Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Honda Odyssey - part 2

On November 27, 2025, my 2019 Honda Odyssey experienced a sudden and catastrophic engine failure while traveling at highway speed. The vehicle had been serviced at an authorized Honda dealership the previous day (oil change and tire rotation), and the failure occurred approximately 55 miles after that service. While driving on the interstate, the engine abruptly lost power, expelled a large quantity of engine oil onto the roadway, and then caught fire in the engine compartment. The driver managed to pull over safely and extinguish the fire. This was a significant safety hazard to the driver, passengers, and surrounding motorists. The dealership later reported that the engine suffered internal mechanical failure involving broken connecting rods, which caused extensive engine damage and oil loss. I reviewed public information and discovered that certain Honda 3. 5l v6 engines from similar model years have been recalled for internal engine defects that may lead to connecting-rod issues or catastrophic engine failure. However, my vehicle’s VIN is not currently included in those recalls, despite experiencing a similar failure pattern. This incident involved: sudden loss of engine power at highway speed immediate oil loss onto the roadway engine compartment fire risk of collision or injury given the severity of the incident and the similarities to known recalls for related engine failures, I am submitting this report to request that NHTSA review this event as part of potential broader safety concerns involving this engine family. The underlying cause should be evaluated to determine whether a defect or pattern exists that could affect additional vehicles not currently included in recall campaigns. No injuries occurred, but the incident posed a serious risk to life and traffic safety.

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When the vehicle is stopped, and the auto-shut off engages, the vehicle will turn off, and the vehicle has to be restarted. Quite dangerous when in traffic and the vehicle is dead due to the auto-shut off not starting again. The fix is believed to be an updated starter engine computer and starter motor.

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The engine was the component that failed. While accelerating, I first noticed a slight knocking sound. At steady speeds the noise went away, but during the same drive it became progressively more frequent until it occurred under all driving conditions. When stopped at a light to make a left turn, the vehicle shut off immediately as soon as I released the brakes. There were no warning lights, diagnostic messages, or prior symptoms before the failure. Because the vehicle lost all power in the middle of a multi-lane intersection, my family and I were stranded in the roadway for approximately 1. 5 hours until a tow truck arrived. The vehicle could not be moved out of traffic. After towing, a retired mechanic who operates his own shop inspected the vehicle. He performed a brief, approximately 15-minute preliminary evaluation and reported that the engine is seized. Based on his initial observation (without engine teardown), he believes the cause may be a failed crankshaft bearing, but this has not been confirmed. No dealer or manufacturer inspection has been performed. Insurance declined involvement because mechanical failure is not covered. No police report was filed.

My wife started hearing a knocking sound while driving, coming from under the hood. I opened the hood while the engine was idling and could tell the sound was coming from inside the engine. Checked the oil level and it was in the operating range and looked clean. I had just changed the oil and filter 08/2025. After that we immediately drove it to the Honda dealer where we purchased the vehicle and the service manager heard the noise, checked for recalls, but could only find the recall for the 2019 Honda Odyssey [xxx] the service manager called in one of his mechanics to listen to the noise in the service manager bay and he said, "sounds like a bad rod bearing". They then took the vehicle to inspect it further in the mechanic's garage, but as they were pulling it into the bay the engine complete seized up. The vehicle only has 68k miles on it, but now its beyond the warranty period. I was also told by the dealer when I purchased it, that it and the 2019 are identical, so why was the recall issued for the 2019 Odyssey, but not the 2020 model? I'm reading lots of similar reports of this same exact issue with the 2020 model from Honda forums and on youtube posts. This engine problem is clearly larger than the initial recall that was issued in 2024. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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Stopped at red light. Auto start/stop engaged. Light turned green let off of brake and pressed gas. Engine did not start. Couple seconds later engine started.

6 month old new car stalled out at red light took a few minutes to restart think it had to do with idle start/stop.

The power sliding door on the driver’s side failed and will not open, even manually. The mechanism engages and stops after about an inch. This creates a significant safety risk because passengers cannot exit through the door in an emergency. This appears to be a widespread defect in 2018–2020 Honda Odyssey models. Repair cost is approximately $1,000. Honda needs to address this as a safety issue.

While driving on the interstate the engine rod blew causing the motor to blow up and sustain a hole. This was confirmed by a Honda dealership during a video inspection. Several lights on the dashboard showed up shortly before the motor expired.

The auto idle stop (ais) feature on our 2024 Honda Odyssey ex-l has recently failed to restart engine leaving driver and passengers stranded in heavy traffic at intersection traffic lights. This has occurred twice, once while traveling alone, once while traveling with five year old child. Safety put at risk because driver had to exit car in middle of road during rush hour traffic while cars attempted to go around. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealer. Had battery tested at auto parts store and results indicate battery in good condition. Vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives. There were not any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

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Connecting rod bearing failure at 105,000 miles, even with full recommended and documented service history.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the warning light was intermittently illuminated, and the vehicle had started idling rough. The contact stated that the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact stated that upon scanning the vehicle with a vehicle scanner, the contact retrieved dtc: p219a for fuel injector failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was known to the manufacturer, who had issued TSB number: 21-010; however, the vehicle was no longer covered under warranty. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

With vehicle auto start/stop feature enabled, vehicle just shuts off when attempting to start back up after shutting off at a stop light. It has happened multiple times and recently it even happened with the auto start/stop feature turned off. Took it to the dealership and they tested everything to include the battery and they weren’t able to duplicate it. A review of forums showed other people with the same issue and it is pointing to a faulty starter, but no recall has been issued yet.

Traveling from appointment to home, vehicle started to rattle from engine, could not accelerate and shut off in the middle of the roadway. We couldn’t start the engine and “emission system failure “ message appeared for the first time. Prior to the event, we did not have any issues with starting, operating the vehicle and no warning lights on the dash. Police arrived to block traffic and ordered the tow to the dealership. Honda did a diagnostic for 240. 00. Results were they found metal shavings in the oil and the engine needed to be replaced. We were surprised due to the fact that we just had a full synthetic oil change within the past month and no reports of metal in the oil were reported. Honda stated that recall 23v-751 addressed this issue but our VIN was not listed for coverage. Only choice is to replace the engine assembly, quoted $9,000. 00. We are just thankful this issue didn’t result in any accidents or injuries when it reduced power and unexpectedly stalled on a city road. We are 1st owners and have had all services done professionally, per the maintenance schedule. It’s a 2019 Honda Odyssey touring with 70000 miles. No prior notice or poor performance. Honda confirmed it was an internal bearing failure. Vehicle is available for inspection, currently waiting on engine replacement to arrive. Honda did complete the recall for fuel pump replacement that was needed.

While operating the vehicle, I have experienced repeated problems with the idle stop/start system. Specifically: 1-the engine automatically shuts off at stop signs and stop lights as designed, but at times the vehicle fails to restart immediately when the brake is released or the acceleration is pressed. 2-multiple occasion while stopped in traffic the vehicle unexpectantly shifted into "park. " 3-for the last 3 weeks the vehicle sometimes hesitates to start on first attempt.

The idle stop feature failed to restart the engine when I released the brake after having stopped at a traffic light. Eventually restarted after more than a minute of manually pressing the ignition button.

Connecting rod bearings rattling at 72000 miles on my 209 Honda Odyssey. Loss of power.

The idle start stop feature constantly doesn’t work on our 2022 Honda Odyssey touring. When stopped at a light or stop sign the engine will turn off completely, causing me to have to put the car in park and restart the car. Also, sometimes the van will start, sometimes it won't. I replaced the battery and now it starts but it is still turning itself off in traffic. There have been several incidents where this is during rush hour traffic causing traffic jams and we have been very close to being rear ended. Sometimes I have to wait a few minutes before it will actually turn over. This is extremely unsafe and should be addressed by Honda with a free fix for all owners. I've taken it to the dealership and, after scanning my VIN, told that my specific Odyssey doesn't have any open recalls or service bulletins. . . Seems every other Odyssey does, just not mine? for the exact same problem???.

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I have had multiple issues with the radio (16000 miles). After many personal videos dealership was able to fix one of this issues with a new part (22000 miles). I was informed the other issues I was having with the radio was due to my battery not staying fully charged. I was also having issues with the van not starting right away, which made me feel I could get stranded. It took many attempts to get the van to start. The van also wouldn't let me reverse one time, with a message telling me to place van in park. Another issue is the van is very slow to restart from auto idle shut off. The transmission is slow to change gears in lower gears and the van jerks a little bit. Next my rotors were warped. I was informed by the dealership that there was nothing wrong with my transmission and the auto idle down was working properly. No one could explain the rotors being warped. They reshaped my rotors and replaced the battery and told me they hoped that fixed the problem. Well indeed it did not fix the problem. As of 12/27/25 the van completely shut off at a stop sign and again on 12/28/25. The issue is only getting worse (24,000 miles) and now I am scared to death that the van will stop while I am driving. The dealership has been contacted and I am waiting on a call back for a loaner car. I was in traffic and was extremely worried about my safety, as well, the safety of others around me and with me. ( side note I returned the van to another dealership soon after the first dealership performed work on the van, when I heard a metal on metal sound and what sounded like a bolt rolling around in my back brakes. They did not find anything wrong but were also puzzled by the rotors already being warped. I was afraid to make the trip to the orig dealership). I have recently gotten a video of the brakes scraping again. This van is causing a lot of safety issues for my family.

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding a serious engine failure on my 2019 Honda Odyssey, which experienced a rod bearing failure that has rendered the vehicle inoperable. This failure occurred despite the vehicle being properly maintained and driven under normal conditions. As a result of this engine failure, my Odyssey is currently parked and unusable, yet I am still required to make ongoing auto loan payments while I attempt to find a solution to cover the cost of repairs. This issue was first detected at 63,000 miles.

My car has been dying when I stop at stoplights. We took it into the dealership and they said the battery was sending error messages. So we replaced the battery. It is doing it again. Sometimes it starts but it is getting progressively harder to restart it. It is dangerous to be stalled at an intersection. The car is not even a year old.

Auto start/stop functionality has resulted in vehicle stalling mid traffic as vehicle does not start and shutdowns. This has occurred in multiple occasions and most recently almost caused an accident with my family. We sent to dealer who checked battery and stated to issues. There were no warnings and dealer was unable to reproduce as they didn’t drive the vehicle. I have concerns with this new vehicle after finding other reports of this issue.

The idle stop system is malfunctioning. I had it inspected once previously and now trying to get it inspected again for the same occurring issue. The dealership continues to tell me to turn off the idle stop feature on the vehicle. My safety was put at risk because of the vehicle stalling and not kicking back on while being stopped at a redlight on a busy 4 lane highway multiple times now. The first time, I was by myself. The second time, my 8-month-old was in the vehicle with me. This causes a lot of panic as there are impatient drivers around me since I am unable to move my vehicle. I fear that this could happen on a freeway if there was construction, an accident or even while trying to turn in an intersection and getting hit because I can’t move my vehicle and often have my two small children with me. The first time the idle stop stalled, it occurred twice in a week. The first time was rather quick, and the engine kicked over quickly so I did not think anything more of it. The second time which happened a few days later (9/17/25), took about 5 minutes to get the engine going again and moving on the road (4 lane highway). I took it back to my local Honda dealership where they performed a diagnostic test and discovered the battery had dipped down to 7. 22v when trying to restart, the battery failed the battery test and ended up being replaced with a new battery. The idle stop issue has now happened for a third time (10/21/25), with the same issues occurring and I am waiting to be able to get back into Honda. The vehicle has only been looked at by my local Honda dealership. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other notifications prior to the failure. I received a warning on the dashboard after the events occurred on how to start the vehicle. This is very disappointing as a new Honda owner. My husband and I decided on Honda over other car companies due to their reliability and this has now become a constant worry.

The car stalled then stopped when I was at a traffic light, I had to press the start engine button multiple times to restart the car. This issue has occurred 3 times within the last two months.

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.

Vehicle: 2014 Honda Odyssey, VIN [xxx] , approximately 88,000 miles. In October 2025, the vehicle developed a strong burning-like odor from the hvac vents, the temperature gauge rose, and an “engine hot” warning message appeared. At the same time, engine performance deteriorated and the engine began misfiring. Due to the overheating warning and drivability issues, I stopped using the vehicle and brought it to pit stop auto center (203 clinton place, long branch, NJ 07740) for inspection. Component/system that failed or malfunctioned: the engine head gasket failed (engine/cooling system). The failure resulted in internal oil-to-coolant cross-contamination, with a milky/frothy oil–coolant mixture visible in the coolant reservoir and additional visible oil contamination when removing the coolant cap. The mechanic also stated in a message dated October 29, 2025 that after removing the water pump, they discovered that engine oil was mixed with coolant inside the cooling system. How safety was put at risk: the head gasket failure caused an engine overheating condition (“engine hot” warning) and misfiring/reduced performance, creating a risk of loss of power and breakdown while driving. The burning odor from the vents also raised safety concerns. I brought the vehicle in to prevent further damage and unsafe operation. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center: the problem was confirmed by an independent service center (pit stop auto center) based on inspection and documented evidence of oil mixed with coolant. Has the vehicle/component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance, or others: by dch kay Honda/pit stop auto center warning lamps/messages/symptoms prior to failure: burning odor from vents, elevated temperature gauge, and “engine hot” warning message, with noticeable engine performance deterioration and misfiring beginning in October 2025. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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When I stop, they start stop, turns the engine off, but when I release the brake, the engine struggles to turn over and sometimes doesn’t and I have to put it in park to restart it. I have taken it to the dealership already once, but they said they weren’t able to reproduce it. I will be taking it back to the dealer to try again.

Since July 4, 2025, this can has intermittently shut off and stalled on me, my wife and my family and has refused to start. It has now been back to the service department of trust Honda of palmdale 4 different times for the same problem and the battery has been replaced on this van back in July. Most recently, it stalled just two days ago in rush hour morning traffic on the 405 freeway going south in the san fernando valley. The display on the dash read “dead battery “. It took over 20 minutes for the van to start and my wife was able to move it off of the freeway to a safe location.

The vehicle intermittently fails to restart after the auto start/stop stopped the engine. This happened several times when stopped at a traffic signal, nearly causing an accident when cars behind expected to move after the traffic signal turned green. There were no warnings or indications prior to the failure to start. Multiple attempts to restart the vehicle failed until at least a minute or so had elapsed. The vehicle has also intermittently failed to start after being parked for a few minutes after being driven for 20 minutes or so. The starter has generally sounded weak when starting, and when it fails to start it sounds like the engine tries to start turning for a fraction of a second before it stops trying to crank the engine. It almost seems like the start duration is too short or the ecu thinks the engine has successfully started when it hasn't. I brought the vehicle into the dealership to have this checked, and they replaced the battery saying it was bad. However, the failures to start continued to happen shortly after. I returned the vehicle to the dealership to be checked again. They have not yet identified anything that could be causing the issue. They claim the battery and starter test good. Based on similar complaints, it seems that this is an issue with many of these vehicles. Honda needs to identify the root cause of this failure to start issue.

I was driving with family to a family trip up to the mountains to enjoy the snow when at a rest area I noticed the Odyssey just had a slight delay to turning on before continuing the trip. No lights no signs of anything going wrong. As we continued our trip back onto the freeway on a curvy road and night time the Odyssey didn’t want to shift gears wouldn’t speed up for freeway traffic. Immediately started pulling over. The Odyssey would make like jerking movements decided to call the tow truck and it quickly escalated to draining the battery. After being at the tow facility for one night it completely didn’t want to even turn on next day. Put a new battery and still drains the battery. I took it to Honda service to run a diagnostic and they come back saying the engine is seized. No lights no signs didn’t see this coming with only 87,000 miles. With a black screen displaying electrical issue at times.

The start stop system has failed to restart at a busy traffic light more than half a dozen different times after a 1 hour drive. Short drives do not bring this issue out. This got me stuck at a light, drivers annoyed honking and confused as I try to get my vehicle to start again. Turning the van completely off and back on again seems to get the van to restart again. I tried bring the issue up to the dealer when I brought it in for its first service, but the employee was extremely rude/belligerent and stated they would only do an oil change when I asked for help with this safety issue among other things. Will take to another dealer next service interval and try again. No issues known or warning lights on the vehicle prior. The van when it did this, error'd stating failure to restart or something along those lines. It happened so fast I don't 100% recall. After the issue the van would have no issues or lights on at all to even think anything had went wrong in the first place. This is a 2024, purchased new, vehicle.

In the past six months the Honda "auto-start" feature has caused my vehicle not to restart while stopped at an intersection. Honda needs to immediately recall all gen 5 vehicles that use the auto-start feature and permanently disable (or give an option to disable) this useless, safety-affecting "feature". Thank you.

I was traveling approximately 65 mph on interstate 75 southbound near cincinnati, ohio with the flow of traffic. Cruise control was not being used at this time. I felt a sudden loss of acceleration and heard a shrieking sound. I also observed the check engine light illuminate. I immediately signaled and moved toward the right shoulder from the middle left lane. Upon entering the far right lane, the same loss of power and shriek sound happened. I took the exit ramp to sharon road and upon releasing the accelerator, the vehicle's engine stalled. I coasted to a stop in the far left turn lane. I personally inspected the vehicle and upon using a scope into the spark plug holes, found that the center rear cylinder shows signs that the piston collided with at least one valve, and the piston does not move with the crankshaft. However, the rear valves do move. The front center piston and valves both move. This suggests a connecting rod issue.

Summary: engine seized due to internal bearing failure with metal shavings found in oil filter. Full description: my 2018 Honda Odyssey experienced a sudden engine failure around 116,500 miles. The dealer confirmed the engine is seized and showed significant metal shavings in the oil filter and pan. I have performed all maintenance according to Honda’s recommended schedule using the correct oil and filters. Honda corporate denied assistance based solely on mileage, even though this issue matches symptoms described in current NHTSA investigation pe25-001 (connecting rod bearing failure in Honda 3. 5l v6 engines). There were no prior warnings other than a brief check-engine light and rough running before the engine locked up. The vehicle was in motion at the time and could have caused a hazardous stall, serious injury, or death. Given that Honda has issued recalls for similar rod bearing defects in other model years (2015–2020) and this failure mode presents a clear safety risk (loss of power, engine seizure), I request NHTSA include my case in its investigation and compel Honda to extend recall coverage to 2018 Odyssey owners. I can provide dealer diagnostic reports, photos of the oil filter debris, and all maintenance records if needed.

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Honda Odyssey idle stop system failure vehicle: 2020 Honda Odyssey (elite) incident description: while driving, the vehicle's "idle stop" system engaged as I came to a complete stop at [e. G. , a traffic light, intersection, stop sign]. The engine shut off as designed, but failed to restart automatically when I released the brake pedal. This left my vehicle stalled and disabled in the middle of [e. G. , an intersection, a lane of traffic] with no forward power. I was scared as there were lots of cars behind me in the intersection. This has happened over a dozen times. Safety risk: this failure created an immediate and dangerous safety hazard. My vehicle was a risk for being rear-ended by traffic from behind, and my family was stranded in a vulnerable position. The vehicle was unable to move out of harm's way, and I had to put the vehicle in park and manually restart the engine. This is unacceptable for a system designed to work seamlessly and automatically. Additional information: this is not an isolated incident. The auto start-stop failure has occurred multiple times since March 2025. The system failure has put me and my passengers in a position of significant risk multiple times. Failed component: the vehicle's "auto idle stop" (ais) system, which failed to restart the engine after it was automatically shut off. Resolution: an immediate and permanent recall is necessary to address this dangerous defect. Existing service bulletins have not corrected the problem. I urge the NHTSA to require Honda to provide an effective, long-term solution to ensure the safety of Odyssey owners.

Recently had the fuel pump recall completed. Within days had intermittent dash emissions light come on then go away. Then a few weeks later, while driving, my Odyssey put itself into n and I coasted to a stop. It would not allow me to put the car into p or anything. I had to put the emergency brake on in order to not roll forward. The van at that point would not shift into any gear. It was towed to dealership and I was given the following 2k dollar repair needs. Problem. Advise. [other]: tcm (transmission control module) and transmission sub-harness needs replaced.