NHTSA Complaint #11624863 — 2018 HONDA ODYSSEY

The front monocular camera (36160-THR-A03) completely stopped working. It is behind the rear view mirror, behind the front windshield. Errors displayed on dashboard indicating lane keep assist, forward collision warning, brake mitigation system, adaptive cruise control, and brake system lights turned on. (99% of the time). On occasion, transmission problem, blind spot detection, AND rear camera cross traffic detection (radar disabled) would also go on (3% of the time). While driving the vehicle on the freeway, the dashboard went completely BLACK for about 3-5 seconds, and I could not see my speed, fuel, odometer, and everything else. It came back on, but that really concerned me. I immediately opened a ticket with Honda Corporate. (Repair Diagnosis Request: 14552995). The root cause was not identified. However, some speculate a failing battery (low voltage) can trigger it. In my case, I replaced the battery first when the symptoms first started, but the issue did not resolve even after driving it 500+ miles. The oddest symptom is something I could not explain. Every Saturday (like clockwork because kids soccer practice), between 12pm-1pm local time (Eastern for me), the issue would go away completely and the camera (and all assistive features) would work completely normal. As soon as I power off/on the vehicle, the issue came back immediately… until the next Saturday. This happened 3 times, 3 weeks in a row. Makes me think there’s a software/firmware glitch. Honda did a goodwill with me and paid 50% of parts and labor. Honda (dealership) confirmed it was a part failure, and replaced the part and all issues went away. Given the front camera issue also affected the rear camera on occasion (cross traffic radar failure), and that part was already recalled, my opinion that when this part fails, it has greater implication to other safety features/electrical system. Due to this also being cost prohibitive, I suspect many will opt to not to fix it.