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Permanently disable Auto Stop Start!

283K views 138 replies 75 participants last post by  Rocky 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Quick note on why I did this:

Since the purchase of my wife’s 2016 Elite Pilot we have struggled to like the auto stop/start feature. With her and the kids always running around she sometimes forgets to manually disable it but when it shuts the car down she hits the button and moves on. I thought it was kinda cool at first, and so did my wife...until a few weeks ago. My wife the other day called me after she picked up the kids from summer camp and was in a panic. She was very upset after the engine auto stop feature turned the car off while she was in traffic. That’s not the issue, the problem was that the “START” function of the Auto Stop didn’t work!! It tried but then all power to the vehicle turned off. She then had to quickly shift into park, place foot on brake, push the start button, and shift back in drive while everyone behind her was honking and peeling out around her.

I started thinking, what if a car was about to T-bone her and the kids and that damn setting prevented her from attempting to get out of the way! That’s when I was determined to find a way and have this possibly deadly feature permanently disabled.

This is an easy, reversible (won’t void warranty) , way to have the feature disabled every time the car starts!

Disclaimer: This was my 2016 Pilot Elite with 9-speed trans...I have absolutely not idea if this will work for your pilot.

Let’s get into it!!!

Step 1 - Remove 2 screws under the rubber pad in front of the shift buttons



Step 2 - Open the center console storage compartment and pull up just in front of where the console latches, it should be pretty easy its held with just those little pressure clips


Step 3 - Once removed look under the cover and find the attached wire harness


Step 4 - On my pilot the wire is YELLOW it was next to the red wire, this wire is grounded unless you press the button then you will see 12v. You can test with a multimeter if you have one.

Step 5 - Use something small and flat to wedge in the white wiring harness to unclip the YELLOW wire. Basically this connector just has a flap that flips down to hold the pin in place. If you are familiar with Swiss Army knives I used the tweezers and it was perfect.

Step 6 - Constant 12v is the GREEN wire, Honda made the pins large enough to conveniently fit 2 in these ports... so lets take advantage of that! Take the YELLOW wire and slip it inside the green pins hole, kinda the way we disconnected the yellow wire. This will make the yellow wire have 12v anytime the car is on... which tells the pilot to turn off the auto start stop!!!!



Wrote this on my iPad and didn’t have a great way to format it, may come back to update it next week.

Special thanks to Hondaguy92 for providing some input on this in another post I read
 

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#88 ·
Coding

I just got a new 2019 Pilot Elite and it has the annoying auto stop.

I believe there has to be a way to "code it" to last memory function. I have a 2013 BMW with the auto stop too and I actually found out on a bimmer forum that the function can be coded to make the default to the "last function memory" so I don't have to push that damn button, everytime I start the car. (I've since bought a cable and coded other features on my BMW that somehow I don't know why BMW disables a lot of cool features for the US market.)

Anyways, whenever you take your car for service they hook up a cable to some port underneath the steering wheel area. Thats how they figure out the "diagnostics" and why the "check engine light" is on and other things... By tapping into my BMW's computers' system I was able to enable and disable lots of options. One of them being the auto start/stop feature. I researched online and the forums and found out where the command was and simply switched it to "last function memory" This basically means if I press the auto stop/start button and turn it off, and then turn off the car; then turn the car back on, the auto stop/start feature remembers the last mode I had it on... enabled or disabled. Of course I have it on disable.

Since my Pilot is brand new, I will NOT attempt to code it, cause I can probably screw up other things and most likely void any warranties, since I am no way a tech person. Plus there is probably no actual cable anymore since everything is done wireless (which means that somebody can possibly hack into your Pilot while you are driving down the road... scary thought.. eh?) Next time I take the Pilot into the dealership, I will tell them to turn the function off, cause I know they can, its just whether they will do so or not. (All the car manufacturers that have the auto stop/start function in the US, have it set to always on by default because of the EPA MPG rules I believe...)
 
#90 ·
I just got a new 2019 Pilot Elite and it has the annoying auto stop.

I believe there has to be a way to "code it" to last memory function. I have a 2013 BMW with the auto stop too and I actually found out on a bimmer forum that the function can be coded to make the default to the "last function memory" so I don't have to push that damn button, everytime I start the car. (I've since bought a cable and coded other features on my BMW that somehow I don't know why BMW disables a lot of cool features for the US market.)

Anyways, whenever you take your car for service they hook up a cable to some port underneath the steering wheel area. Thats how they figure out the "diagnostics" and why the "check engine light" is on and other things... By tapping into my BMW's computers' system I was able to enable and disable lots of options. One of them being the auto start/stop feature. I researched online and the forums and found out where the command was and simply switched it to "last function memory" This basically means if I press the auto stop/start button and turn it off, and then turn off the car; then turn the car back on, the auto stop/start feature remembers the last mode I had it on... enabled or disabled. Of course I have it on disable.

Since my Pilot is brand new, I will NOT attempt to code it, cause I can probably screw up other things and most likely void any warranties, since I am no way a tech person. Plus there is probably no actual cable anymore since everything is done wireless (which means that somebody can possibly hack into your Pilot while you are driving down the road... scary thought.. eh?) Next time I take the Pilot into the dealership, I will tell them to turn the function off, cause I know they can, its just whether they will do so or not. (All the car manufacturers that have the auto stop/start function in the US, have it set to always on by default because of the EPA MPG rules I believe...)


Your Pilot is not the same as a BMW. Honda is very secretive on what systems parameters that the technician can manipulate on the HDS. Dealer techs cannot permanently disable anything that may effect CARB compliance numbers, such as VCM and Auto Start Stop.
 
#91 ·
2017 Pilot Touring. Worked fine until Saturday while the wife was driving. She drives with it "Disabled" all the time because she hates that auto stop/start feature. Mine is not working at all now, Not functioning and now I have no Heat/AC at all, no heated seats, no temp indicator. that part of the console seems dead. Taking it to Coleman Honda in Clarksville, MD this afternoon. Hoping for quick fix. Its cold outside.
 
#92 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've driven three vehicles BMW, Citroen and Vauxhall all with stop start systems, one auto others stick shift, two diesel and one petrol/gas. Each different in active operation, ability to shut off, smoothness at shut down, start up.

And they all were in England to...
You get used to it, it's ok, but nothing I aspire to having..
 
#93 ·
Well, I haven’t been on this forum for a while, not since I was complaining about when they were going to put Apple CarPlay in the 3G Pilot, so once they did in 2017, we purchased. Now has 35,000+ miles. This is our third Pilot, and we have been very pleased with all of them. This auto-stop feature is something that should allow the customer to change the default to always on and switch to off OR always off and switch to on. Have the same issue with some things in my BMW as well. These new ecu’s in modern cars have the capability to provide more info and/or change defaults, yet they do not allow customer access. In the BMW world they have Bimmercode, but that comes with a whole other set of problems/issues. Why can’t they give us as customer the ability to make these simple adjustments to our vehicles?
 
#94 ·
Mine only works for a few days and then it stops working. It's been in the shop twice and I'm just not going to worried about it. I'm going to wait until this spring when the weather turns a little warmer and if it don't work then they are going to replace it and install a new one for me. Everything on the Pilot works just fine other than the auto stop.
 
#97 ·
I don't know if this will help but I owned a '17 Grand Cherokee with Stop / Start. While reading the manual I came upon the instances where it will not activate. One of which was an open hood. I found the switch on the left fender side that compresses down when the hood is closed to tell the computer all is well. I pulled the switch out of its holder and tied it down on its side so it could not compress. This tells the computer the hood is open when its actually not and thus Stop / Start will not function. Had to live with the idiot light in the dash but it was worth it to get away from this system.
 
#105 ·
The idle stop is maddening, and I hate having to remember to turn it off every time I start the car. Using it feels unsafe, as it shaves a fraction of a second off your acceleration, which is unnerving when pulling across a busy highway in front of a truck. I bought a V6 because I WANTED power and quick acceleration, when I need it. In hindsight, this is the feature that should have been a deal killer.
 
#106 · (Edited by Moderator)
Checking around I found the following time delay momentary contact single shot 12v relay, would this not work if just tapped into the two wires that manually turn this nuisance off after the car is started?

HRDS120 - HRDS Series - Single Shot Time Delay Relays - Littelfuse

The HRDS Series combines an electromechanical relay output with microcontroller timing circuitry. It offers 12 to 230V operation in five options and factory fixed, onboard or external adjustable time delays with a repeat accuracy of ±0.5%. The output contact rating allows for direct operation of heavy loads, such as compressors, pumps, blower motors, heaters, etc. This series is ideal for OEM applications where cost is a factor.

Operation (Single Shot): Input voltage must be applied before and during timing. Upon momentary or maintained closure of the initiate switch, the output relay energizes for a measured interval of time. At the end of the delay, the output de-energizes. Opening or reclosing the initiate switch during timing has no affect on the time delay. The output will energize if the initiate switch is closed when input voltage is applied.

Reset: Reset occurs when the time delay is complete and the initiate switch is opened. Loss of input voltage resets the time delay and output.
 
#115 ·
I have the same setup and it doesn’t appear to work. I had a 2016 and did it, worked flawlessly. But when using it with the new black wire in the same slot, it does not work.

What I experience is that when I start the car it is not disabled. But when I wiggle the wire in the new slot with the black wire it will then turn on.

My experience is that the slot is not as big or the connector is bigger. Just not working. Reverting back until I can find a solution.
 
#117 ·
It would be convenient if you could disable the start/stop permanently by hitting a button but you can't so the question is how freaking hard is to hit a button located adjacent to the shift buttons every time you start the car? The answer is it's about as easy as they could make it and those who describe the procedure as "maddening" or "a deal breaker" or anything other than every so slightly annoying at times truly have first world problems. Let's get a grip people and maintain some perspective.
 
#123 ·
I am to the point where depressing the button to deactivate the auto stop/start is 2nd nature to me. I get in the car, start the engine, buckle my seat beat, disengage the stop/start and then put it into gear. Since we only have one car, there is no confusion as I am not switching between cars. The time I do like this function is when I get gas at Costco on my way home from work. Each aisle has 3 pumps and there is usually three or more cars in front on me. Rather then letting the car idle for five or minutes, I activate the start/stop and depress the brake pedal and when it's time to drive up to the pump, foot off of the brake and it starts again. BTW, Costco gas is $3.19/gallon in SoCal and the other Top Tier stations are $3.79+ per gallon so a short wait is worth while.
 
#126 ·
When will you start marketing it?
 
#139 ·
People who come here with an idea that could help the community should not arrive with intents to disrupt the community and threaten members. We have had members successfully design and manufacture parts in the past such as the VCM muzzler and been allowed to market them.

Jorantes has been banned from the community.
 
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