2021 Honda Odyssey Engine Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  267%
• 25k–50k
  00%
• 50k–75k
  133%
• 75k–100k
  00%
• 100k–150k
  00%
• 150k+
  00%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2021 Honda Odyssey owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. While the contact's wife was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle began to lose automotive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway before stalling. The vehicle was unable to be restarted and was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000.

1. Incident: I was driving and stopped at a red light, took my foot off of the brake and the car completely died, leaving me stranded at the intersection. The car started back up after 4 minutes. Note: This incident happened after 2 months of weird electrical things happening to the car, such as the radio turning on after the car had been turned off, car not starting, sliding doors losing power when they are halfway closed, coming to a stop and putting the car in park then the car completely loses all power/interior lights, and more... 2. My safety was put at risk by having a non-functioning car in the middle of the road. Someone could have rear-ended me. Also, it was over 100 degrees outside which added to the panic I was feeling. 3. The car has been inspected by Spreen Honda multiple times and by an independent Honda mechanic. Spreen Honda has not been able to reproduce the problem. …

My 2021 Honda Odyssey Touring has experienced a severe engine stalling defect that creates an immediate traffic hazard. On multiple occasions during warm weather conditions, the Auto Idle-Stop system has engaged at a stoplight, but the vehicle completely failed to restart automatically when pressing the accelerator. Instead, the engine completely stalled out mid-drive, leaving the vehicle stranded in active traffic and requiring a manual cycle of the ignition button to turn back over. There were no dashboard warning lamps, error messages, or check engine lights prior to the engine stalling. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership (Honda of Middleburg Heights) for an emergency safety evaluation. …

My Honda Odyssey is experiencing an issue where it intermittently fails to restart automatically after coming to a stop and engaging the idle stop feature. Despite following Honda's recommendations, which included applying Service Bulletin 23-008 (updating the PGM-FI Idle Stop Software) and replacing the battery, the problem persists. I've also had the vehicle inspected at two different dealerships, with no resolution. I discovered Service Bulletin 23-009 on your website, which directly addresses this exact issue and extends the warranty for the Ridgeline, Pilot, and Passport models. Given that my Odyssey shares the same engine, it's concerning that it's not included in this bulletin. I believe it's unfair that I'm being forced to pay dealership fees to diagnose and fix a safety issue that Honda has already acknowledged and addressed for other vehicles with the same engine. …

Honda Odyssey 2021 has major safety issues - the van starts engine on itself, shuts the engine on itself, tail lights are on when the engine is running, the knob for the lights on the turn signal handle was in OFF position when the van was observed starting, running and shutting engine on itself - for no reason. In all occasions key fobs were untouched. Once Honda Odyssey was observed with the engine starting and shutting on itself when both of the key fobs were in 10 miles distance from the vehicle. Brought twice to the dealer, cannot fix it. Contacted Honda on 2/17/22 informed about the problem. Called Honda on 2/21/22 to check on the case, was told that will assign a manager to review this safety concern, but it may take two weeks, possibly two month or maybe more, depending how busy they are. 8 days have passed, no response yet from Honda. …

The first problem I came across was Auto start. It always say temporary off because either I didn't press on the break hard enough or the Ac is running. Mostly it off saying it need to be charge and the company already put a battery in the car and it still say the same thing. The other thing that keep happening with the car is the screen that pop up the back camera and also control the air conditioning.it shut off and mos network failed and trun off and it keep going off and on. Im scared imma drive and it gonna shut off while driving already it hard at time using my back cameras since the screen work when it want to. I did talk to the dealership about the car and the problems since they said they check it and it was ok but I'm still having problem. …

After having the Honda Dealership perform an oil change and software update 23-008 (updating the Auto Idle Stop Software) last week, my engine stalled while at a busy intersection (PA turnpike/70 junction) during a road trip. At the long stop light the auto idle function engaged and the engine turned off. When the stop light turned green and I lifted my foot off the brake and pressed the gas the engine shut down and automatically went into Park. I had to press the start/stop button to fully turn off then turn back on the car to get the engine to restart. This is with a giant semitruck honking right behind me. The auto idle feature does not work. It sounds terrible every time the engine restarts after it has been engaged. …

I was driving on I-270 highway in active HOV lane and had to stop because of traffic. The car stopped the engine as it usually does by "Auto Idle Stop" system but failed to start it back when I needed to continue driving. I noticed that the battery light blinked on the dashboard when it tried to re-start the engine. As a result I was in active HOV lane with quickly approaching traffic from behind. We all (me, my wife and 2 kids) were scared. I called 911 immediately for help. This all could end up with a crash and injuries. While calling 911 I was trying to restart the car by pressing the button to turn the car off and on. About 3 attempts failed when a few minutes later the engine started and we continued the drive. This was the worst nightmare to stuck on a highway. Luckily nothing happened but it definitely could. This is a major concern for me.

2021 Odyssey EXL shuts off completely at a traffic stop light. Happened 2 times in a 2 week period. Without warning the engine switches off completely and puts itself in "P" mode, all light comes on as if in accessory mode, radio switches off, all doors unlocked. To get going, the driver had to press brake pedal and start the car again (via Engine Start /Stop button). This issue started in my car at 93K miles. Never had any issue with mine before that. But it is scary especially the engine switch off at stop lights and blocking traffic for a number of minutes before you know what happened and are able to restart the can. I have seen this issue reported a number of times on this site and it appears repetedly in web searches. Honda needs to identify the cause of this problem and issue a recall for it.

When attempting to restart from the autostop function (i.e. the fuel economy function), the vehicle fails to restart successfully. This has happened on multiple occasions. It is not a battery problem and I have had the battery tested and even replaced (by Honda) and the problem has continued. The vehicle will stutter, stall or even completely shut down. This has happened when I have been at intersections and on busier roads or even in traffic on the highway. Its very concerning to me and seems extremely unsafe. No warning signs come in this scenario until the vehicle shuts down and the regular dash light engages indicating the engine is inoperable. I have today's date below but this has been happening consistently the last several months.

NHTSA investigations

Engine complaints in other Odyssey years