2020 Honda Passport Reliability Report

Loud crackling and popping come through the speakers even with the audio system turned off. The screen blanks or cycles to black, and audio connections drop. In one car the speakers got hot and gave off a burning smell after repeated dealer visits. Other reports cover a burnt oil smell from the vents with the heater on high, a starter that froze from condensation on a cold day, Auto Idle Stop failing to restart the engine, and a closed sunroof that shattered at interstate speed.

The fuel pump fails while driving. Power cuts out without warning and the car stops in traffic, in one case in a highway middle lane at 75 mph. A February 2024 fuel pump recall covers some 2020 cars, but at least one car that failed was not included. Two other reports describe a plastic fuel tank that was punctured and leaked fast. One happened at 570 miles with no impact felt. The other came from road debris hitting the unshielded driver side of the tank. Both leaks raise a fire risk.

The collision mitigation braking system brakes at random or flashes BRAKE warnings when nothing is ahead. Adaptive cruise can close too fast on stopped traffic, then brake hard with every warning light on. Oncoming cars and turning cars set off false alerts on two-lane roads and freeways. Dealers have said the system is working as designed or could not fix it. A separate report says the car rolls backward on a hill even after the brake is pressed.

Auto Idle Stop fails to restart the engine at intersections, and the car stays stalled in traffic until several off-and-on cycles bring it back. No warning comes first, and the problem repeats. Other reports describe the engine losing power and shutting down on the highway, which the dealer linked to low or leaking oil. Another describes the transmission slipping into neutral while the display still shows drive, at around 40,000 miles. Dealers could not reproduce these faults.

These reports are about a recall, not about air bags failing in use. Owners got notices for air bag campaign 24V064000, but dealers had no parts to do the repair. One dealer told the owner to keep the front passenger seat empty until the fix. Owners say the wait for parts has gone on too long. None of these reports describe an air bag actually failing.

The car brakes hard at random with nothing nearby. A group of warnings appears with it for adaptive cruise, collision mitigation, road departure mitigation, lane keeping, and auto high beams. Some drivers pull over and restart the car to stop the braking. Lane keeping also steers toward old lane lines in construction zones and pulls the car back toward pedestrians the driver is steering around. The biggest safety worry is being rear-ended after a sudden stop.

These reports describe both unexpected acceleration and unexpected braking. In one crash report, the car lurched forward while parking and hit a concrete wall with no warning first. No one was hurt. In another report, the front radar and collision avoidance system sensed objects that were not there and slowed the car almost to a stop. The instrument panel also showed the wrong speed. That driver turned the feature off to stop the false braking.