2020 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system. had many of the other same symptoms that people reported. our car would go into idle mode and then it would not restart. I would have to turn the car off I tried to do various things just to get it started again. this happened one time was the exited the highway and also happened coming out of a car wash location. I took it to Honda and they said because of the idle stop functionality the starter went bad and they had to replace that. I was compensated some money from Honda but I believe I was only done so because they knew something was wrong and I really believe there should be a recall for this. it is completely unsafe and very scary when it happens especially in the middle of traffic. our starter was replaced because of this issue on November 5th 2024, but the symptoms had been going on for that whole calendar year prior

The idle start stop feature constantly doesn’t work. When stopped at a light or stop sign the engine will turn off and when I release the break it is supposed to reengage the engine. Instead it stalls out causing me to have to put the car in park and restart the car. There have been several incidents where this is during rush hour traffic causing traffic jams. Sometimes I have to wait a few minutes before it will actually turn over. The car is 5 years old and I have had the replace the battery twice and I have been told that this feature puts a lot of pressure on the battery. Never can the dealership recreate the issue.

Out of nowhere I got a bunch of errors involving the addaptive cruise, lane keep assist, auto highbeams, collision avoidance, and the brake system light came on. the van has under 40K miles on it. From a quick search I can see that this is a VERY common issue.

Over 8 multiple safety warnings turned up on dashboard on many occasions while driving. Also, vehicle fails to issue a code on OBD and Honda rep claims they’ve never seen anything like this after showing them video proof of multiple occurrences. I’ve seen many complaints online. My wife drives this vehicle with young children and doesn’t feel safe while driving it because of it stating multiple safety warnings.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while reversing, the contact became aware that the center display failed to display an image of the rear of the vehicle, compromising the back over prevention system. The message "Network connection lost" was displayed. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V431000 (Back Over Prevention); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 40,000.

On 3/3/2025, the multipurpose camera started failing and I was seeing warning lights all tied to this system. Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Collision Mitigation System Problem, Road Departure Mitigation System Problem, Auto High-Beam Problem, and Break System lights all came on. The problem was confirmed by the Honda dealership claiming there was an internal short that caused the issue. The component hasn't been inspected beyond this initial diagnosis. My family's safety is at risk with this malfunction in the event that we need assistance with breaking in an emergency situation, the vehicle can no longer take steps to prevent the car from drifting outside its lane and the high beams will no longer automatically turn off because the car can no longer sense oncoming traffic. Our insurance appraiser verified that this wasn't the cause of any collision, and the dealer has stated that this system should have lasted longer than expected.

I was stopped at a light at a busy intersection and when I went to drive when the light turned green, my van did nothing. It had turned off the engine when I stopped at the intersection. I tried to switch gears and it wouldn’t change. I was kind of panicking because I was holding up a ton of traffic and my toddler was in the backseat so I can’t remember exactly what was happening on my dash. I would turn the car on and off but I could not get it back into drive as the engine would not restart, but all of the electronics were still working. Finally someone offered to jump the car with one of those portable battery jumpers and that worked. I drove straight to Autozone to see if it was something their machines would pick up on but they couldn’t find anything wrong. The dealer also couldn’t find anything wrong. I believe this is related to the auto idle stop feature.

My 2020 Honda Odyssey died at a stop light while driving on 5/12/2023. The auto on/off feature caused the van to turn off at a stop light and then there was not enough power in the battery to start the car again. It had to be towed to the Honda dealership where they could not diagnose the issue. They said the alternator was fine and the battery charged up fine. So no root cause found. Then 6/26/2023 - I drove the van for an hour to the airport and back, parked it in the garage (engine off) for about 10 minutes, and the van struggled to start but did on the second attempt. Then on 7/7/2023 - my wife took the van to the store, came back home and parked it in the garage with the engine off. She came back 5 minutes later to leave again and the van wouldn’t start. The battery was drained. Now it’s sitting on a trickle charger just so I can take it into the dealer. On 7/10/23 - I had the battery replaced and the Dealer did some sort of warranty work to help and that corrected the issue. UNTIL it died again On 11/27/23, I had to get yet again another battery as the same issues began happening and it was deemed a “bad battery”. Throughout 2024 and now into 2025 I continually have the same issues where the vehicle will stutter but still managed to kick back on after an auto shutoff. I have been to the dealer countless times and they continually tell me there isn’t anything wrong. Something is happening that causes this - whether is an electrical parasitic drain or something else. I have heard that other vehicles this has happened to but Honda claims nothing. I also had a case opened with Honda on this that never went anywhere - Case #13952151 There is clearly something wrong and not being able to diagnose it is even more frustrating given the issue. If it drains while driving - I CANNOT DO ANYTHING. I can’t even put it in Neutral to move it manually because everything is electronic!!

I am filing this complaint regarding a serious safety defect that persists in my Honda vehicle following Honda's PGM-FI Idle Stop software update. Recently, I experienced a dangerous incident on [XXX] outside Washington, DC. My vehicle completely stalled in heavy traffic, leaving me unable to start my car on the highway. The vehicle would not restart for approximately one minute, creating a significant safety hazard as traffic moved around me. Of particular concern was that during this incident it is not clear whether or not the airbag system would deploy since the car was off. This is a major safety issue and, reviewing complaints online, I am not the only customer to experience this, despite having received the software update. This is not an isolated incident. The vehicle's auto start-stop feature continues to malfunction, repeatedly shutting down when it goes into idle. This issue is also causing significant battery drain, making the vehicle increasingly unreliable and unsafe to operate. Worse, Honda indicates that this feature can act up when the battery is low, but the feature itself drains the battery. You can turn the feature off every time you get in the car, but this is not a fix. I have been informed by Honda there is no way to permanently disable the feature. I strongly urge NHTSA to investigate this matter. The current recall repair has proven insufficient to resolve the safety defect, and the malfunction creates unacceptable risks for me and my family. This issue requires immediate attention to prevent potential accidents and ensure the safety of all road users. Please require Honda to implement a repair that allows consumers to permanently disable this feature. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The multifunction forward looking camera in the top of the windshield developed an "internal fault" and either needs replacement or these safety features will fail to work. These safety features allow me to avoid accidents. The problem has been confirmed by the dealer. There are warning lamps that state that these features are no longer working.