2025 Honda Passport

Still open engineering analysis · opened March 26, 2025

the engine and its cooling

On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. 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 AIS function engaged. The subject vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.NHTSA has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

The car has failed to start on numerous occasions. The car has stalled due to the auto start/stop and the dealership told me that the battery needs to fail testing in order to replace under warranty. This is a major safety risk and the dealership said it’s a known issue but they can’t fix it. A recall needs to be put out immediately.

NHTSA complaint 11757484. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

My car has 22,000 miles in it, and maybe around 19,000 miles my starter was already weak. I barely use my car, and one time I used it and my car won't start at all. I almost got stranded. Luckily it turned on, and I was near my house. This could've happen in the middle of nowhere and get me stranded. I don't feel safe driving this now if im not sure. I thought this was supposed to be a reliable car!

NHTSA complaint 11756761. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

22,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Honda Passport. The contact stated that while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle stalled. The message to start the vehicle was displayed. The vehicle was shifted into park(P), the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle was restarted. The contact stated that the failure had occurred ten times in the month of July. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty battery, and the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred approximately one week later. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately …

NHTSA complaint 11756798, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Over the past two weeks we have been experiencing issues with the Auto Idle Stop device on my 2025 Honda Passport. This has resulted in being temporarily stalled at several busy intersections. I have reported this issue to a Honda dealership where the issue was verified and it is scheduled for a Starter replacement when the part is received from back order.

NHTSA complaint 11756352. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Description: The vehicle suffers from an intermittent and dangerous "no-restart" defect involving the Auto-Idle Stop (AIS) system. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop and the automated stop-start system shuts off the engine to conserve fuel, the engine frequently fails to automatically restart upon release of the brake pedal. This results in a sudden, unexpected loss of engine power and complete immobilization in live traffic or intersections. ​This exact failure mode is the subject of an active federal Engineering Analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA EA25004, covering ~2.2 million Honda and Acura vehicles). Prior manufacturer service bulletins and …

NHTSA complaint 11755360, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

For several months before the failure, the Auto Idle Stop (engine stop-start) system became progressively slower to restart the engine after stopping. Each restart sounded sluggish, as though the starter was dragging, and the vehicle would remain stopped for several extra seconds before moving. This occurred repeatedly at traffic lights and other stops creating a safety concern as drivers behind me expected my vehicle to begin moving when traffic started. The unexpected delay increased the risk of being rear-ended or causing confusion in traffic. The failure eventually became complete. While stopped on a two-lane road waiting for another vehicle to turn left into a driveway, the engine shut …

NHTSA complaint 11753210, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.