NHTSA Complaint #11326397 — 2016 HONDA PILOT

I PURCHASED A PRE-OWNED 2016 HONDA PILOT TOURING FROM A DEALERSHIP IN OCTOBER OF 2018 THAT HAD ABOUT 25,000 MILES ON IT. THERE WERE NO ISSUES UNTIL ABOUT 4-5 MONTHS AGO WHEN THE CAR DIED AT A COMPLETE STOP WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO TURN GREEN. ON 5/25/2020, AT ABOUT 42,690 MILES, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. I WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP AT AN INTERSECTION BEHIND 4 CARS, WAITING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABOUT 30 SECONDS BEFORE THE AUTO IDLE STOP KICKED IN. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND THE CARS AHEAD OF ME STARTED TO MOVE, I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE. THEN IMMEDIATELY, THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS LIT UP AND THE ENGINE DIED. THIS IS THE SECOND OCCURRENCE OF THE SAME SCENARIO AT THE SAME LOCATION. THIS TIME, I REMEMBERED TO IMMEDIATELY TURN ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS, THEN I HAD TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK, STEP ON THE BRAKES AND RESTART THE ENGINE. I DO REMEMBER THAT IT TOOK ABOUT 30 SECONDS FOR ME TO RESTART THE CAR. I PRESSED THE ENGINE START BUTTON TWICE. BECAUSE I WAS ON A SLIGHT INCLINE HEADING UPHILL AND THE CARS BEHIND ME WERE AT A COMPLETE STOP, I WAS NOT IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING REAR ENDED. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED, I WAS AT THIS SAME STOPLIGHT BUT WITH ABOUT 8 CARS AHEAD OF ME. THERE IS A WAIT TIME OF ABOUT 1 MINUTE AT PEAK TRAFFIC FOR THE LIGHT TO CYCLE THROUGH. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET SERVICED ON 5/26/2020. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND I RODE WITH THE TECHNICIAN ON A TEST DRIVE BUT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. HONDA ENDED UP CHANGING THE BATTERY AT MY EXPENSE AS A POSSIBLE FIX, SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE WHAT WAS WRONG. AFTER LEAVING THE DEALERSHIP AND DRIVING THE CAR HOME, I NOTICED THE AUTO IDLE STOP SEEMED TO BE DISABLED, EVEN IF I DID NOT MANUALLY TURN IT OFF. PRIOR TO SERVICING, THE AUTO IDLE STOP WAS FULLY FUNCTIONAL. *TR *BF*JB