Honda Pilot owners complaining engines won’t restart, agency says

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating complaints regarding engine failures connected to the auto-start and stop functions of some Honda vehicles.

In a document dated June 3, the NHTSA said it had received 221 complaints but no crashes, fires or injuries had been reported.

The complaints “allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the Auto Start/Stop function engaged,” the agency said. In some cases, a jump start was required for the car to restart.

The cars affected were specifically Honda Pilot models made in 2016 through 2020, the document from NHTSA added.

The Hill has reached out to Honda for comment.

At the end of last year, Honda and the NHTSA announced a recall of 724,000 Honda SUVs and pickup trucks because of a safety issue with the vehicles’ hoods.

“Gaps in the front seal between the hood and grill allow for air entry, potentially resulting in hood vibration at highway speeds. Over time the hood vibration could form stress fractures along the hood latch striker and separate the hood latch striker from the hood,” the American Honda Motor Co. said in a statement.

At the time of that recall, documents from the NHTSA indicated that “as of November 19, Honda has received 116 warranty claims and no reports of crashes or injuries related to this issue.”