10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,145 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2020 Honda Odyssey engine problems

engine problem

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2020 Honda Odyssey Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #33

Oct 082024

Odyssey

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Several engine failures, starting one month after purchase in September 2020. multiple system failures (all on video) leading to very poor acceleration and operation. No compression in engine and only able to go 20 mph. White-Allen Honda made four attempts to solve the matter over the course of two years. The dealer has had the car a total of 120 days. Then end of December 2024 then engine began making a knocking sound and I was told it needed at new engine, to the tune of $10,000. Then I see a recall for a similar issue but only up to 2019 Odysseys. Please help find resolution for this.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #32

Oct 012024

Odyssey

  • miles
Several times over the last 18-24 months my van has 'stalled' after the auto engine start/stop feature restarts my car. This has mostly happened while at stop lights/signs, or idle. However, it has happened twice while driving, my car will just die and slow dramatically. I have been able to restart by pushing the start/engine button. There has been two times where restarting (while idle) has not worked. Most recently it happened while at a stop light. when the light turned green I went to accelerate and the van would not move, all the dash lit up, and there was no power to the engine. It took several minutes to get the van restarted, holding up traffic and causing me panic and fear that I could be hit.

- Sunbury, OH, USA

problem #31

Oct 242024

Odyssey

  • miles
I was driving with cruise control on and a car pulled in front of me and hit the brakes. My car reacted by hitting the brakes hard and the engine tried to recover but hiccupped and lost power and engine light flashed at me. I pulled over and when I started the car again there was a rattle that would get faster if i pressed the throttle. I was able to get back on the road and the throttle rattle was still there and now it started saying engine oil low. I pulled over, checked dipstick and it was fine. Engine oil low light continued to flash, so I went to a oil change place to have them look and change the oil and they reported nothing wrong. I left and continued driving and the rattle noise was still there, engine oil low was still there. Then i heart a loud pop and griding noise, lost all power and had to pull over. This time the car was dead. I had it towed to a mechanic who said had to be an internal defect in the engine from the factory.

- Metairie, LA, USA

problem #30

Jul 172021

Odyssey

  • 51,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal he was depressing the brake pedal to stop the vehicle, when the signal changed, and as he released the brake pedal, the vehicle was not turning on. The contact placed the vehicle in park (P) and restarted the engine. The contact stated that his vehicle is equipped with the Engine Off-On feature. The contact stated that the Off-On was also hesitating before he needed to place the vehicle into the park to restart. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that a software update needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact manually turned the feature off to prevent the failure from recurring. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

- Fond Du Lac, WI, USA

problem #29

Aug 262024

Odyssey

  • miles
UNKNOWN. Auto engine idle stop was enabled when the vehicle was at a complete stop. Upon disengaging, the engine stalled and took a couple minutes to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was located in a highway that caused traffic delay and safety concerns. This has happened more than once.

- Kent, WA, USA

problem #28

Jul 182024

Odyssey

  • miles
On multiple occasions, after stopping the vehicle (for example at a red light), the engine would stop and not restart. After several minutes of frantically trying to restart the vehicle in dangerous situations (stopped in the middle of traffic and nearly rear ended multiple times), the vehicle would eventually start the engine. Bottom line - when stopping at a stop sign or red light, the vehicle turns off the engine and does not restart properly - placing all occupants in a dangerous situation.

- Fallston, MD, USA

problem #27

Jun 152024

Odyssey

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The Auto-Idle Engine system malfunctions constantly. For example, several times I almost got into dangerous or possibly fatal accidents- I was in stop and go traffic on an interstate. Traffic slowed to a stop. I held the brake. The engine idled. I took my foot off the break and moved it to the gas when the traffic abruptly restarted. The car stalled and shut down. The cars around me expected me to go and had to swerve around me while I desperately tried to restart. There is no way to set a default that the auto idle feature is off when I start the car. I have to remember to turn it off. This also happened at an on ramp with a stop light, I almost got rammed by the car behind me. This feature is a drain on the engine and battery and is dangerous when it is not working correctly. The default should be off or just not have it at all. Honda dealerships aren-??t willing to help me.

- Odenton, MD, USA

problem #26

Jan 162024

Odyssey

  • miles
?I have a concerning noise from my car's engine that I-??ve already brought in for diagnosis. Knocking/ticking/rattling noise on stand-still acceleration at relatively low speeds/under light load. Does not duplicate when revving in park, only under light load. Sound present with HVAC on or off. Does not make noise when cold or after long trips. Honda seems to be aware of this issue and has remedied it through work involving the crankshaft bearings and possibly other components as it relates to their service bulletin 23-097. The problem is that my vehicle falls outside of the stated range of production years as mine is a 2020 model year, but the likelihood seems quite high that the engine in my vehicle is suffering from this exact problem. The service department refuses to help me and the corporate line I've contacted through email me simply refers me to the service department. I just spent $38,000 on this vehicle with 30,000 miles and I have no other recourse at this point to remedy this.

- Brentwood, MD, USA

problem #25

Dec 272023

Odyssey

  • miles
The auto idle feature cuts out the engine in stop and go traffic and will not restart. This has happened on numerous occasions, creating unsafe conditions for traffic.

- Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA

problem #24

Nov 162023

Odyssey

  • miles
Idle stop caused engine to stall 3 separate times leaving me stranded in busy intersections making it difficult to restart vehicle and move safely out of the way. Initial start up checks come on, asked to put car in park, step on brake to restart car, car won-??t restart. Once happened at night and shut off all my lights for 30 seconds making me not visible for cars coming up to me.

- Salisbury, MA, USA

problem #23

Oct 242023

Odyssey

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While stopped in preparation to make a left turn across traffic on a 4 lane road, our 2020 Honda Odyssey engine stalled- the engine idle stop function did not restart the engine as designed. We had to restart our car, but the car did not immediately restart, it took us 2-3 attempts. There was no prior warning or indication there was a problem. We could have easily been hit by another car, injuring my wife and children. Our system is available for inspection, we have not had it inspected yet.

- Haddon Hgts, NJ, USA

problem #22

Sep 032023

Odyssey

  • miles
My vehicle has the engine idle option and shuts the engine off when idle in traffic or at traffic lights, etc. There have been incidents where the engine doesn't just shut off but it powers off the entire car and doesn't want to turn back on. My battery is fine because i just had service done on it and they tested the battery and its 100% fine. This issue is not a battery issue for my car. I literally had PTSD when the car shut off though because it happened at a location on the roadway where i had previously been rear ended in another vehicle and after my car shut off this time - my anxiety was very high that day and i was literally shaking. I was scared not knowing what was wrong with my car.

- Stone Ridge, VA, USA

problem #21

Oct 032023

Odyssey

  • miles
Vehicle driver side sliding door has issues closing. Mentioned to dealer, but dealer dismisses it as possibly from water residue after car washes. Door needs to be manually closed with pressure to latch. Vehicle has lost all electrical function while in Economy mode while in idle mode while at red lights and also while parked with accessories running. Vehicle batter life was verified and in excellent condition at battery replacement shop.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #20

Aug 222023

Odyssey

  • miles
When the car engages the Idle Stop feature and shuts the engine off, the engine does not restart immediately once the brake is released. This has happened multiple times but the last time a message appeared that said to change gears and restart the car. In the meantime the vehicle was in traffic and stopped for over a minute before it could be restarted. This put us in danger of a rear end collision as other cars were wanting to go.

- Madison, MS, USA

problem #19

Aug 232023

Odyssey

  • miles
At a stop light the engine idle shutoff feature shut off the engine. Then a few moments later the entire vehicle shut off. I could not turn the vehicle back on after trying several times to do so. After about five attempts the vehicle turned back on in park gear. During this time the light turned green and the vehicle would not turn on, cars behind began honking. This has happened a few times since owning the vehicle. I was dead in the middle of a busy intersection. I have asked the dealer to look at the electrical system as there have been several anomalies but it checks out fine. I replaced the battery thinking that might be the problem but did not work. I believe it is the same problem as PE22005

- Lithia, FL, USA

problem #18

Aug 172023

Odyssey

  • miles
On at least 5 occasions the car has not restarted after going into auto idle while stopped. Normally after pressing the brake pedal all the way down while stopped, the engine will shut off and then restart after releasing pressure from the brake pedal. When it doesn't restart, all the lights on the dashboard come on and you can't do anything. It won't restart if your press the start button and you can't shift it to neutral to push it out of the road. Eventually it will restart by pressing the start button. I have not had this problem if I turn off the auto idle, however you have to manually turn off the auto idle every time you restart the car.

- Garnet Valley, PA, USA

problem #17

Aug 092023

Odyssey

  • miles
1)The back hatch will randomly close. The first time it happened I didn-??t know what was going on and it hit me in the head. Today my kids were there and it almost hit them but I pushed them out of the way because I knew what was happening as it makes a certain noise first. 2)It stalls out randomly at red lights. 3) the doors won-??t open or close at times. 4) the dvd player gets so hot it almost burns you and the dvd player won-??t work. When I contact the dealer they say they can-??t do anything since it happens randomly and it if doesn-??t happen when it-??s at the dealership they don-??t know what to do so they don-??t even make an appointment. Two years ago we complained that the door didn-??t have a sensor because it shut my two year olds hand in the door. Honda acted like we were crazy. Then it became a recall and they -??fixed-?? them. But now they won-??t open or close.

- Summerville, SC, USA

problem #16

Jun 202023

Odyssey

  • miles
Vehicle-??s -??Engine Idle Stop-?? feature malfunctions unless it is turned off manually. This is an energy conservation feature which turns off the engine when stopped. However, when lifting the brake, the engine does not turn back on at times, sometimes fully stalling the vehicle. At times, numerous lights have come onto the dashboard after this happens. At other times, the vehicle has completely turned off, leaving the safety of the driver and passengers at risk, particularly at stop lights, stop signs, and when in stop and go traffic. I-??m continually worried someone is going to rear-end us when they see our brake light go off at an intersection. Vehicle has been brought to Honda dealership who stated they did not know the cause and replaced the battery. Problem was not solved and continues to happen.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

problem #15

May 142023

Odyssey

  • 28,800 miles
The contact owned a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. As a result, another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact-??s vehicle. The contact sustained injury to her neck and lower back that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot and deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,800.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #14

May 232023

Odyssey

  • miles
The vehicle is currenting having an issue with the MOST feature which is causing a static sound coming from the speakers as well as the DVD/CD player not working at all. Once in a while when idling with brake on the vehicle will shut and down and restart on its on quickly. When this happens multiple warnings will appear on the dashes warning system. Some of these warnings are mitigation collision warning, cruise control, and low power.

- Holly, MI, USA

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