2025 Honda Odyssey Complaints

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 08/18/2026

I purchased a brand-new 2025 Honda Odyssey in June 2024. The vehicle currently has approximately 18,000 miles. The Auto Idle Stop system has repeatedly shut the engine off at traffic lights and failed to restart it. When this occurs, the engine does not crank, the dashboard remains illuminated, the radio and other accessories shut down, and the display instructs the driver to press the brake to start the engine. Pressing the brake and attempting to restart the vehicle does not work. The vehicle may remain disabled for several minutes before eventually restarting normally. This has happened multiple times. The vehicle has been taken to Honda dealerships twice specifically for this problem, but the technicians have been unable to duplicate the failure. On a separate oil-change visit, the battery tested low and was replaced. The restart failures have continued. Approximately two months ago, my wife experienced this failure while stopped at a traffic light. While the Odyssey was immobilized and unable to restart, a motorcycle struck the rear of the vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle sustained damage. No police report was filed at the time. I am extremely concerned that this intermittent failure creates a serious safety hazard for my family and other motorists. I request that NHTSA investigate this recurring failure, including its potential connection to previously reported Honda Auto Idle Stop restart problems.

ENGINE — Filed 10/08/2026

2025 Honda Odyssey. The auto idle-stop shuts the engine off at red lights as designed, but the engine intermittently fails to restart when the brake is released. Some days it happens, some days it does not; on occasion twice in one day. Restarting requires pressing the start button repeatedly. No warning lights appear before or during the failure. The vehicle is left stalled in active intersections when the light turns green, creating a risk of rear-end collision. The issue occurs only with auto idle-stop enabled.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 12/31/1969

While at a red light or complete stop, the car completely shuts down and often have to manually restart it. Sent it in for repairs twice. Once they replaced the battery. That did not help. Brought it in again and they worked on it. It seemed to help for awhile but now the car randomly will turn off at a stop sign or have a very slow start. It is very dangerous because traffic can be going or a light can turn green and the car needs to be restarted and often cannot be done quickly. Going to take it in again but googled this problem and it seems there are multiple complaints of an auto stop/start issue. It seems if I turn the auto start/stop off, it may help resolve the problem, but I cannot permanently do this. This is a dangerous situation

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 05/08/2025

The idle auto stop is designed by default, multiple times the engine stopped in front of a red light and couldn’t start the engine right away. Sometimes need multiple times to restart the engine

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 10/05/2026

Auto Idle Stop feature wouldn't restart vehicle while at an intersection. The vehicle eventually restarted, but not without causing traffic disruption. It took the entire light cycle(red-> green -> red) for my wife to be able to manually(had to push the start button several times) for the car to eventually restart. Warning light on dash said something to the effect of "unable to engage "something"(wife cannot remember, she was panicking due to being stalled in the middle of the road) This not the firs time this has happened, and we have had it in for this before but the the dealership has not been able to find any issue to date. Honda factory also is aware of the issue(maybe for over a year now, but still has not found a fix)

ENGINE — Filed 10/05/2026

My Honda Odyssey shuts the engine off at a stop under Auto Idle Stop and then fails to restart when I release the brake. I have to shift to Park and press the start button. This has happened at least 5 times, including today, while stopped at a traffic light at a busy intersection. The van was immobilized in active traffic. Extremely dangerous situation.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 10/01/2025

The car’s starter has issues. Shortly after I bought the car, it had trouble starting. Twice, I had to restart the car at stoplights too. They changed my battery. Now it has issues starting again. It sounds like it almost won’t start. It sounds like it’s using a lot of power to start the car.

ENGINE — Filed 09/01/2026

The car stalls out/does not start back up when Idle Stop is used. This causes a risk for an accident as the vehicle does not more forward when it should. This now happens daily for the past month. This happened in the past with this same vehicle and the starter was replaced by the Honda Dealership Service Department. It is going into the Honda dealership Service Department on 10/5/2026.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 10/02/2026

when car stopped at light, engine will turn off and go into park and will not start again unless the car is turned off completely, wait a few minutes and then restart the car. This has been happening since 2/2026 and reported Ed Voyles Honda Dealership twice and this was not identified. Their action in the receipt attached below.

ENGINE — Filed 09/24/2026

The auto start/stop feature shuts my car off and doesnt start back up when I let off the brake pedal. It has done this 3 times while at a red light and its very dangerous getting stuck in the middle of the street with my kids in the car.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 10/03/2026

My 2025 Honda Odyssey Elite has recurring, intermittent difficulty restarting after the Auto Idle Stop system shuts the engine off at a stop. I purchased the vehicle in December 2024, and it currently has approximately 37,000 miles. When attempting to restart, the engine sounds as though it is struggling to turn over. Most of the time it eventually restarts automatically, but on some occasions it fails to restart automatically and I must use the ENGINE START/STOP button. An intermittent dashboard message sometimes appears during these events but disappears before I can read it. The problem occurs even after long drives and sometimes appears worse after a long drive. The vehicle has also struggled to restart using the push button after being parked for approximately one to five minutes following driving. It typically starts normally otherwise. A Honda dealership previously replaced the starter to address this problem. The vehicle improved for a period after that repair, but the symptoms have returned. The underlying cause of the recurring problem has not been confirmed. Failure to restart after an automatic engine shutdown leaves the vehicle unable to proceed from a stop until the engine restarts, creating a risk of a collision in traffic. The problem remains unresolved. Please consider this report in connection with NHTSA investigation EA25004 concerning failure to restart after Auto Idle Stop.

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE — Filed 10/02/2026

On numerous occasions, the START/STOP idle system could not restart the engine. Happens often but not predictably.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 09/08/2026

My car has stalled numerous times when it stops, and the engine goes into the fuel saving off mode. It stalls when I try to drive away as my foot comes off the brake. This has happened more times than I can count. In addition, as a side not I rented another 2025 Honda odyssey, and it also died when trying to go. The dealer has supposedly driven my vehicle when we bring it in but never has reproduced it according to them. They did admit that they knew about it but had no solution at present. There only response was to say to turn the engine shut off switch to disable it. There are warning lights after it dies but not before.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE — Filed 09/30/2026

Several (more than 5) times over the past 2 months my car has had the same issue occur. The automatic Idle Stop feature was turned on and the engine was idling at a stop sign or red light. When I went to press on the gas to begin driving again, my engine would not restart and I received an error message. I was unable to change gears and had to manually turn off my engine, wait a few seconds and restart the engine, and then put back into drive. Again, this has happened several times over the past couple months. My safety was at risk because I was at risk of beging in an accident if the car behind me started to drive when the light turned green, not realizing I was stuck with an engine in idle mode, unable to drive my car.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 09/24/2026

Idle Stop system - NHTSA EA 25004 My 2025 Odyssey fails its auto-restart from a stoplight, stumbles, and then has a very rough secondary start.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE — Filed 09/16/2026

I’ll be at a red light and when it’s time to go the car is off and I have to put on the emergency lights until I get car on usually after three times of pressing the brake and pushing the start button. The car shuts off while idling at a red light and does not turn back on when brake is released.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 09/25/2026

On September 25, 2026, I was stopped at a traffic light in my 2025 Honda Odyssey when the automatic idle stop activated. I was at a busy intersection with a line of cars behind me. When the light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and pressed the accelerator, but the vehicle shut off. I tried several times to restart the vehicle but was unsuccessful. It took several minutes before I was finally able to get the vehicle started again. During that time, I had a line of cars behind me waiting for me to move. Being stuck at a busy intersection with a vehicle that would not restart was very unsafe. I was concerned that a vehicle behind me could hit me because I was unable to move when the light changed. There were no warning lights or messages before this happened. This has never happened before. There was no accident or injury, and the vehicle is available for inspection. I have an appointment with a Honda dealership on October 9, 2026, to have the automatic idle stop failure investigated.

ENGINE — Filed 09/29/2026

> While driving our Honda Odyssey, we have experienced a recurring and extremely serious safety issue involving the vehicle’s Auto Idle Stop/Auto Stop feature. When the vehicle comes to a stop at an intersection, the system automatically shuts the engine off as designed. However, on multiple occasions, when it is time to proceed, the vehicle has failed to restart. The engine remains off and we are unable to immediately get the vehicle restarted or move it out of the roadway. > > **This is not an isolated incident. This problem has occurred frequently and has recently begun occurring with increasing frequency.** We are extremely concerned that the condition is becoming progressively worse and that we cannot predict when the vehicle will fail to restart after the Auto Idle Stop system activates. > > During one particularly serious incident, the vehicle failed to restart while we were stopped at an intersection. When the traffic signal turned green, our Honda Odyssey remained disabled in the active traffic lane. We attempted to restart the vehicle but could not immediately get it running or move it to a safe location. > > This created an extremely dangerous situation. A vehicle approaching us from behind nearly rear-ended our stopped van. The approaching driver swerved at the last moment and thankfully avoided striking our vehicle, but subsequently crashed their own vehicle. Had that driver not been able to avoid us, we believe this could have resulted in a very serious rear-end collision, significant injuries, or fatalities. > > Because this problem has happened repeatedly and appears to be occurring more frequently, **we have also contacted the Honda dealership, Penske Honda on 96th Street in Indianapolis.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 09/25/2026

Vehicle intermittently failed to start. On one occasion following an Auto Idle Stop event, the restart was difficult (details in the "additional details" field). The vehicle did not restart as intended after disengaging the brake from Auto Idle Stop and manually restarted causing a several second delay in the roadway. On another occasion, after filling for gas, the engine cranked normally but did not start on the first attempt and started normally on the second attempt. Honda dealer diagnosed a defective starter and is replacing under warranty. Replacement starter is currently on national back order. Vehicle is included in NHTSA's active investigation (EA25004) regarding Odyssey starting/no-restart issues. General Guidelines responses: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? -Starter, available upon request until replaced by dealer How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? -The delay in the roadway could have caused an accident (to me and others) when the vehicle failed to start as intended after the brake was disengaged Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? -Dealer has confirmed there is an issue with the starter and will be replacing it under warranty when it is available from back order Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? -Only the dealer Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? -No prior warning. However, the vehicle does sound "rougher" when it cranks as opposed to my other vehicle now that I'm comparing the two. Restart issues first occurred within the last week.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 03/01/2025

Ever since taking delivery of my vehicle, we notice a strong machinery/oily smell lingering on ourselves (clothes/hair) and our children’s car seats and strollers that are in the vehicle when it is warm outside and the ac is being used. Additionally, since taking delivery of the vehicle, I started experiencing health issues which worsened in the warmer weather when we were using the AC more. The biggest symptom is severe skin rashes which we realized are in the areas that the air vents blow on me/where they hit the steering wheel and I touch the steering wheel. In order to manage my symptoms I needed to start biologic injectables and even with them the rash was still lingering. I was documenting the rash for my doctors and we recently realized that my symptoms align with owning the van. I believe vapors are entering the cabin through the HVAC system in the car. The smell that lingers on us/our things is specific only to this vehicle, and we did not experience it with my previous vehicle, which was a 2023 odyssey touring, or my husbands 2024 Honda prologue, or the loaners that the dealer has had us in that are also all Hondas. The vehicle has been with the dealer in the service department currently for about 55 consecutive days as they continue to look into the issue. Eventually during this period they agreed to replace the evaporator core—Honda did not approve it through the warranty, but the service manager was at a loss on what else it could be causing it. At this point the repair is still not complete and I am unsure if that is truly the solve. I truly believe this is a defect of the vehicle causing vapors to enter the cabin and cause my health issues because in this time of not being in the van for an extended amount of time my skin issues have cleared up fully, even without the use of biologics. I also wanted to note I never had these skin issues before having this vehicle, they started 2 weeks after purchase and resolved within weeks of being out of it.

STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 06/07/2026

While driving straight on the highway on a sunny day the car left the lane on it's own, resisted attempts to get it back into the lane, and crashed into the concrete barrier after we swerved around and the car bounced around. Lane keeping assistance and automatic cruise control were active. The lane lines looked perfectly fine. A couple minutes before the accident the car left the lane unexpectedly but we were able to get back into it. Before going on the trip we took the car to the dealer and complained about issues with the car not starting after it shut off while idle at stop lights, or not starting properly, like engaging the parking brake and getting stuck, or starting and rocketing forward even when I only pressed lightly on the gas, leading to loss of traction. They checked the car and said everything looks fine and the tires have 5mm of tread and don't need to be replaced, and they rotated the tires and changed the engine oil. I'm not sure if the issue was with the power steering failing, or traction being lost, or the sensors having an issue causing the car to think the lane was somewhere else and not letting us leave where it thought the lane was. Driver has tons of bruises still and it's been over a week. The other 4 passengers seem ok. The insurance company said the car is totaled and is taking possession of the car. The only warnings lights or messages the car gave us before the accident were about the car having an issue starting back up when all the cars were beeping behind us when the light turned green, and messages about loss of traction, mainly after the engine started back up.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 04/04/2026

On 4/4/2026, my child sustained a serious finger injury involving the power sliding door. The child activated the power sliding door using the interior door button. While the door was closing, the child’s hand remained on the front (leading) edge of the sliding door where it meets the door frame (B-pillar). The child’s finger became caught between the closing door and the frame. The power sliding door continued to close completely and latched shut on the child’s finger. At no point did the door stop or auto-reverse, and there was no noticeable slowing, hesitation, or warning indicating obstruction detection. The door operation sounded normal during closing. The child’s finger remained trapped until an adult manually opened the sliding door to release it. The injury involved a finger amputation involving the distal portion of the finger with an open fracture and nail involvement, requiring emergency room treatment. Emergency department records document a diagnosis of fingertip amputation, with radiology findings noting a soft tissue amputation defect and concern for distal phalanx (tuft) fracture of the affected finger. Follow-up evaluation on 04/06/2026 confirmed the severity of the injury and resulted in an urgent same-day referral for orthopedic/hand surgical evaluation.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 01/20/2026

The CMBS braking system is completely faulty. It regularly brakes for shadows on the ground, going up hills, or for no reason at all. There have been SEVERAL near misses where cars behind me have almost rear ended me because of this cars erratic braking. I have a neck injury from this most recent episode of the car slamming the brakes for no reason.

ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 10/18/2025

Honda Odyssey EX-L sport 2025 has been facing the issue of idle stop not working causing engine to stall, engine failing to restart, shutting off completely during mid traffic especially during adaptive cruise control operation. This is causing an unsafe driving situation. While this issue was reported to Scott Clark Honda multiple times and they have claimed to fix this issue in Aug 2025, the issue continues to exist and root cause hasn't been fixed. This seems to be related towards the on-going investigation by NHTSA. Please help to resolve at the earliest since no further support is being received from Honda.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 09/12/2025

My wife was driving our 2025 Honda Odyssey on [XXX] on a neighborhood road around [XXX]. She came to a stop sign and stopped to turn right. Upon accelerating to turn right, the emergency braking system activated slamming on the brakes and bringing the vehicle to an immediate stop. There were no other cars, pedestrians or other obstacles with any line of sight. The sudden stop caused her to whiplash hurting her shoulder. We brought the vehicle to Joyce Koons Honda of Manassas. They downloaded the data and confirmed that the emergency braking system had activated but there were no reason codes given. They couldn't find any other issue and test drove the vehicle for 10 miles with no incident. My wife was really shaken up by the incident and refuses to drive the car until an actual cause is found and fixed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)