VehicleVerdict

2023 Honda Passport problems

Verdict · NHTSA data

One of the years to avoid

The 2023 Honda Passport carries two red flags at once: 63 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA and an open NHTSA defect investigation (subject: No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages). It is one of the Passport years to avoid. Complainants reported 20 injuries in total across these filings.

Driver Assistance leads the complaint categories with 21 reports (33% of the total). In government crash testing it earned 5 of 5 NCAP stars overall.

63

NHTSA complaints

5

Recalls

2

Investigations · 2 open

5

Crash-involved

0

Fires reported

20

Injuries

0

Deaths

5

NCAP overall · of 5 stars

How does 2023 compare to other Passport years?

Passport NHTSA complaints by model year, 2023 highlighted420 complaints1981: 1 complaints1994: 46 complaints1995: 84 complaints1996: 55 complaints1997: 69 complaints1998: 315 complaints1999: 299 complaints2000: 128 complaints2001: 160 complaints2002: 31 complaints2019: 420 complaints2020: 133 complaints2021: 200 complaints2022: 91 complaints2023: 63 complaints2024: 23 complaints2025: 37 complaints2026: 45 complaints
Passport NHTSA complaints by model year, 2023 highlighted. Red bars are years to avoid.

See all Passport years to avoid →

What are the most common 2023 Honda Passport problems?

ComponentComplaintsShare
Driver Assistance2133%
Brakes1117%
Other711%
Transmission58%
Speed Control46%
Electrical System46%
Engine35%
Suspension23%
Steering12%
Body & Structure12%
Tires & Wheels12%
Seat Belts12%
Visibility & Wipers12%
Fuel System12%

Does the 2023 Honda Passport have recalls?

5 NHTSA recall campaigns on file. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.

26V365000SuspensionJune 4, 2026 · 880,514 units

Defect

American Honda Motor Company (Honda) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Honda Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport, and 2014-2020 Acura MDX vehicles that were sold in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The rear subframe may corrode at the suspension mounting points, which can result in rear suspension component failure.

Consequence

Failure of rear suspension components, such as the rear control arm, can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the rear subframe and install a rear subframe reinforcement kit and, as necessary, repair or replace the rear subframe components, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are AOU and AOT. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning June 10, 2026.

24V900000Fuel SystemNovember 27, 2024 · 205,760 units

Defect

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Passport and 2023-2025 Pilot vehicles. The fuel filler neck tube and fuel filler pipe may separate, allowing fuel to leak.

Consequence

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and repair the fuel filler neck tube and pipe as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 7, 2025. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is OKM.

24V184000SteeringMarch 7, 2024 · 245 units

Defect

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023 Passport and Ridgeline vehicles. The inner ball joint housing in the steering gearbox assembly may loosen and detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.

Consequence

A loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and replace the steering gearbox as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 11, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is LHY.

23V458000BrakesJune 29, 2023 · 124,077 units

Defect

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.

Consequence

Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.

23V431000Driver AssistanceJune 15, 2023 · 1,209,673 units

Defect

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles. Due to a faulty Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) communication coaxial cable connector, the rearview camera image may not appear on the display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence

A rearview camera that does not display an image can reduce the driver's rear view, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the MOST cable harness and install a straightening cover over the vehicle cable connector, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are EEL, ZEM, and SFC.

Open NHTSA investigations

EA25004

No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages

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 vehicles are equipped with a 3.5L engine with a 9-speed automatic transmission. On January 6, 2023, Honda released service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009. These service bulletins address the failure to restart issue in the 2016-2019MY Honda Pilot vehicles, as well as the 2015-2020 Acura TLX, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, 2019-2022 Honda Passport, and 2020-2023 Honda Ridgeline vehicles. The repair outlined in the service bulletins is a two-stage countermeasure to remedy the issue. The first stage is a Programmed Fuel Injection (“PGM-FI”) software update. The second stage is only deployed if the software update fails to remedy the issue. The second stage, depending on the model and model year, consists of replacement of the starter assembly, starter relays, and a valve adjustment. Additionally, Honda extended the warranty coverage to 10 years with unlimited mileage for vehicles requiring the second stage component replacement. ODI continues to receive complaints of the AIS failure to restart, with many complainants alleging the campaign countermeasures had been completed.NHTSA has reviewed Honda's Information Request Letter responses involving warranty claims, lawsuits, and consumer complaints in addition to ODI's own data. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further consider the potential safety defect, including gathering additional data regarding Honda’s service campaign efficacy. ODI is additionally expanding the scope to encompass all vehicles addressed in Honda’s service bulletins 23-008 and 23-009 as well as newer model year vehicles, which are substantially similar to the vehicles covered by the service campaign. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

EA25002

Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking

On March 7, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24008) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in model year 2019-2022 Honda Insight and 2019-2022 Honda Passport vehicles. The complainants allege activation of the AEB system with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's path, resulting in rapid vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that it is aware of a total of 412 reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the AEB system and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints received by ODI allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that Honda dealerships informed the consumer that this is considered normal AEB operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 106 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of AEB in the subject vehicles.In total, ODI reviewed 475 reports involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. Of the reports reviewed by ODI, three (3) allege a crash caused by the inadvertent activation of AEB and two (2) allege injury. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations. Further, the scope of the investigation is being expanded to include assessment of model year 2023 Honda Passport vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA

Representative excerpts, cleaned of personal information. These are consumer statements, not verified defects.

“On this day it was approximately 5:45AM my 2023 Honda Passport indicated to Brake in the dash then proceeded to snatch me into a curb at 50 MPH. I have since taken it back to the dealership where they can not diagnose the problem. I have contacted Honda Corp. which they haven't been able to help.…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Driver Assistance · March 27, 2024 · crash

“The contact owns a 2023 Honda Passport. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle was shimmying and rattling abnormally. The brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle was slow to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated.…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Brakes · June 13, 2023

“The push button gearshifting. I have accidentally hit reverse about 100 times since I’ve owned this car in six months. It ended up in a rear end collision with a parked car. Then when I tried to drive forward, I backed up again. The first time was intentional backing and I didn’t see the car…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Other · January 19, 2026 · crash

“Car feels sluggish and delays accelerating when driven. Occasionally will make a strange sounds when trying to accelerate. The automatic brake will engage when there no obstacle in front of me while I’m driving- has happened a few times since I bought the car. At times, the car will not turn on…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Transmission · March 1, 2025

“Adaptive cruise control and Lane keeping assistance warning lights pop-up sporadically on the dashboard. I have had the car serviced at several different Honda dealerships 5 plus times and every time they say that the reason why the warning lights pop up is because the battery is defective. I've…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Electrical System · April 12, 2023

2023 Honda Passport — common questions

Is the 2023 Honda Passport reliable?

NHTSA data argues against it: 63 complaints put the 2023 model at #11 of 18 Passport years, and a defect investigation remains open. It is one of the Passport years to avoid.

What are the most common 2023 Passport problems?

According to NHTSA complaint data, the leading problem areas are driver assistance (21 complaints), brakes (11 complaints), other (7 complaints).

Does the 2023 Honda Passport have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns affecting the 2023 Honda Passport. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers; check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm the work was done.

Is the 2023 Honda Passport under NHTSA investigation?

Yes — 2 investigations remain open (No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages). An open ODI action means NHTSA is actively assessing a possible defect.

Which Honda Passport years should you avoid?

Based on complaint rates and open investigations, the Passport years to avoid are 2019, 1998, 1999, 2021, 2001, 2020, 2000, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2024. The cleanest record among Passport years belongs to 1981.

How safe is the 2023 Honda Passport?

In NHTSA's NCAP crash testing, the 2023 Honda Passport earned an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.