2026 Honda Odyssey engine problems

“The vehicle was slowing due to stopped traffic and the engine suddenly shut off (before the vehicle had come to a complete stop) and put itself into park. The vehicle could not be immediately restarted. The car was blocking traffic. After leaving the car off for approximately 10 minutes the car was able to restart.”

“My 2026 Honda Odyssey has only been driven for 7 months so far but several times has left me stalled in the middle of the road due to the Auto Idle Stop (start-stop) system failing to restart the engine. When it happened today, I was stopped at a light, but when it turned green, the engine didn't restart, leaving me stuck in the middle of the road with cars going around me. This created a serious threat of a rear-end collision, which could result in serious injury or death. Three children were in the vehicle at the time, which is especially common for most people who drive this vehicle. When it occured, the dashboard displayed the message "to continue to drive, depress the brake pedal and push switch," but this did not work. The vehicle had to be completely turned off first then restarted normally. There was no prior warning or indications this would occur. The problem only occurs sporadically making it hard to reproduce by a dealer.”

“the van turns completely off very often when at a complete stop. i am not referring to the auto start/stop feature which is equipped standard on the vehicle. the van physically turns completely off, as if i turned off the car, requiring me to turn the car on completely. this has created very dangerous situations as im often traveling trying to merge into traffic etc and the vehicle is off on active roadways. there is no warning, just turns off completely”

“Our 2026 Honda Odyssey EX-L repeatedly shuts off completely while stopped at a traffic light or intersection and does not restart on its own. This is not normal Auto Idle Stop operation. When the brake is released, the engine fails to restart; the vehicle must be manually restarted by pushing the ENGINE START/STOP button. This happened four times in the week of October 19, 2026 alone, in addition to earlier occurrences. Each time the vehicle is left stranded in live traffic in an active intersection, blocking traffic and creating a risk of a rear-end collision. No crash, fire, or injury to date. Approximate mileage 8,000. This appears to be the same Auto Idle Stop failure-to-restart condition under NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA25-004, but that investigation covers only 2018-2025 Odyssey -- this vehicle is a 2026, outside its scope. The vehicle is under factory warranty. We request that the investigation be expanded to include the 2026 model year.”

“On XXX my 2026 Honda Odyssey Touring, bought new on XXX and driven about 6,000 miles, was stopped at a red light in [XXX], with Auto Idle Stop engaged as designed. When the light turned green and I released the brake, the engine did not restart. The transmission shifted itself into Park, and the display showed a message to hold the brake and press D to restart. I followed it, but the vehicle would not shift into Drive. The only way to get moving was to turn the vehicle completely off and restart it with the start button, stopped in a live traffic lane while cars behind me honked. The vehicle was disabled without warning in a travel lane at an intersection, exposing its occupants to a rear-end collision. Had the same failure happened while I was turning or crossing an intersection, the vehicle would have been stranded in cross traffic. For about two before this, restarts from Auto Idle Stop had become slow and labored, with a noticeable delay before the engine caught. No warning lights appeared before the failure. The failure appears to involve the Auto Idle Stop restart system. The vehicle has not yet been inspected. It is scheduled for warranty diagnosis at a…”

“Three times in the past two months my car has failed to switch out of auto idle stop to drive when at a stop sign or light. A warning appeared all three tomes and I could not switch out of park. I had to restart the car, which took longer than usual to restart, and then out it back into drive.”