Honda Pilot SUV stopped at a red light? Be forewarned—it may need a jump start to get going again. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has already received 221 complaints this week (!) about the failure of this vehicle’s stop-start feature. After coming to a complete stop at an intersection or traffic light, owners of this particular Honda couldn’t get their motors to start. (And it ain’t much of a “feature” if only the stop part works.)
An investigation of some 195,000 Pilots is now underway by the NHTSA, the US government agency tasked with road safety. The probe covers this model for the years 2016 to 2020. Meant to be a fuel-saver, the stop-start system appears to simply fail to restart for some of these SUVs, in many cases requiring a jump start.
Honda Pilot Stop-Start Glitch: Is it Dangerous?
Is the Honda Pilot stop-start glitch a danger? Apparently not. To date there are no crash or injury reports—though lots of complaints—as a result of these mechanical failures. But that doesn’t mean these things couldn’t happen in future.
Honda Pilots under investigation have 3.5-liter V6 engines and nine-speed automatic transmissions. Honda, according to documents issued by the NHTSA, notes that it may not be only the Pilots with the glitchy stop-start issues, but other models with these same engines and transmissions. Such models include the Honda Odyssey minivan, the Acura TLX sedan, and the Acura MDX SUV.
