Honda faces a new engine stalling issue, but it should be a straightforward fix.
Within the past week, American Honda issued a new recall for its popular Pilot SUV as well as the similarly popular Acura MDX and the TLX sedan. In total, some 294,612 vehicles could have a defect that causes the engine to stall. Specifically, the condition could actually comeup under “sudden changes in the throttle opening”, rather than necessarily under most normal driving conditions or while vehicles are stationary.
After more than a year investigating the problem, Honda and supplier Denso narrowed down the stall condition to a software fault. Affected vehicles within the recall population could have improper programming within the fuel injection electronic control unit (FI-ECU), according to what Honda told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Due to the improper settings,” Honda says, “certain driving conditions could cause a torque control failure to be detected and stall the engine”, even though there’s no actual mechanical defect within the fueling system. Depending on when and where the engine loses power, any hesitation or complete loss of power could naturally increase the risk of an accident and serious injury.
The recall campaign directly impacts 2023-2025 Honda Pilot models, as well as the 2021-2025 Acura TLX Type S and the 2022-2025 MDX Type S. On the Acura side, this only impacts the Type S models, so your standard 2.0-liter MDXs and TLXs are not involved in this specific recall.
Honda plans to sort the problem out by updating the FI-ECU control program with the proper logic to prevent inadvertently triggering a stall conditions. Owners who actually experience the problem may see it crop up under sudden acceleration, wherein the malfunction indicator light will illuminate and the engine will hesitate or stall out completely.
The automaker says it will notify owners on March 17, and has already informed dealers as of January 28, 2025. Through January 16, Honda says it’s dealt with 674 warranty claims related to the condition, and no crashes or injuries. The NHTSA has assigned the recall number 25V-031 to this campaign, while Honda and Acura designate it as EL1 or AL0.