NHTSA Complaint #11413718 — 2018 HONDA ODYSSEY

OUR 2018 HONDA ODYSSEY ELITE HAS INTERMITTENT ISSUES WITH THE AUTO START/STOP FEATURE. AS CONTEXT, THE CAR ENGINE WILL AUTOMATICALLY STOP WHEN THE VEHICLE IS FULLY STOPPED, FOR EXAMPLE AT A RED LIGHT, AND A FEW OTHER CONDITIONS ARE MET (BRAKE PEDAL PRESSURE, BATTERY CHARGE, ELECTRICAL LOAD). OUR VEHICLE WHEN AUTO STOPPED MAY STALL WHEN ATTEMPTING TO RESUME DRIVING. WHEN THE DRIVER RELEASES THE BRAKE PEDAL AND PUSHES THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE CAR FAILS TO AUTO START, OR AUTO STARTS WITH WARNING MESSAGES. WHEN THE CAR FAILS TO START, A VARIETY OF WARNING MESSAGES WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THE DASHBOARD. REMEDIATION VARIES. THE CAR MAY RESPOND TO SHIFTING TO PARK AND PUSHING THE IGNITION START/STOP BUTTON TWICE. AT TIMES, THE CAR MAY NOT RESPOND TO SHIFTING TO PARK AND IGNITION BUTTON ACTIONS. THE ONLY FIX THEN SEEMS TO BE A 'HARD' SHUTOFF THAT REQUIRES OPENING THE DRIVER DOOR AND PUSHING THE IGNITION BUTTON, CLOSING THE DOOR, PUSHING THE IGNITION BUTTON, AND SHIFTING TO DRIVE. WHEN THE SYSTEM PARTIALLY FAILS, THE FRONT COLLISION WARNING/MITIGATION SYSTEM IS TEMPORARILY DISABLED. MY CAR IS CURRENT ON ALL RECALLS. I RECENTLY HAD DEALER SERVICE, AND THEY CONFIRMED THERE ARE NO KNOWN BULLETINS FOR THIS ISSUE. THE CAR IS CURRENT ON MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE AND IS OTHERWISE IN VERY GOOD OPERATION CONDITION. THIS SITUATION CAR BE QUITE STRESSFUL WHEN AT A BUSY INTERSECTION, OR WHEN TRYING TO PULL OUT TO MERGE INTO A MAJOR ROAD FROM A STOP. THIS FAILURE COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS IF YOU NEEDED TO MOVE THE VEHICLE QUICKLY, FOR EXAMPLE IF STOPPED NEAR A RAILROAD CROSSING. THE AUTO START/STOP SYSTEM IS ENABLED BY DEFAULT TO IMPROVE FUEL ECONOMY. IT CAN BE MANUALLY DISABLED, HOWEVER IT RESETS WITH EACH SHUTOFF. I WOULD PERMANENTLY DISABLE IT, HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE APPARENTLY FOR EPA REASONS. I HAVE VIDEOS SHOWING THIS BEHAVIOR.