Over 2 million Honda vehicles under investigation for engine restart failure: What to know
FILE - The logo of the Honda Motor Company is displayed on the exterior of a Honda car on Jan. 2, 2025 in Somerset, England. (Photo by Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it opened a preliminary investigation of certain Honda vehicles after reports of the engine failing to restart on its own after a complete stop at a traffic light or intersection.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) said it has received more than 1,000 complaints overall about the issue, some of which allege that a jump-start was required for the vehicle to continue.
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Here’s what to know:
Honda probe over engine restart failure
What we know:
The probe centers on several vehicles, including 2016-2025 Honda Pilot, 2018-2025 Honda Odyssey, 2019-2025 Honda Passport, 2020-2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2015-2025 Acura TLX, and 2016-2025 Acura MDX, according to an announcement on the NHTSA website. The investigation was opened on March 26. It focuses on Honda’s Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system, which automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a complete stop to improve fuel efficiency, then restarts when the driver is ready to go in motion again.
What they're saying:
"The complaints allege that 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," the announcement states. "Some of the complainants allege that a jump start was required for the vehicle to continue on the journey."
By the numbers:
An estimated 2,209,466 Honda vehicles are under scrutiny, the announcement says.
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Dig deeper:
ODI has received at least 1,384 reports of the issue, including four reported incidents that led to a crash or vehicle fire, and two reports of injuries.
In January 2023, Honda released service bulletins to address the failure to restart issue in several impacted vehicles. But in the most recent NHTSA announcement, the ODI said it "continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed."
How car recalls get reported
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officially start car recalls after receiving complaints from consumers.
What's next:
The NHTSA’s announcement said an engineering analysis was being opened "to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy." The agency says it aims to complete such an analysis in 18 months and is done to determine if a recall is warranted.
ODI also expanded the scope of the evaluation to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s previous service bulletins, as well as newer model year vehicles, "which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign."
The Source: Information used in this story came from a document posted on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration website about the preliminary evaluation, which began on March 26, 2025. It was reported from Cincinnati.