NHTSA Complaint #11469001 — 2016 HONDA PILOT

The Pilot has an auto start/stop function that turns off the engine when the car is stopped/idling. When the driver releases the break pedal, the engine is supposed to turn back on. The engine would very frequently fail to turn back on after idling. This happened many times at traffic lights and while stopped in traffic. It's much worse than stalling out with a manual transmission vehicle, because the engine does not turn back on quickly. The whole system (including battery power to the car) needs to be turned off and turned on again. This is a safety issue because the engine has failed to start while in traffic on the interstate, where cars are quickly accelerating, and the failure for the car to accelerate with traffic could lead to a collision. It also poses the risk of leaving the driver stuck in a dangerous location without the ability to move the car. I took the car to the dealership and they told me my battery was dying, and they charged me to replace the battery. So far, I haven't experienced anymore engine stalling with the new battery. The car has not been inspected by anyone other than the local Honda dealership. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. The failure first started in 2020, but only happened a few times. Since then, the problem increased in frequency, until I finally took it to the dealership and had the battery replaced.