[ballisticexchris]

The start stop does not bother me much and works pretty much seamless. Exception is it's a little rough when engine is cold. When the vehicle is cold (first start of the day) I shut it off. Once things warm up I just leave it on. Pretty slick feature. Try as a will, I cannot move my foot from brake to go pedal quicker than the restart.

One thing I highly recommend is to set your Passport up with pigtail and keep it on a battery maintainer of some sort when parked for more than a few days. The parasitic draws on these modern vehicles are no joke. Even After 2 days setting in the driveway I'm at less than 75% battery charge. It takes overnight top get it over 75% at a 2 amp charge.

Good news is Honda has made it super duper convenient to disable. A single push switch right behind shift button to disable/enable. Time will tell if I get the bulletin.

 

[ballisticexchris]

What I find quite odd is the VIN numbers effected are not listed. Every service bulletin I have ever encountered has the VIN's effected on it.

Also on NHTSA I see nothing but 5 complaints (service brakes/forward collision avoidance) on my 2022, 37 complaints on 2021 and zero complaints on 2020. Not one complaint on the start stop malfunction.

I figure this issue with the start stop is pretty rare. I imagine it's fixed automatically when the vehicle is brought into dealer for service. And it does not have to be a Honda dealer. My local shop checks and corrects any kind of service bulletin on various manufacturers vehicles.

 

[ballisticexchris]

I'm still confused? This is a newer Passport. I'm assuming these start/stop issues have been addressed and updated in later model years. Both Honda and Toyota are known for fixing issues each new model year.

I can't imagine the start/stop issue has been ignored. I'm not too concerned. You how it is; anything that is a small problem gets blown out of proportion one the forums. We are a very small percentage of owners. IMHO this is not as serious as it's made out to be.

It is almost similar to the few VCM issues that were complained about when Honda rolled it out in 2003. After just a few model years the problems were all but eliminated. And still, even today forum members across the Honda forums are claiming problems that are near non existent.

I'm thinking that most drivers just don't like the start/stop technology and are exaggerating this issue.

 

[ballisticexchris]

It’s hard to believe that a company like Honda (number one benefit of the brand is the perception of reliability) would take 3-4 years to do ANYTHING about all the customer complaints.

That's exactly true. Honda is known for fixing known defects right away just like Toyota. And as to why I take with a grain of salt a quirk that is blown out of proportion on the forums.

Although we shouldn’t be surprised considering how long the speaker crackling has been around.

I'm quite surprised. Never heard of that one before.

You peaked my interest in this posting. "set your Passport up with pigtail". What does this look like? What did you install? What battery maintainer did you get?
Thanks

Here you go. We have 4 vehicles and 2 motorcycles that are rotated into service. My 2005 GMC Sierra sets permanent in driveway so it's got its own stand alone solar charge controller hooked up with a portable hard solar panel when parked. GMC and the 1998 Lexus gets driven the least.

Just for fun here is my GMC Sierra. It was a ton of labor for me to set up it up with Mechman alternator, dual batteries and the "Big Three". On top of that it has a solar charge controller with app so I can set a custom charging algorithm to keep both AGM batteries healthy.

I wish I could do something like this on the Passport. There is just not enough space under the hood. Not to mention all the complicated ECU and computerization that can be damaged. So a simple Jackery Solar Generator fits my needs.

As far as the start/stop feature malfunctioning, I'm in the camp of most of this being end user (owners) error. If the vehicle is not being driven daily then I can see all kinds of electrical related problems cropping up. These new vehicles from all manufacturers across the board are not designed to be setting. I knew well before plunking down my money that I was going to get on board with preventative care of the electrical system.

 

[ballisticexchris]

fx_chip, I will respectfully have to disagree in regards to your arguments and rebuttals toward me. No vehicle is perfect. However, these Honda mechanical problems are getting blown way out of proportion. 5 NHTSA complaints (none for the stop start feature) for a 2022 Passport is not representative of the 10's of thousands that have rolled off the assembly line.

I'm not discounting the fact that there are a few of these having issues with re-starting in traffic. I will be in line at the dealer for the update if I get the letter.

I am 100% certain this software update is going to be nothing more than restricting functions that require electrical output while the vehicle is sitting not running and attempting to start. Also the start stop will also be disabled more frequently as the software is going to increase the cranking amp and voltage requirement out of the battery before allowing it to function while driving.

I'm intelligent enough to know better than to run a blower, lights, wipers, inverters, etc when turning the key to start a vehicle. Apparently (at least with mine) Honda realizes that owners are not doing their due diligence in regards to common sense by either automatically shutting off electricity to high amp draw components or temporarily disabling the start stop feature.

I already have more than "anecdotal" proof of how the start/stop feature works. When the vehicle is setting for a few days and you head out in local stop and go errands, start stop does not work hardly at all. This is due to the battery losing power from setting. When I keep it on a charger/maintainer and do that same type of driving, it works seamless right from the get go.

My Mothers Toyota Highlander is exactly the same. The start stop hardly works at all when the vehicle has been setting in the driveway a few days.

 

[ballisticexchris]

if all car manufacturers are not using the same management program for their Idle Stop system it's ridiculous to claim because it works great in your mother's Highlander then anyone that thinks the system in their car is faulty must lack common sense.

Woah there buddy. I never claimed any such thing. I'm simply pointing out that all these start stop systems are similar in functionality. And yes some the fault can be pointed to the owner. Even before this technology I (and many others) were using battery maintainers to keep our battery/charging systems in functioning order.

Bottom line is maintaining our batteries (regardless of brand) goes a long way to preventing a large number of failures that forum members are claiming.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m only trying to help out the fellow owner with prevention tips I have learned over the years maintaining both personal and fleet equipment. The owners and service manuals are only to be used as a guide. Never ever are they to be considered the do all end all.

The start stop technology was designed to help meet EPA standards for ICE’s. It requires a lot of amps and even both a robust battery and starter will be hard pressed to keep up with the demands of the electrical system. That why it’s easily disabled with a simple push of a button.

Its good to know and I’m pleased Honda recognizes this by offering a simple software solution to disable the high draw components when CA’s in batteries are reduced. However, the owners can further improve their efficiency and reliability by keeping them topped off.

 

[ballisticexchris]

I am frequently getting the message, that the auto-start system is "unavailable". Apparently the battery is not charged enough to run it.....not a problem because I don't like it anyway, and this appears to be a built in safeguard against it not working and getting stranded at a red light......

Plus me too when it's been setting a day or two and used in a lot of local stop/go traffic. When it comes off the maintenance charger I rarely get the unavailable message and it works seamlessly.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Time to get in line . . .
Likely your 2022 Passport is one of the 10's of thousands that rolled off the assembly line with this same problem??

Does not worry me a bit. I already know what the software update will be doing. I knew before I purchased my vehicle what to do in order to mitigate the the issue. I'll have it in for my first free oil change and inspection soon. So it will be taken care of then while I have a coffee in the lounge.

I'm very proactive and like to solve potential issues before it becomes something that needs to be fixed.