2020 Honda Odyssey engine problems
72 of the 474 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Odyssey name the engine (NHTSA’s “Engine” heading — the engine and its cooling system). Filed under the same heading: 18 manufacturer bulletins, 3 NHTSA investigations. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the engine
Source: NHTSA complaint database1 of the 72 reports a crash · 1 a fire · 1 injury. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2021: 1 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 15 · 2024: 9 · 2025: 21 · 2026: 18
Too few of these complaints carry an odometer reading to say when the problem shows up.
474 complaints in all about the 2020 Honda Odyssey, 18 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Engine” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Honda Odyssey engine problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the engine. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes (no discernible pattern) after stopping at a red light or a stop sign, the car shuts off and will not restart for several minutes. The Honda service center at the dealer where we leased the car said they have heard of similar problems with newer model Honda odysseys and Honda pilots but there has been no formal recall.
Auto shutoff feature regularly fails when attempting to restart the engine. It may delay the restart or put the car in park and not allow it to restart for over 30 seconds. I was stuck in stop and go rush hour traffic.
What is on file about the engine
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigations
- PE25008 Engine failureopened Aug 20, 2025 · open
- The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 414 reports of connecting rod bearing failures in the 3.5L V6 engine used in the following vehicles: Model Years (MY) 2018-2020 Acura TLX, MY2016-2020 Acura MDX, MY2016-2020 Honda Pilot, MY2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, and MY2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline. The subject engine failures were analyzed as part of a Recall Query (RQ24013). It was determined…
- EA25004 No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engagesopened Mar 26, 2025 · open
- On June 3, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22005 after the agency received VOQs and several field reports concerning the Auto Idle Stop (AIS) feature on 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles. The complaints allege that the engine fails to restart on its own from a complete stop at a traffic light or road intersection with the AIS function engaged. The subject …
- RQ24013 Engine failureopened Nov 8, 2024 · closed Aug 20, 2025
- On November 8, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query RQ24013 to assess the scope of Honda recall 23V-751 after receiving complaints that alleged connecting rod bearing failures in vehicles that were not within the scope of recall 23V-751. In November 2023, Honda recalled 248,999 various Model Year (MY)2016–2020 Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the 3.5L V6 engine…
18 manufacturer bulletins filed under this heading
- ONL6AX022025A OtherFeb 19, 2025
- Owner Notification Letter - Under certain circumstances, after coming to a stop and the idle stop feature engaging, your vehicle may not automatically restart.
The 1 newest are listed; every one is on the model year’s page. Quote the document number at a service desk — it is a diagnosis the maker has already written down.
Trouble codes named on this system
Codes a bulletin or an owner’s complaint about the 2020 Honda Odyssey names on this model year; a code with a record of its own links it.
Other systems with a record on the 2020 Honda Odyssey
Source: the same files- electrical problems 166 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre engine problems common on the 2020 Honda Odyssey?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 72 owner complaints naming the engine on this model year (15% of everything owners filed about it), and 18 manufacturer bulletins, 3 NHTSA investigations are filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the engine on the 2020 Honda Odyssey?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 14 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do engine problems show up on the 2020 Honda Odyssey?
Too few of the complaints carry an odometer reading to say. The model year's page shows the mileage curve across every system where it can.
What does NHTSA's "Engine" heading cover?
The engine and its cooling system. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.