NHTSA Complaint #11685577 — 2020 HONDA ODYSSEY

On [XXX], while driving my wife to the RDU airport, our Odyssey's engine failed to restart after an Auto Idle Stop (AIS) at a busy intersection in Greensboro. Instead of starting, the dashboard displayed a Collision Mitigation System Problem alert, the Drive ("D") indicator light started flashing, and then the dashboard displayed a "Shifting to Park: Apply Brake Pedal" message. We were stranded at a busy stoplight, at the front of a dedicated left-turn lane, unable to drive or shift to park as instructed. The only way to resolve the issue was to hold the Start/Stop button for several seconds to shut the vehicle off. And the vehicles behind us had to swerve around us because our malfunctioning vehicle was blocking the lane. This problem has recurred semi-regularly since [XXX], forcing us to manually disable the Auto Idle Stop feature on every drive to prevent being stranded in traffic. An independent mechanic found no stored diagnostic codes but identified relevant Honda Technical Service Bulletins (23-008 and 23-009) addressing similar AIS failures. A Honda service center misdiagnosed the issue as a faulty battery, but subsequent testing by the independent shop confirmed the battery was in excellent working order. The actual Auto Idle Stop malfunction remains undiagnosed. The vehicle and its Auto Idle Stop system remain available for inspection. This issue appears to be part of the ongoing NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25-004. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)