NHTSA Complaint #11543594 — 2018 HONDA ODYSSEY

The power tailgate on my 2018 Honda Odyssey EX-L started opening and closing on its own, seemingly at random. The latch would not cinch and the gauge cluster reported an opening attempt while driving on the highway. This failure cascaded and ended up bringing every device on the B-CAN network down, including the instrument cluster, heated seats, power sliding doors, ADAS systems including FCW/LDW/LKA and various telltales and buttons on the dash. Upon disassembly of the interior to expose the affected controllers, I discovered that the power tailgate controller was full of water. There was enough water in it to cause arcing of the power and CAN terminals. I traced the ingress path upwards and discovered a crack in the seam sealer on the roof, underneath the left roof rack rail at the very rear of the vehicle. Water enters under the roof rail, drips down the door hinge, then drips down the body to the cup holder and directly into the controller. To remediate I had to replace the damaged controller and apply seam sealer underneath the roof rail at a cost of approximately $200. I called the local dealer to attempt to report this to Honda but was unable to find the appropriate person. Over a dozen people have reported this issue online and there are pictures of the issue. I posted pictures to one of the links referenced below and have additional pictures. I believe this is a manufacturing defect and not caused by age or use of the vehicle and there is strong evidence it affects a lot of people. The issue will be particularly prevalent when the vehicle is parked outside on a downward incline. I work in a related industry on embedded devices that must meet functional safety standards, and I believe an issue like this would lead to a mandatory safety recall. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)