasionally when the engine is restarted after such a stop, it will shut down rather than restart. This is an intermittent problem, but it is dangerous when traffic is waiting for the engine to be restarted.

I have taken my car 5 times to the dealership due to it stalling at red lights or when stopped. This happens with the idle engine is engaged. It has almost caused wrecks due to shutting off and not turning back on. In addition, we are now having to replace the keyless access control system due to electrical issues that caused a severe crackling, alarm sounding, immobilizer activated. the only way the car wouldnt alarm was if it is unlocked.

Periodically, while using automatic engine idle stop, when I release the brake to restart the engine, the engine will shut off and not turn on. Only pushing and holding the start button will restart the engine after about a minute. Also, more often, when the engine restarts, all electronics will flicker off then on.