'All New Hondas:' Kentucky Woman Goes to Honda. Then She's Told It's Normal Her 2025 Odyssey Keeps Powering Down When It Idles

• Honda

A woman went viral on TikTok after sharing a strange quirk with her 2025 Honda Odyssey.

Rachel English Curry (@rachelenglishcurry) filmed the video from inside her car, explaining that she had just left a Honda dealership in Paducah, Kentucky, after sitting there for two hours without a fix. Even more frustrating, she said this wasn’t the first time.

“Two weeks ago, I sat there for two hours,” Curry said, suggesting the problem keeps happening.

She broke it down for her viewers: When her Odyssey sits idle—parked but still running—it powers down after about 30 minutes. She said a technician confirmed this behavior but offered a surprising explanation.

“The technician just said to me, ‘I just learned this too,’” Curry recalled. According to her, the mechanic claimed this happens with “all new Hondas.”

“If they’re sitting in park for more than 12 minutes, they will just power down,” Curry said she was told. But she wasn’t convinced. So, she turned to TikTok for answers.

“Is this true? Is this guy pulling my leg?” she asked viewers. “Tell me if you’re experiencing this with your Honda. We’ve never had Hondas before.”

As of this writing, Curry’s video has racked up more than 332,000 views, with plenty of Honda drivers jumping in to share whether they’ve seen the same thing happen.

What’s Going On With Hondas?

Some newer Hondas really do shut off at idle—and sometimes it’s by design. Many models, such as the 2025 Honda Pilot, come with an Auto Idle Stop system that turns off the engine when you’re sitting still to save fuel. The moment you release the brake or gas, the engine restarts by itself. If that’s what’s happening, it’s normal, and you can usually switch it off with the Idle Stop button on your dash, often marked with an “A” inside a circle.

But if your car is shutting down while parked for long periods or not restarting like it should, that’s not just fuel-saving tech; that’s a problem that a mechanic should see. A faulty torque converter can make the engine stall when the transmission can’t maintain power at low speeds. Low transmission fluid, a clogged fuel filter, or dirty injectors can also be to blame.

If you’re not sure which camp you fall into, test by seeing whether your car restarts right away when you press the brake or accelerator. If it doesn’t, or if the shutdown happens outside of stop-and-go driving, call your mechanic as soon as possible.

Are There Disadvantages to Having This Feature?

According to BestRide, the biggest drawback of the Auto Idle Stop system isn’t mechanical: It’s how it feels for the driver. As Curry pointed out, having the engine shut off and fire back up over and over can get distracting and pretty annoying, especially if you’re creeping through stop-and-go traffic.

When these systems first appeared around 2014, they were rough. The restart could be clunky enough to make you notice every single time. But by 2021, about half of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. had the feature, and automakers had smoothed it out a lot. These days, the transition is so quick and seamless in most cars that many drivers hardly notice it’s happening.

Drivers Confirm This Is Normal—and Frustrating 

Viewers who saw Curry’s video were quick to back up what the dealership mechanics told her, saying this is just one of those new-car quirks you have to get used to.

“All new vehicles do this,” one woman said. “My Escalade does this as well.”

“My Hyundai Elantra Hybrid does the same thing unless I put my foot on the brake after 25 minutes to reset the time,” another added.

“Yes, it’s normal,” a third person wrote. “Kia does the same thing, but it’s 30 minutes and an actual timer shows up on the dashboard.”

Others jumped in to explain why the feature exists.

“It’s not good for the engine to let it idle for extended amounts of time. While it’s inconvenient for instances like yours, just waiting in the parking lot, it’s supposed to help prolong your engine,” one woman explained.

“It was created for those consumers who are sensible about [the] environment,” said another.

“I think it started with push-button start vehicles because people were leaving the cars without turning them off,” a third one explained.

And some commenters said this was precisely why they’re sticking with their older rides.

“Just another reason to keep driving my 2016 Expedition,” one said. “I have no desire to get a new fancy vehicle. I’ll probably cry the day I have to get a new car.”

“If true, I wouldn’t buy a Honda,” added another.

Motor1 has reached out to Curry via a TikTok direct message.