2026 Honda Odyssey

I own a 2026 Honda Odyssey Elite. On multiple occasions, the Auto Idle Stop system shut the engine off while stopped at a traffic light. When I released the brake pedal to proceed, the engine failed to restart, leaving the vehicle disabled in traffic. I was forced to shift the vehicle into Park and manually restart the engine using the Start/Stop button. This defect has occurred multiple times. I first reported the issue to my Honda dealership on June 2, 2026. After two visits where the dealer was unable to duplicate the concern, I captured the failure on video. During my third repair visit, the dealership's engineer personally experienced the failure twice while testing the vehicle. Honda Customer Relations opened a case and worked with the dealership. The dealership ultimately replaced the battery but advised me that this was only the next diagnostic step and not a confirmed root cause of the failure. This defect creates a significant safety hazard because the vehicle can become immobilized in an active traffic lane after the light turns green, exposing occupants to the risk of being struck by other vehicles.

I own a 2026 Honda Odyssey Elite. The vehicle has unexpectedly applied the brakes while driving even though there was no vehicle, pedestrian, or obstacle in front of me. The braking event occurred without warning and without any legitimate reason for the Forward Collision Avoidance system to activate. I first reported this issue to my Honda dealership on June 2, 2026 and again during subsequent repair visits. Although the dealership was initially unable to duplicate the concern, the issue remains unresolved. Unexpected braking at highway speeds creates a serious safety hazard because it increases the risk of a rear end collision and could cause other drivers to take evasive action.

The Auto Idle/stop caused my engine to stall not once but twice in the past few weeks while on a major highway. Light turns green and my car won't start back up. I have to let the car sit for a second then restart the car while traffic is flying past me on this highway. Absolutely ridiculous that my brand new car is having these issues and that I am unable to turn this feature off permanently.

This is a report on a design flaw- not a failed component- in the 2026 Honda Odyssey's "smart" computer automated safety features, including automatic braking, lane departure, and forward collision warning systems. There have been two types of incidents. These incidents have been repeated on this vehicle dozens of times in our first year of ownership. These incidents are potentially very dangerous because they involve erroneous automatic braking at interstate highway speeds. Unexpected erroneous braking at interstate speeds is a good way to cause a rear-end collision or loss of control. 1. Automatic emergency braking due to erroneous lane departure detection. On interstates in Arizona at highway speeds of 65 MPH, the vehicle's lane departure detection system throws erroneous warnings when it sees non-lane markings on the roadway, such as tar sealant strips or seams between pavement sections. This has resulted more than once in the vehicle erroneously applying emergency automated braking to slow the vehicle. This happens even when lane assist and adaptive cruise control are turned off by the driver. 2. Erroneous automated braking while overtaking another vehicle. On interstates in Arizona at highway speeds of 65 MPH, while passing in the left lane a vehicle that is moving much slower in the right lane (e.g. semi truck climbing a hill at 40 MPH), while using adaptive cruise control, automated braking is applied erroneously when there is no risk of a forward collision. The automated braking tends to kick in far earlier than a human driver would brake, and when there is no vehicle in the lane ahead, so it is unexpected and dangerous. This only happens while adaptive cruise control is activated by the driver.

My 2026 Honda Odyssey was stopped at a traffic light with Auto Idle Stop engaged. When traffic was ready to move, the engine appeared to restart for about half a second and then shut down. The vehicle then shifted itself into Park and would not resume normal operation. The battery warning light was illuminated. Pressing the engine Start/Stop button caused all of the screens/displays to turn off briefly, but they came back on in the same failed state. The vehicle was disabled in traffic at an intersection. The component or system that failed appears to be the Auto Idle Stop / engine restart system, possibly involving the starter, starter relay, battery/charging system, or engine control software. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. My safety and the safety of others were put at risk because the vehicle unexpectedly failed to restart and became disabled while stopped at a traffic light, creating a traffic obstruction and risk of being struck from behind or causing other drivers to maneuver around the vehicle. The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. UNKNOWN whether diagnostic trouble codes were stored. The vehicle/component has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to the failure that I noticed. The battery warning light appeared after the engine shut down and the vehicle would not restart normally.

I was driving down a 35mph road, the car in front of me slowed down, I was about 2 car lengths behind it. No notice, no warning, my Odyssey SLAMMED on the brakes and brought me to an abrupt stop with no notice and no need. Everything in the van flew forward and in the floor. Luckily there was no one directly behind me. It gives me serious whiplash when this happens and it is uncalled for, the car in front of me did not stop it only slowed down, there was plenty of room between our vehicles (we were only going about 30 mph) and there was absolutely no warning- just BAM! and my van was stopped in the middle of the road. Something needs to be done about this, someone is going to be killed! I took it to the dealer the last time and they said the van did not record it. So another easy out for Honda! And nothing they can do...

Moonroof exploded while driving 55 mph. I took pictures. It was completely distracting while driving and a very scary incident. Searching online provided a class action lawsuit against Honda for this issue. We have not been able to get it looked at due to it being the weekend and the service department is not open. No police were called. Insurance claim started. No warning before it happened.

The vehicle’s Blind Spot Warning system intermittently fails during normal operation. The warning message “Blind spot information system problem. See your dealer.” appears after driving or after restarting the vehicle. The system may function initially (for example, when leaving a garage), but then disables itself during driving or after the vehicle is parked and restarted. The issue first occurred within the first week of ownership and has persisted and become more frequent over time. The vehicle currently has approximately 4,500 miles. This failure affects a driver assistance safety feature intended to warn of vehicles in adjacent lanes that may not be visible to the driver. The malfunction creates a safety risk because the system becomes unavailable unpredictably during normal driving conditions. The failure is intermittent and cannot be consistently reproduced at a service appointment. The vehicle has been presented for service; however, the condition could not be diagnosed because the warning was not active at the time of inspection. The dealer advised that the issue could not be evaluated without the warning present. Proposed options included leaving the vehicle for an extended period to attempt to reproduce the intermittent condition, or returning when the warning is active. Due to the unpredictable and intermittent nature of the failure, this approach has not resulted in a diagnosis or repair. The failure remains unresolved. The system failure occurs during routine commuting and affects the ability to safely monitor adjacent lanes when changing lanes.