2019 Pilot Touring intermittently won’t start
 

Looking to see if anyone else is experiencing the same problems we are...

my my wife and I bought this pilot in March of 2019. It is currently the end of May, the vehicle has only 3700 miles on it, and in the past 7 days, 3 times this vehicle has not started. Press your foot on the brake, push the start button, all normal lights come on, radio comes on but won’t start. Second time it did this, it threw all kinds of errors, not codes like the check engine light will, but errors spelled out on the instrument panel. Lane departure midication system error, towing error etc. it’s been at the dealership for 2 days now and they are saying they cannot get it to fail and the battery, alternator and starter all check out ok. I’m not a auto mechanic by trade, but I know my way around vehicles. It seems like it’s not recognizing that I’m actually applying the brake so it doesn’t want to start, but I absolutely am. After a couple of cycles it may or may not start. Anyone have any ideas? Feel like there is maybe a grounding issue or something, but with all of the electronics in the vehicle, it could be anything.

any fees back is much appreciated

Advice is to take video of this failure
Then present it to dealer
If they can not fix it then mention lemon law
Maybe get a different vehicle??

If you feel that the vehicle is not sensing the brake pedal then look at the brake pedal to see if the switch is being operated
If you feel the electronics is wonky then take video, get proof, make a case, complain to Honda, complain to government (maybe someone else has your problem)
If many people have this issue then could be class action???
Nothing will get done if you just let it go

Sorry, but when one spends so much money on a new vehicle then it should work right.

Yeah, I will absolutely get video footage of it when we get it back if they do not find anything wrong with it. With it still being at the dealership, I check in on my way home from work to see if then have figured anything out. The service writer mentioned to me the his evening that it was going to be going to a “master technician” to have them dive in further. It has to be something odd like the mechanical brake switch, or a loose ground wire or something. When we bought it we had them add the factory heated steering wheel option so in my opinion, they need to dive back into that and see if something is messed up there.

thank you for your input, every idea and thought helps. I will keep pushing them to try and help figure out what is actually going on because you’re absolutely right, we as consumers pay way to much for the product we buy to have it malfunction.

Well, well, well. Exact same problem here. I bought the car in March 2019. First case at the dealer, they checked the battery and sent me home. The stated problem happened 4 more times where my wife had to wait sometimes hours for it to start again. So I took it to the dealer again but of course, they can't duplicate it. It's now been at the dealer for the third day. I have a video which they are reviewing. So far they have found nothing.

I bought the vehicle in Orange County, California. It was built in Alabama.

Could you provide info on how you got this problem resolved and what dealer handled this issue? I'd like to provide my dealer the info so they can do the right thing.

Problem is still yet to be resolved...it’s happened time and time again. I have noticed that when it doesn’t start, the brake pedal is very stiff and hard to depress while trying to start. Almost as if something is running while the car is turned off, but is causing pressure to build in the brake system. I also took video of this problem happening. We were also getting a warning on the information center on the dash saying “low battery check all lighting switches”. I also received one saying “brake system failure”. The last time we took it to the dealership which was June 10 2019 and it failed in there service bay and wouldn’t start for them to move the vehicle. Of course, now that it’s there problem they immediately drag 6 mechanics over to start diagnostics on the vehicle. They said the battery was totally dead. The did replaces the battery at that time and everything worked as normal. The tech did say that “it would most likely happen again because there are far to much electronics running in this vehicle. If you don’t start or drive the car at least every other day it will happen”. I explained to him that we do drive it....but if we take it to airport to catch a plane for a vacation or something, that we should be ok with expecting to come home to a dead battery? We picked it up the following day on June 11 and since then, it’s failed to start again, and also had a very stiff pedal again. However if we pushed the pedal to the floor with higher force, the car would start and not give a low battery warning. I might add that our vehicle currently only has 4,200 miles on it. The GM of our dealership is working with us in this and claims if they can’t fix what ever this problem is, he will replace the vehicle because it is so new. The problem all started at about 3,500 miles. So we will see in the next couple weeks if it kills this battery also...

we we purchased our vehicle in cincinnati Ohio, quite a distance from you, however I’m not sure where they actually manufacture the pilots. Stay in touch with me on here with your experiences as I will do the same with you....

Jenkso11, thanks for replying! So my car is now on its fifth day at the dealer's service dept. They said they ordered a "new unit" for my key. Your dealer and mine are going into different directions. We have a pretty good relationship with this dealer since we bought our previous car (2014 Pilot) there and did all the maintenance there too. I'm trusting they are doing what they can with the info they have. My dealer is Weir Canyon Honda in Yorba Linda, CA. If your dealer finds a solution, please share the dealer's name so I can have my service dept contact them.

My last 6 digits of the VIN is B007453. B stands for the plant where it was assembled and the next 5 will determine the assembly order.

Our last digits are B008930 and my dealership info is performance Honda
5676 Dixie Hwy
Fairfield, OH 45014
United States

maybe have your dealership call them and see if they can’t collaborate together and figure something out. Like I said it absolutely failed while at there shop so maybe they have more Info. Hopefully with our powers combined from across the country we can get some sort of resolution

keep in Touch

My dealer ordered a part for the key fob with eta of July 13. I'll update once I hear what exactly in the key fob they think it's causing this intermittent issue. I have not gotten the explanation yet.

Alright, sounds good to me! We have only had a couple stiff brake pedal days and one day where it wouldn’t start right away. But again, push harder on the brake pedal and it started. So far no more “low battery” warnings on the dash. But definitely let me know what they say

Hello Jenkso11. So I finally got my Pilot back on 7/27. They replaced the "wireless key unit". So far, no problems. They seem to be confident about this being the source of the problem. But if it ever happens again, I'll try your trick of pressing the brakes really hard. Thanks!

Just reading this thread for the first time after my wife had trouble starting her 2019 Pilot today. The info screen 'said' '"Bring keyfob closer to button" or something like that. The car started after a few more tries but I'm wondering if this is a similar problem to yours and we're going to need a new "wireless key unit" in the near future. I'll make sure she takes a video next time this happens. Our Pilot has 8k miles on it. Purchased in Jan 2019.

I have the same problem. Who has got brief, do you have any legal statement from producer?

,low battery light on start
 

My 2019 Pilot purchased in February 2019 has started showing low battery light on start. The car will start by pressing harder on the break peddel. This is unsettling because you never know if it start. Please let me know of any solution has been found.

I purchased my 2019 Pilot in January and the battery went completely dead in May. Honda replaced it and I've had no trouble since. Mine wouldn't start on a couple of occations prior to replacing the battery but no problems starting it since the battery was replaced. The dealer didn't have an explanation for the battery dying so quickly but said they'd seen it before.

Thanks RCC. I'll check my battery out.

Same exact issues!!!
 

I am having it towed to the dealership this morning. My 2019 pilot left me stranded. My 2005 pilot never did this, ever! Thank goodness it’s still under warranty.

honda 2019 Pilot won't start
 

Same problem this year. Happened twice . brought to dealer they kept it for two weeks. Had master technician on it . Happened once to people who check in car when they went to move it. Of course they said they never heard that. So riding in a two year old car with only 9000 miles on it. Have to unload the car. If anyone wants to start action against Honda let me know

Three Dead Batteries….
 

Hoping others who have posted on this thread can share if they’ve had any updates.

2019 Pilot purchased from Honda of Ocala, FL. Was used with approx 14k miles and we bought it 11/2020.

7/2021 - Car flickers and won’t start. Makes weird shutter noise. Brake pedal stiffens. We let it sit overnight and it starts fine next day.

8/26/2021 - Car won’t start after being driven home from work.

8/27/2021 - Car still won’t start. Have to get a jump from AAA. I took it to Autozone for a battery test. They said the battery was dead. Without thinking about my current battery being under warranty, I pay for a nicer new battery (Optima). Car won’t start with the new battery. They test it and it tests fine. The old battery also tested fine. I decided to keep the new battery anyways. I get another jump and drive to work, because I couldn’t take it to the dealership yet. When it’s time to leave and go to the dealership, the car starts fine.

8/28/2021 - The dealership calls and says the car is 100% fine. Alternator, starter, battery all tested fine.


10/7/2021 - The car won’t start. I take it to the dealership (Honda of Gainesville) and they say the NEW battery is dead. I insist that it was brand new and they just tested it for me a month ago. They insist it was a bad battery. I pick up the “dead” battery, go to the Autozone, and they swap for a brand new one since it’s under their warranty. A brand new optima battery that came out of the factory 9/2021 (a month old). I take the new battery to the dealership for them to run more tests.

10/12/2021 - After some poor service (where my rep tried to tell me I never brought him a new battery, because none of them communicated with each other), the dealership said they ran all of their tests with the new battery and that they were unable to replicate the issue.

10/25/2021 - Tonight I started the car (after my wife had driven it to work) and it flickered briefly and then started. We stopped to fill up for gas and it completely died at the gas station - no lights would even work. This is the third battery if you count the original Honda battery that wasn’t even three years old when I replaced it. We had AAA tow it to the dealership tonight so they can diagnose.


We do not leave it on without running at all (using accessory features), nor do we even use the extra accessories like the blu-ray player, etc. My wife drives approximately 40 highway miles/day for work, plus additional driving if we go out in the evenings.

We just took a trip to Orlando (approx 2 hours away) and drove back in the same day without issues.

This has become extremely frustrating for a new vehicle still under warranty. I am annoyed that I didn’t let Honda replace the first battery but I’ve never had a warranty that included the battery so it did not cross my mind. I don’t believe I should now have to pay for another Honda battery since the issue is clearly NOT the batteries, but likely to be something else.

Hoping that others who have posted before me can provide some insight on your issues and if any of your dealers were able to truly find resolutions that have worked long-term.

Sorry for such a long post. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and respond.

I've got 55k on my 2019 pilot now. Within 9mo of new purchase the battery went dead. Honda replaced it under warranty and I've never had a problem with the battery since. As far as the car not starting, I have had that happen as recent as a month ago. It has always had to do with the ignition interlock through the brake pedal. Typically when this happens, the brake pedal is hard to depress and the car won't start. If I "stand" on the pedal to depress it slightly, the car starts right up. and the brake depresses as it should. I think there are situations where there is a back pressure in the brake system that causes this to happen but I've never figured out what exactly causes it. Honda must know about it because I'm sure others have complained but most of the time it doesn't happen when they have the car to debug. An aside. I recently discovered the passenger side carpet soaked when I removed the floor mat. I took it the dealer to have it checked out. After a day and a half of checking things they found the heater box was leaking. Dashboard would have to come out. $$$ My extended warranty won't cover water leaks. (worthless) My service rep took it upon himself to go to the Honda district rep. To my delight, Honda decided to cover the fix. Amazing! Very happy with my dealer reps handling of this and Honda for backing their product even out of standard warranty.

Sorry, have no experience with Pilot

Is this a push button to start engine??
Then stiff brake pedal may be preventing the brake switch from working properly.
Check to see if the brake lights turn on when this no start issue happens

Dead battery sounds like a parasitic drain
When everything is suppose to be off, there is something that is still drawing enough current to drain the battery.
Don't know but would test for it.

Any update?
 

So I am now having the same issue. It got to a point where I had to get my car towed. Before if I waited like 10 or 15 minutes then the car would start. Took the car to the dealership. At first they said there was no issue. After getting the car towed to them they said I need a new battery eventho the battery passed the test. I tried to show them these post and the video of my issue with all the errors I get but they won't listen. They told me that getting those errors are normal in a new car if your battery is bad. Altho battery tested fine. I ended up having to purchase a new battery from them but I don't think that will resolve my issue. Do you have any updates ? Any help would be much appreciated.

I had the same problem with my 2019 Honda Pilot. Stopped to get gas and could not restart. All the lights came on bit the car would not start. It kept asking me to press the brake and hit the button. After four tries, it finally started. The brake was still. It finally went down. It wasn’t until after it went down that I was able to get the car to start. Unfortunately, I have 35,000 miles on it and it is not relatively new.

My Honda auto start stops working in the middle of traffic.
 

The research I read says to FIRST check the brake booster pressure sensor. Sometimes the hose is loose. I am taking my 2016 Honda Pilot to the dealership tomorrow after getting stuck in traffic for one hour waiting for AAA. By that time the battery was dead because of the hazard lights. They will probably tell me I need a new battery ! ! ! We'll see???

Engine cuts out at stoplights and can’t restart
 

Hey! My 2019 Pilot has intermittently shut off at stop lights and stop signs. I have been shutting off the auto-restart feature when I remember so that it won’t do it. However, since I bought my car in 2019, I have had it in the shop for not restarting a few times. Each time I have been told my battery is almost dead and needs to be replaced. First time it happened the car was under warranty, but the the second time, I had to buy a $350 battery. It seems this is happening about every 2 years for me, which seems better than what some of you have experienced, but still is ridiculous! I have never heard of this with any other vehicle. So frustrated!