2021 Honda Passport Problems

multipurpose camera failure at 41000 miles. just past warranty

My 2021 Honda Passport experiences a sudden, complete failure of the digital instrument cluster and infotainment screen while driving. The dashboard controls go pitch black without warning, resulting in an immediate and dangerous loss of the speedometer, critical vehicle safety warnings, and the federally mandated rearview backup camera. The system stays dark for 3 to 4 minutes before attempting a forced system reboot. This matches the exact failure mode of NHTSA Recall 23V-431 (MOST Bus Network Connectors). However, both the dealership and American Honda Corporate refuse to cover the repair, stating my specific VIN is excluded from the current recall footprint. This is a severe, active driving hazard that removes critical speed and safety information while traveling at highway speeds.

Auto start/stop will sometimes not re-start the engine after letting off the brake.

I was at a traffic light, when the light turned green I gave the car gas it hesitated, then went into neutral, the battery sign showed on the dash, the car would not go. I was 1 line under half a tank of gas, so I wasn’t empty. Also, just before this happened the radio became full of static on an FM channel. It wouldn’t allow me to switch to park to try and restart it. Scary and Frustrating!!!

I was at a traffic light, when the light turned green I gave the car gas it hesitated, then went into neutral, the battery sign showed on the dash, the car would not go. I was 1 line under half a tank of gas, so I wasn’t empty. Also, just before this happened the radio became full of static on an FM channel. It wouldn’t allow me to switch to park to try and restart it. Scary and Frustrating!!!

multipurpose camera failure at 41000 miles. just past warranty

There is a known issue with auto idle feature. If you do not manually turn off every time it stays on and occasionally will cause car issue when stopping. I have had it happen in vehicle about a dozen times. When you fully depress brake engine is suppose to i gel to save gas however on occasion the vehicle will completely stall out. I have had this issue happen when approaching stop signs or in traffic situations. The biggest problem is trying to reengage car. Sometimes you can feel it starting to do this and if you quickly apply gas you can avoid it however sometimes the car will lock up with display lights and you have to keep pushing the Engine stop button to turn off the vehicle and turn vehicle back on. It is sometimes difficult to even turn off engine vehicle when this happens but seems to be only way to get vehicle to respond. I have had vehicles behind me almost hit me while I try to get vehicle out of this mode. I know it’s an issue as it’s all over the forums when you search for fix.

The vehicle experienced a catastrophic internal engine failure caused by connecting rod bearing failure. Prior to the failure, the engine developed abnormal internal knocking/noise, indicating bearing deterioration. The engine is currently available for inspection. While traveling approximately 55 mph on [XXX], the check engine warning light illuminated. Within about one mile, the engine rapidly lost power and developed a severe knocking noise. The sudden loss of power at highway speed created a serious safety hazard by reducing my ability to maintain traffic speed and safely maneuver the vehicle. I had my child in the vehicle, and both we and surrounding motorists were placed at risk of a collision while I attempted to move to exit traffic. The failure has been confirmed by an independent repair facility, Absolute Automotive LLC in Parker, Colorado. Their inspection determined the engine suffered internal damage due to connecting rod bearing failure. I have the engine replacement invoice, technician's diagnostic notes, and photographs documenting the engine damage. The vehicle has not been inspected by Honda. I contacted Honda to report the failure and request assistance, but I was informed there was no recall for the 2021 Honda Passport equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine and that Honda would not provide assistance unless a recall existed. Before the engine failed completely, the engine developed abnormal internal knocking/noise. While driving on [XXX], the check engine warning light illuminated, and within approximately one mile the engine lost power and produced a heavy knocking noise, rendering the vehicle unsafe to operate. I am submitting this complaint because a sudden internal engine failure resulting in loss of power at highway speeds presents a significant safety hazard and should be investigated. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This has happened several times but today it was dangerous. I was doing around 40mph and there were some changes in the concrete color and my car slammed on the breaks (again) for no reason. I was almost hit. This keeps happening in my vehicle and I am terrified to drive it. Please help get this recalled. I have a child with cancer and I bought this safer vehicle to transport her to the hospital.

I purchased a used 2021 Passport the end of May 2025. While driving, the 'collision mitigation braking system' or CMBS would activate the braking system and would intermittently just brake, causing panic for not only myself, but I'm sure drivers behind me for suddenly braking with no imminent threat in from of me. This happened multiple times without receiving any warning or notifications, just suddenly. It would happen without warning, or sometimes nearing a bridge or a cover plate on the road, which almost caused accidents multiple times to get rear ended. I have driven for decades and never felt anxiety until I drove this vehicle for a few months. I felt scared driving this vehicle, feeling uncertain when it would suddenly just brake. Eventually after a few months of driving, I got a reading that said CMBS problem on the screen. I scheduled an appointment with the dealer. The dealer suggested a near $3000 replacement for a camera (on a 2021 vehicle). At the appointment, I ultimately returned this vehicle to the dealer where I bought it and unfortunately lost out on thousands of dollars after having the vehicle about 6 months. I have always liked Honda, and have had 2 prior Hondas, but with this vehicle purchase, I felt the most unsafe I have ever felt in a vehicle, and moving forward will not feel comfortable purchasing Honda.

I was at a traffic light, when the light turned green I gave the car gas it hesitated, then went into neutral, the battery sign showed on the dash, the car would not go. I was 1 line under half a tank of gas, so I wasn’t empty. Also, just before this happened the radio became full of static on an FM channel. It wouldn’t allow me to switch to park to try and restart it. Scary and Frustrating!!!

Fuel Injectors/ Misfires

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Passport. The contact stated that while after parking the vehicle in a garage and attempting to depress the button to collapse the side view mirrors, the function failed to operate. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer to have the wires replaced. The contact stated that shortly after the repair, the failure recurred. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer and was informed by the dealer that the vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V174000 (Visibility) however, the VIN search found that the recall was not associated with the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

See attached document from complainant

No incident has occurred. However, my concern is that a recall was issued on February 1, 2024 (NHTSA Recall Number 24V-064), and as of October 31, 2025, Honda is still stating that parts are not available to complete the repair. I first contacted Honda in March 2025—over a year after the recall was issued—and was informed that the necessary parts were still unavailable. I called again in October 2025, and received the same response. We are now approaching two years since this recall was announced, and it is unacceptable and inexcusable that Honda has yet to provide the parts needed to correct this safety issue.

There were no warning light, malfunction errors or anything prior to 1/4/2025. My passenger seat weight sensor was supposedly finally replaced on 4/9/2025 (I kept being turned away due to the part not being available), but it is still not working, as it is not illuminating/communicating with the dashboard appropriately. I told the dealer this the same day and they said it was late in the day so I had to bring it back. I went back to the shop twice and the second time they kept my car for 5 hours and said they couldn’t figure out why it’s not working so I would have to go back to the collision shop from 1/9/2024 to see if it is a wire or air bag issue. I got in my car and noticed that now the passer seat belt alarm is on so I took it back. They told me they can’t keep examining my car and I would have to pay for a full diagnostic test to see why the seat belt alarm and weight sensor is not working. I kept going back and forth with them that this is a safety issue and it needs to be fixed and I should not have to pay for this because at least the seat belt alarm was working before I went to them on 4/29/25. I also asked for a supervisor and was told no one was available and I would have to come back a 4th time. I left and instead of going back for who knows how long, I called the collision shop on 4/30/25 and have gone back and forth with them about finding out why my car is still not fixed. It is now 5/7/2025 and neither my passenger air bag sensor or seat belt sensor is working properly and the alarm is still beeping unless I lock the passenger seat belt. I do not trust the dealership and I am pissed off at the collision shop because no one seems to care that there are safety defects that are still not working correctly. I should also not have to pay for something that was out of my control and should have been done correctly the first time. I need some help now as this is an urgent matter and I do not feel safe or that my passenger will be safe in my vehicle.

During a routine maintenance visit at Honda Dealership, I was informed that the passenger side control arm bushing was cracked and needs replacement. I was told that it is standard procedure to replace both sides. My car had only 45500 miles. It was a surprise to me since this SUV is designed for off road, how a bushing can fail so early as it is only driven on Highways and in the city. To me it should be a manufacturing defect and so be covered by the manufacturer as it has low mileage.

On my way to work I was on the highway and five warning lights came on out of no where. All five warnings were the safety assist systems had problems. I drove to the Honda dealership and found out it was my microchip for my honda,the main microchip for all of the safety and system controls were dead/bad and that it would need to be replace. I was told by the service manager that without the micro chip the vehicle would no longer be drivable as it controls power steering system, brakes system, lane departures, etc. If I would have ignored those warning lights, all of those systems all systems would have failed putting my life at risk and others in their vehicles as well . My vehicle was bought with 3 miles on the speedometer and was only 2 years old at the time of this occurrence.

During a routine maintenance visit at Honda Dealership, I was informed that the passenger side control arm bushing was cracked and needs replacement. I was told that it is standard procedure to replace both sides. My car had only 45500 miles. It was a surprise to me since this SUV is designed for off road, how a bushing can fail so early as it is only driven on Highways and in the city. To me it should be a manufacturing defect and so be covered by the manufacturer as it has low mileage.

Emission System Problem All Wheel Drive Problem Warning light on and off on Dashboard.

SRS warning light came on. Diagnostic found Code U3000-49 Internal Failure of the SRS unit-Seat weight sensors on front passenger seat Front seat lower frame/rail required replacement and was completed by the dealer at my out of pocket cost. This vehicle was not included in the Honda 750,000 vehicle recall for this same defect. Reference Notice 24-050

There were no warning light, malfunction errors or anything prior to 1/4/2025. My passenger seat weight sensor was supposedly finally replaced on 4/9/2025 (I kept being turned away due to the part not being available), but it is still not working, as it is not illuminating/communicating with the dashboard appropriately. I told the dealer this the same day and they said it was late in the day so I had to bring it back. I went back to the shop twice and the second time they kept my car for 5 hours and said they couldn’t figure out why it’s not working so I would have to go back to the collision shop from 1/9/2024 to see if it is a wire or air bag issue. I got in my car and noticed that now the passer seat belt alarm is on so I took it back. They told me they can’t keep examining my car and I would have to pay for a full diagnostic test to see why the seat belt alarm and weight sensor is not working. I kept going back and forth with them that this is a safety issue and it needs to be fixed and I should not have to pay for this because at least the seat belt alarm was working before I went to them on 4/29/25. I also asked for a supervisor and was told no one was available and I would have to come back a 4th time. I left and instead of going back for who knows how long, I called the collision shop on 4/30/25 and have gone back and forth with them about finding out why my car is still not fixed. It is now 5/7/2025 and neither my passenger air bag sensor or seat belt sensor is working properly and the alarm is still beeping unless I lock the passenger seat belt. I do not trust the dealership and I am pissed off at the collision shop because no one seems to care that there are safety defects that are still not working correctly. I should also not have to pay for something that was out of my control and should have been done correctly the first time. I need some help now as this is an urgent matter and I do not feel safe or that my passenger will be safe in my vehicle.

Automatic high beam headlights turn on and off sporadically causing flashing lights for oncoming traffic.

The headlights iced over completely while driving in light freezing drizzle. When they iced over it was at night and I was no longer able to see well enough to drive safely. These all led headlights need a heating system like emergency lights to prevent this in freezing conditions.

Tire sidewall separation. Tire manufacturer has recalled other tires with different mold numbers for this exact same issue but this tire isn't included in recall but has now shown the same issue. This could have caused a catastrophic blowout failure had I not caught.

Tire Blowout on pothole with appox diameter less than 4" 265 45 R 20

There were no warning light, malfunction errors or anything prior to 1/4/2025. My passenger seat weight sensor was supposedly finally replaced on 4/9/2025 (I kept being turned away due to the part not being available), but it is still not working, as it is not illuminating/communicating with the dashboard appropriately. I told the dealer this the same day and they said it was late in the day so I had to bring it back. I went back to the shop twice and the second time they kept my car for 5 hours and said they couldn’t figure out why it’s not working so I would have to go back to the collision shop from 1/9/2024 to see if it is a wire or air bag issue. I got in my car and noticed that now the passer seat belt alarm is on so I took it back. They told me they can’t keep examining my car and I would have to pay for a full diagnostic test to see why the seat belt alarm and weight sensor is not working. I kept going back and forth with them that this is a safety issue and it needs to be fixed and I should not have to pay for this because at least the seat belt alarm was working before I went to them on 4/29/25. I also asked for a supervisor and was told no one was available and I would have to come back a 4th time. I left and instead of going back for who knows how long, I called the collision shop on 4/30/25 and have gone back and forth with them about finding out why my car is still not fixed. It is now 5/7/2025 and neither my passenger air bag sensor or seat belt sensor is working properly and the alarm is still beeping unless I lock the passenger seat belt. I do not trust the dealership and I am pissed off at the collision shop because no one seems to care that there are safety defects that are still not working correctly. I should also not have to pay for something that was out of my control and should have been done correctly the first time. I need some help now as this is an urgent matter and I do not feel safe or that my passenger will be safe in my vehicle.

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Passport. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, crossing an intersection, crashed into the rear wheel of an unknown vehicle. The seat belt fractured. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The air bag deployed. The contact sustained bruises and bumps and medical attention was provided. A police report was filed. There were no reports of a fire. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

PURCHASED THIS AUTOMOBILE THAT HAVE A VIBRATION WHILE RIDING IN EVERY TYPE OF ROADS THAT I NOTED AFTER RIDING BACK HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP. AT THE MOMENT OF THE INITIAL TEST DRIVE THIS CONDITION WASN'T NOTED SINCE WE TEST DRIVE A PASSPORT EX-L TRIM MODEL. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP (APPOINTMENT ON RECORD) AND INFORMED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF THE ISSUES. I WAITED AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR 2.5 HRS AND THEY INFORMED THAT THEY VERIFIED THE ALIGNMENT AND WHEEL BALANCES AND NOTHING WAS FOUND. I RETURNED HOME AND CALLED BACK THE DEALER AND INFORMED THAT VIBRATION CONDITION STILL OCCURRING. THEY SUGGESTED TO CHANGE THE 4 TIRES AND WHEELS SINCE MAYBE A FROM FACTORY ISSUE. I ASKED THE DEALER TO PERFORM A TEST RIDE ON A NEW SIMILAR UNIT. WE DID IT, DROVE THE NEW UNIT AND NO VIBRATIONS FOUND, SO THAT IS NOT A NORMAL OPERATING CONDITION. DEALER TEST DRIVE MY AUTOMOBILE AND NOTED THAT THE VIBRATION STILL THERE ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT AND STEERING WHEEL. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN AND LEFT THE CAR FOR CORRECTING THE VIBRATION ISSUE. THEY STILL WORKING ON THE SAME SERVICE ORDER AND DIDN'T CLOSED THE PREVIOUS ONE. TODAY, THEY CHANGED THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE (DOESN'T LOOKS NEW) AND THEY MENTIONED THAT THEY REDO THE WHEEL BALANCES. AFTER A SECOND REPAIR ATTEMPT, WHILE DRIVING BACK HOME I NOTED THAT THE VIBRATION STILLS. DURING THE RIDE BACK HOME I NOTED THAT WHILE BREAKING, THE AUTOMOBILE WAS VIBRATING ALSO NOW. NEW ISSUE. MY AUTOMOBILE WAS LEFT AT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FOR A COMPLETE VERIFICATION WITH THEIR TECHNICIANS. I ASKED THEM BEFORE DELIVERING THE AUTOMOBILE TO ME TO PERFORM A FINAL TEST DRIVE INSPECTION WITH THE SHOP FOREMAN AFTER CORRECTING THE ISSUE. AS A NOTE, VIBRATION CONDITION HAPPENS IN NEWLY ASPHALTED ROADS, OLD ASPHALTED ROADS, HIGHWAYS, FL TURNPIKE, EVERYWHERE. I FEEL UNSAFE WITH THESE VIBRATION CONDITIONS.

When I bought vehicle it came rated with 5000lbs towing. To achieve that towing rating I had to buy and get installed the Honda Transmission Cooler. I got the kit installed and right after install there is a noise when the vehicle shifts from 7-8 gear. It sounds like rumble strips. I did some research and there are others who have the same issue. See link to Honda passport forum. https://www.passportforums.com/threads/noise-when-shifting-from-7th-to-8th-gear.2923/ Took vehicle to dealership and they looked it over. They checked fluid level and spoke to Honda tech support. The dealership told me that Honda knows about this and if they fix it they will let me know. To me this means that this is a known engineering defect and they didn’t say if they have a fix or not. The reason I bought the vehicle was because of the towing capacity. To get the towing capacity I had to install the trans cooler. I paid and had it installed and now the vehicle does not run like it did when I bought it. As for safety risks there could be unforeseen issues. Because the transmission is now making a noise of unknown origins it could get damaged and cause a loss of power/malfunction. The noise (through fluid dynamics) could also cause damage to the cooler causing the transmission fluid to leak out and cause the vehicle to lose power.