2020 Honda Passport Engine Problems

In April 2024 on a road trip to [XXX], the engine suffered a catastrophic failure without warning near [XXX]. The connecting rod or rods broke, and one of them exited the engine. State Police and Local Fire Department responded because a passer-by saw smoke from the expired engine and reported a fire - there was no fire, but the engine oil was leaking down onto the exhaust pipes, causing smoke. The local Honda dealership in Bloomington, IL and Honda itself were not very cooperative, claiming the engine was not maintained properly. I submitted our mechanic's records as proof twice to Honda, yet they still resisted. Finally I contacted the original Honda of Naperville dealership where we bought the vehicle, and that got Honda to partially refund the money (under extended warranty) that we spent to repair the motor. In the end, the motor was replaced with a used 25,000 mile unit, which was the only option under the warranty. That did not sit well with us, so we capitulated, accepted the used engine, then sold the Passport back to the Bloomington Honda. Overall, we had to pay for towing 35 miles, the expense of renting a vehicle for about 1 week, and other extra costs plus the time and hassle associated with multiple phone calls to Honda. The total expenses incurred was $1,738 for towing and a rental vehicle to complete the trip. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11754332

Incident

Apr 4, 2024

Engine failed and now the piston rod is knocking inside the engine. Engine failure while operating a vehicle is extremely dangerous and could cause an accident or death to myself and anyone else around my vehicle while its being operated. This type of issue can even cause a fire in the engine bay. When the issue presented itself I was going 60 down the highway. Yes, the vehicle has been in two independent shops which have both confirmed the engine failure due to premature connecting rod bearing wear which was most likely caused by manufacturer crankshaft issues. No it has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, insurance, or others. No there were not any warning lights, messages, or sysmptoms prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID

11714777

Incident

Jan 29, 2026

Car shuts down and does not restart. Also goes to neutral and does not allow car to be steered. Also seems to be related to auto restart.

NHTSA ID

11711008

Incident

Jan 14, 2026

At approx. 5 years of age & 67,500 miles, the engine began to make rattling or ticking noises that were in sync with engine speed (RPM). Within 1 day of noting the noise, I took the first available appointment to bring the vehicle to my local Honda dealership, Napleton Honda in Loves Park, IL. Napleton Honda diagnosed the issue as "rod knock" due to failing connecting rod bearings. The dealership advised that the only recourse is to replace the engine. Honda Motor Corp (manufacturer) was notified by me about the issue, but they declined to make any substantive effort to assist with the repair costs despite the fact that the issue is increasingly known and documented as per NHTSA campaign # RQ24013

NHTSA ID

11704578

Incident

Nov 10, 2025

My Honda is 3.5 L V6 engine blew up I know there’s a recall for the 3.5 L V6 engine on my Honda. However, the recalls don’t include the passport, which is what I have but the connecting rods blue causing engine failure.

NHTSA ID

11696963

Incident

Oct 27, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Passport. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle began to shake. The vehicle was steered into a parking lot and the vehicle stalled and failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

NHTSA ID

11696141

Incident

Oct 24, 2025

Mileage

65,000 mi

Component Affected: Engine / Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: No Deaths: No Incident 1 •Date: January 30, 2025 •Time: ~9:45 AM •Location: Dysart Rd & E Van Buren St, Avondale, AZ •Witness: Taylor (passenger) •Speed: 0 mph (stopped at red light) •Weather: 49°F ambient temperature Description: While stopped at a red light, the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) system engaged. When I attempted to accelerate as the light turned green, the engine failed to restart. The car was immobilized in the left-hand lane, hazards on, and shifted itself into Park. Multiple attempts to restart failed. After several minutes and repeated actions (cycling ignition, exiting and re-entering the vehicle), the car finally restarted. Safety Concern: The vehicle was disabled in active traffic, creating a hazardous situation for myself, my passenger, and surrounding drivers. Incident 2 •Date: August 13, 2025 •Time: ~6:37 AM •Location: Off-ramp of N Verrado Way & Papago Fwy, Buckeye, AZ •Speed: 0 mph (stopped at ramp light) •Witness: None •Weather: 86°F ambient temperature Description: While stopped on the freeway off-ramp, the AIS engaged. When I attempted to proceed, the engine failed to restart. The vehicle was stuck on the ramp with hazards on and remained inoperative for several minutes until it finally restarted. Safety Concern: The car was disabled on a freeway off-ramp during morning traffic, creating a serious risk of collision. Incident 3 •Date: August 19, 2025 •Time: ~3:04 PM •Location: 1520 N Verrado Way, Buckeye, AZ (Shell gas station parking lot) •Speed: 0 mph (shifting from Park to Reverse) •Weather: 110°F ambient temperature •Witness: None Description: After completing a quick errand, I entered the vehicle, started it normally, and attempted to back out of a parking space. When I shifted into reverse, the engine stalled due to AIS. This time, the car placd itself into Neutral rather than Park. The restart delay was shorter

NHTSA ID

11681724

Incident

Aug 19, 2025

The first major issue I just started running into at about 90,000 miles is the engine auto start stop feature. I usually disable it when I drive due to the inability for the car to provide adequate start from a stop, but when I don’t, I’ve had the vehicle completely stall on me at a stoplight and won’t let me restart the vehicle for several minutes leaving me stranded and vulnerable sitting in a lane on a highway. I’ve had about a dozen instances of this issue now over the last several months. The second issue is with the adaptive, cruise control or the emergency, stopping on the vehicle where it will jam on the brakes, even though there are no cars in front of me it inaccurately picks up vehicles in the oncoming lane. There are more than 8 feet separated from my vehicle. I have had the system recalibrated and have complained about it at the dealer, but I’ve been told that there’s nothing wrong with it. Just thought I’d report that as well because it’s almost got me into several accidents by jamming on my brakes for no reason and almost being rear-ended.

NHTSA ID

11681068

Incident

Aug 8, 2025

The Passport is equipped with an auto stop/start engine feature. In the last week, while stopped in traffic in the roadway the engine shut off, but did not turn back on causing the car to stall in traffic for several minutes before I was able to restart it. The vehicle shifted to neutral and wouldn't restart until the power was fully off and the door was opened and closed. Both times I was stuck in a travel lanes for approximately 3-5 minutes.

NHTSA ID

11673247

Incident

Jul 13, 2025

Auto Idle Stop feature fails and I can not get the engine to start for a few minutes. I get stuck in traffic with horns honking behind me and people mad and passing me in an unsafe manner. I have replaced the battery and have had the battery and starter retested; they are OK. I brought it to Easy Honda, in Houston, and they say they can't find anything wrong, since it only happens intermittently. My problem has existed since I bought the vehicle new. I have 55,000 miles on the vehicle. Also, intermittently, the engine will not crank over when it is a hot engine. I live in Houston, so it is hot a lot. I read that this is a problem with millions of Honda and Acura vehicles. When can we get some help on a fix? [XXX] cell [XXX] or [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11669243

Incident

Jun 2, 2025

While stopped at a busy intersection under a red light our 2020 Honda Passport's 'Auto Idle Stop Function' had automatically stopped the engine with the brakes applied, upon releasing the brakes the engine did not restart as it was supposed to. I reapplied the brakes which were no longer 'powered brakes' and tried ot restart the vehicle but it would not start. A message came up on the dash to put the vehicle in park which I did. At that point when starting the vehicle it did start, put it in 'D' and drove past the interection to the relief of all those behind me. Had this been my wife I doubt she would have been able to do this as quickly as I did. This is a safety hazard and Honda needs to have a recall to fix this issue. Currently we are trying to remember to keep the 'Auto Idle Stop Function' in the 'OFF' position. We bought this vehicle new and have kept it in great condition.

NHTSA ID

11652033

Incident

Mar 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Passport. The contact stated while attempting to stop at a red light, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was restarted after the third attempt however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.

NHTSA ID

11618781

Incident

Oct 5, 2024

Mileage

31,000 mi

The engine lost power and shut down while driving on the highway. The vehicle has been at a Honda dealership since this date (so about 8 weeks now). It can be inspected but I am on the verge of replacing the engine at my cost. The loss of power resulted in putting the vehicle on the side of and icy highway at night and at risk of being hit or sideswiped. There was very little cell service which meant that a tow truck couldn't be called right away. There were no warning signs that the engine was experiencing trouble before this engine failure. The problem has not been reproduced by the dealership. They have inspected the vehicle and have only pointed to low oil/leaking oil as the issue. I myself have no evidence of leaking oil or low oil. There again, were no warnings/symptoms prior to the failure. The problem occurred at the moment that the engine supposedly failed completely. The dealership and American Honda have not entertained any failure other than the low oil and my oil change which occured 5300 miles and over three months prior. I cannot understand as a consumer with a PowerTrain warranty and a car with some known recalls (fuel pump/ connecting rod) refuse to be concerned for the safety of their customers and use my vehicle to determine what the real issue was or is.

NHTSA ID

11578026

Incident

Jan 22, 2024

While at a stoplight with traffic behind me, my Honda quit and couldn't be moved out of road, or restarted for service. No warning on dashboard or lights to let me know what problem was. It went through every error in the system! I had to call police to block traffic and call a wrecker to come tow me to AutoZone for a replacement battery. It was the wrecker service that advised it was not the first time he had seen this happen. My car is only 3 years old and did not give a warning, it just stopped in traffic putting me and others in danger. I had unnecessary cost and repairs that should never had to be made. The local police had to use resources that took time away from them as well. This was on a busy Saturday afternoon on a well traveled road. This is NOT in the best interest of the public! Now I have to take time off work to have it looked at with dealer. All this could have been avoided if this technology was not put on the vehicle. I expect better from Honda! My next vehicle will be something without all this unnecessary technology that puts people in danger!

NHTSA ID

11546317

Incident

Sep 25, 2023

This has happened 3 different times starting on 5/28/23. While at a stop light the engine shut off function goes into effect. The engine then shuts off and won't restart until you put it back in park and restart the vehicle. This is dangerous and could cause accidents when in stop and go traffic.

NHTSA ID

11528059

Incident

May 28, 2023

With the Idle-Stop activated, the engine shut down while stopped at a red light. However, when I disengaged the brake and tried to push the gas pedal to start, the car did not restart. It went "dead." I had to attempt to restart the car, and it took multiple attempts to get it to restart. I ultimately had to put the vehicle in park and then re-start the engine manually once the 2020 Passport "re-set" itself. This was dangerous, as I was in a very active intersection at dusk/night and the Passport became hard to see as the electrical system + engine shut down and would not restart promptly with cars trying to go through the green light.

NHTSA ID

11513394

Incident

Mar 7, 2023