2026 Honda Odyssey Owner Complaints

2026 Honda Odyssey: Strong Exhaust/Fuel Odor in Cabin Causing Dizziness and Nausea I am submitting this complaint to report a potential safety issue involving a vehicle that is less than one year old. Beginning this past weekend, the vehicle suddenly began filling the passenger cabin with a strong exhaust-like odor during normal operation. The odor is severe enough that multiple occupants have experienced symptoms such as dizziness and nausea after spending approximately 10 minutes inside the vehicle. I visited my local Honda dealership to report the issue and seek assistance. According to the representatives I spoke with, Honda believes this is a known and widespread issue affecting multiple makes and models and that it is allegedly related to recent changes in gasoline formulation. I was further informed that Honda is aware of the issue, that engineering teams are working on a solution, and that there is currently no corrective action available to consumers. Honda also stated that, despite the odor, the condition does not involve toxic fumes and is only an odor concern. I am not ready to accept that explanation without further investigation. At this time: The condition began suddenly and without warning. The odor is strong and persistent. Occupants have experienced dizziness and nausea while riding in the vehicle. Honda has not identified a repair or mitigation. Honda has indicated that this may be a broader issue rather than an isolated vehicle defect. I am requesting that NHTSA review this matter to determine whether similar complaints have been reported and whether this condition warrants further investigation as a potential safety defect. I have also requested that Honda provide written documentation supporting its statements regarding: The alleged fuel-formulation cause of the issue. The assertion that occupants are not being exposed to harmful fumes. Any technical bulletins, engineering analyses, or communications related to this condition.

NHTSA ID

11754522

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

Gasoline fuel vapors enter the passenger cabin of my 2026 Honda Odyssey while driving. The problem began XXX, the day after a dealer oil change, and has recurred repeatedly, growing stronger each time. It is worst in high ambient heat (100 to 116 F), with the fuel tank above half full, and after extended idling or stop-and-go driving on a heat-soaked engine. It initially occurred only after idling but now also fills the cabin at cruising speed. No warning lights or messages precede it. On XXX in about 116 F heat, the cabin filled with gasoline vapor with my two children (ages [XXX] and [XXX]) aboard. Onset was immediate: nausea, lightheadedness, and sore throat. I had to shut off the A/C and open the windows in extreme heat to reduce exposure, and the children had to be taken home in a different vehicle. Poison control was contacted the same day, opened case files for all three of us, and assessed the symptoms as consistent with short-term gasoline vapor exposure. A pediatric follow-up is scheduled. The dealer has confirmed the problem. Repair Order XXX (Tempe Honda, XXX 14,032 miles) states the advisor and tech did confirm smell coming from vehicle, and that the issue is currently under investigation by AHM, with no work done. An earlier dealer inspection onXXX found nothing. American Honda has an open corporate case, and no repair path has been provided to date. In-cabin TVOC air readings of about 2.0 mg/m3, peaking at 6.0 mg/m3, were captured on video. The vehicle is available for inspection, and repair orders, videos, and manufacturer correspondence are available on request. The vehicle is no longer driven with children aboard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11754409

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

Idle stop function error during waiting at red light. Engine failed to restart so i had to turned it off and restarted the engine at the traffic light. Happened twice already. Idle stop system is defective need to be recalled

NHTSA ID

11753569

Incident

Jul 25, 2026

When I stopped at a stoplight at a busy intersection during rush hour traffic my auto shut off engaged like it was supposed to. When I released my foot off the brake for the car to restart so I could drive the car's dash started flashing and displaying instructions to engage the brake and put the car into drive, except I was in drive. It would not restart and no matter how many times I pressed the brake and the drive button nothing changed and it kept flashing the same message at me. I attempted to the the car off and when I tried to restart it, it flashed the battery light and would not restart. All electrical systems would turn on, but the car would not restart. It took a solid 5 minutes and turning the car off and on for it to finally restart. Then subsequent times at following lights before I turn the auto shut off off it would restart but struggled to. I have taken it to the dealership and called Honda Corporate and both tell me it is not throwing a code and therefore nothing is wrong with it.

NHTSA ID

11752324

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

Driving in city limits without any other vehicles nearby, the sunroof “exploded”. After immediately pulling over and inspecting the sun roof from outside the glass was buckled up, away from the interior of the car. The glass then all fell to the interior door.

NHTSA ID

11751853

Incident

Jul 20, 2026

Intermittent Auto Start/Stop failure: When stopped at a red light or stop sign, the car sometimes completely dies. Fails to restart: Releasing the brake pedal does not automatically restart the engine. Manual restart required: I have to manually restart the vehicle and shift back into Drive to proceed. Traffic concern: This process takes 10 to 15 seconds, holding up the traffic behind me.

NHTSA ID

11750877

Incident

Jul 10, 2026

I own a 2026 Honda Odyssey Elite equipped with the factory rear entertainment system and Apple CarPlay. When using Apple CarPlay navigation (Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze) while passengers are watching a movie on the factory rear entertainment system, every navigation voice prompt causes the movie playback to stop. After playback stops, the movie cannot be restarted from the vehicle controls. The only way to restore normal operation is to stop the vehicle, turn the vehicle completely off, restart it, reconnect Apple CarPlay, and restart the movie. However, the problem repeats the next time a navigation instruction is given. This creates a driver distraction because passengers immediately ask for the movie to be restarted, and the driver is presented with an infotainment system that does not respond as expected while the vehicle is moving. Drivers may attempt to troubleshoot or repeatedly interact with the infotainment controls instead of focusing on driving. My Honda dealership advised me they were able to reproduce this issue on multiple new 2026 Honda Odyssey vehicles on their lot, indicating that this is not unique to my vehicle. Honda Customer Relations has also been notified.

NHTSA ID

11750605

Incident

Jun 15, 2026

Rear windshield with possible spontaneous shatter first noticed at noon today. No signs of impact or vandalism. Car last driven 2 days prior and appeared normal last night. Vertical line fractures at the very edge of the glass on both sides concerning for manufacturing defect. Police report filed, no repairs made yet.

NHTSA ID

11750603

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11750598

Incident

Jun 25, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11750594

Incident

Jun 15, 2026

When i was driving, going about 45 MPH, the emergency braking system beeped and breaks were engaged. Not to a complete stop but like a "break tap". Nothing was in front of beside our behind me. It was terrifying and I'm unsure why this happened. Please be advised, this can cause an accident.

NHTSA ID

11749390

Incident

Jul 9, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11744414

Incident

Jun 16, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11743726

Incident

May 18, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11743032

Incident

Jun 9, 2026

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...

NHTSA ID

11742115

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11740995

Incident

May 29, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11733965

Incident

Jan 16, 2026

Sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving. No object hit the sunroof.

NHTSA ID

11730490

Incident

Apr 10, 2026

My husband and I are driving down the road to go to the store and the sunroof exploaded there was no car in front or behind us for something to of had hit it. It just burst into pieces

NHTSA ID

11728552

Incident

Mar 31, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the blind spot monitor became inoperable with the message "Blind Spot Information Systems Failure - See Dealer" displayed. The contact also stated that while in the driver assist mode, the message "System Could not be Retrieved - Please try Again" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that a systems update was needed but was not currently available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 6.

NHTSA ID

11727985

Incident

Jan 6, 2026

Mileage

6 mi

While changing lanes to an off-ramp the Collision Mitigation Braking system suddenly activated along with a collision warning beep even though there were no automobiles nearby to trigger the warning. No cars in front of me and no cars to the right of me in the exit lane. My car immediately braked and tried to steer back into the main roadway, away from the exit lane. The lane departure light did also come on due to me not using a turn signal prior to the lane change, but there was nothing else around to trigger a proximity alert nor to respond to.

NHTSA ID

11715844

Incident

Feb 2, 2026

On November 12, I was on the highway in the right lane, there was a car about 4 car lengths ahead of me in my lane and the car in the middle lane was quite a distance ahead. Just as I got in the middle lane, BOOM! the vehicle's CMBS malfunctioned and slammed on the brakes - no warning, visual or audible, just came to an abrupt stop. Thank goodness no one was behind me or I would have been dead. It was an instant whiplash effect as well And then as I was then merging back into the right lane to exit the highway, it did it again! There were NO cars anywhere near me as I had slowed down due to the trauma from the first braking malfunction and all the cars were quite a distance ahead and thank goodness there were no cars behind me. Then on November 25, the same thing happened again. Driving down the highway, no cars near and BOOM! I am brought to an abrupt stop in the middle of the highway! The CMBS malfunctioned again in the middle of the highway. I took it to the dealer and conveniently there were no codes so they said there was nothing they could do. Someone needs to do something about this! To answer your questions 1) CMBS system is malfunctioning and has been for quite some time on Honda vehicles 2) If there would have been a vehicle behind me, I most likely would have been killed. If my dogs would have been in the van, they would have been injured. It gave me whiplash 3) I took it in and they did nothing until I complained, then they kept it a second day and drove it and said it didn't do it. But they weren't even going to do anything until I pushed the issue. This is a known issue with Honda as I found out AFTER it happened to me. 4) the dealer 5) Absolutely NO warnings before it happened

NHTSA ID

11704863

Incident

Nov 12, 2025

Observed repeatedly while operating at highway/interstate cruising speed, with adaptive cruise engaged: any changes in road texture - concrete to blacktop, between different types of blacktop or concrete, separation joints, etc - such as when crossing a bridge, crossing state lines, entering open-road toll plazas, etc - results in a sharp lifting of the throttle and at times will also automatically engage the brakes. This results in rapidly and unexpectedly cutting speed by 10-15 mph before automatically resuming set speed 1-2 seconds later. This has resulted in trailing vehicles to think I am brake-checking them or otherwise caused them to abruptly brake or swerve out from behind me. It also can cause driver and occupants in the Odyssey to lurch forward and back unexpectedly - which has had a residual affect of unintended input on the steering wheel, cascading into unintended direction change and amplifying vehicle instability issues already introduced by the sudden speed change. There are multiple other owners of 2018+ Odysseys on the forum [XXX] which have reported similar situations. I have tried to encourage them to register their observations here. I believe this issue poses a significant risk to the operator and occupants, as well as surrounding motorists. Rental/fleet vehicles with drivers who are otherwise unfamiliar with the issue would be at exceptional risk. I have experienced this issue numerous times as I live near & frequent highways and interstates with these types of road conditions nearby. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11697370

Incident

Oct 1, 2025