[Earthdog]

I purchased a 2018 DCT and within 2 days it won't run. It was running fine parked it tried to start it and whacky stuff happened and trailed it to Dealer.(It has had the bolt recall done 5 months ago.)

The Dealer is telling me Honda told them to pull a known good ISG out of the next bike they get that needs the recall work and install into mine to confirm ISG is the issue.

1 Would Honda suggest this? I would be pissed if you were pulling parts of my bike to test in a problem bike.

2 Is the ISG failing common?

3 What causes the ISG to fail?

4 What are the symptoms of a failed ISG?

5 Where is the cheapest place to by a replacement? Right off the bat they are telling me it's a $2850ish part plus labor. They said I can buy the part elsewhere and bring the part to them.

6 I pushed hard that it seems like a bike with under 24k shouldn't have the issue and they gave me Hondas number. Is there a good tactic to use to attempt them to cover the cost?

I just find it shocking Honda would tell them to pull a part off another persons bike to test. They were straight up saying they weren't going to pull the part off one of their floor bikes to check it.

I would appreciate any thoughts as I have little confidence in the dealer.

 

[Zee Fifty]

I’ve heard of ISGs that were in need of replacement. Not too many though and I don’t recall the symptoms.

It does seem odd to me that Honda would use a customers bike as a donor for trouble shooting parts. A dealer has their own bikes they could use for that.

 

[raw2210]

Earthdog I would check with Fred H or ssncob and see what they would charge to install the ISG.

Seems like there would be a bench test that could be run on the ISG after it's been pulled??????

 

[gravnov]

... whacky stuff happened...

What do you mean by that?

 

[Earthdog]

What do you mean by that?

When you depress the start button it fires up and runs for 1-2 second shuts off, on its own then restarts fires up and dies. The mechanic has confirmed that occasionally it does it a third fire up and shutdown. Then you can press the start button and it does the cycle again. Eventually you will kill the battery once a new battery is installed it will do the same thing when pressing the start button.

 

[cihilb]

I doubt very much if Honda told the dealer to pull one from a donor bike. Sounds like the dealer has no idea how to test the ISG, if that is fact the problem' or just doesn't want to be bothered troubleshooting the system.
BTW, if I ever found out a dealer was using parts from my bike to test another one, there would be a nasty letter sent to mother Honda and have an attorney on hand.

 

[Glockjock]

I purchased a 2018 DCT and within 2 days it won't run. It was running fine parked it tried to start it and whacky stuff happened and trailed it to Dealer.(It has had the bolt recall done 5 months ago.)

The Dealer is telling me Honda told them to pull a known good ISG out of the next bike they get that needs the recall work and install into mine to confirm ISG is the issue.

1 Would Honda suggest this? I would be pissed if you were pulling parts of my bike to test in a problem bike.

2 Is the ISG failing common?

3 What causes the ISG to fail?

4 What are the symptoms of a failed ISG?

5 Where is the cheapest place to by a replacement? Right off the bat they are telling me it's a $2850ish part plus labor. They said I can buy the part elsewhere and bring the part to them.

6 I pushed hard that it seems like a bike with under 24k shouldn't have the issue and they gave me Hondas number. Is there a good tactic to use to attempt them to cover the cost?

I just find it shocking Honda would tell them to pull a part off another persons bike to test. They were straight up saying they weren't going to pull the part off one of their floor bikes to check it.

I would appreciate any thoughts as I have little confidence in the dealer.

Are you saying that you had only owned this bike for 2 days before this started happening? Did you buy your bike from this dealer? I too seriously doubt that Honda told them to use an ISG from a customer's bike to diagnose yours. I would run, not walk, away from that dealer. My first call would be to corporate Honda!

 

[Earthdog]

Are you saying that you had only owned this bike for 2 days before this started happening? Did you buy your bike from this dealer? I too seriously doubt that Honda told them to use an ISG from a customer's bike to diagnose yours. I would run, not walk, away from that dealer. My first call would be to corporate Honda!

Correction 3 days and I had put 200 miles on it. I have owned 2 other wings and this one was in great shape.

I am only the messenger on what the dealer said. I thought it was crazy myself. I went down a few hours ago to talk directly to the mechanic instead of the service writer and he clearly said Honda directed him too. I am shocked there is not a testing method outside the chassis. Unfortunately I am not aware of a good trustworthy dealer in Metro Atlanta. I or my buddies have had poor experiences with them all.

 

[Fred H.]

ISG should set a code if it is the source of the problem. If there aren't any codes, then I'd probably guess a bad fuel pump.

I don't think I'd install an ISG from someone elses bike into another customers bike. What happens if the ISG from the other bike gets damaged during the process. I'd be really mad if I brought my bike in for a recall service and found out they pulled parts off it to troubleshoot some other bike. This is just wrong on so many levels.

 

[Fred H.]

I would appreciate any thoughts as I have little confidence in the dealer.

I would have zero confidence in that dealer, and would find a different one to take it to.

Replacing expensive parts only to find out they weren't the cause shows they really don't care about you or your bike. Find a dealer that will take the time to properly troubleshoot the problem. I'll bet you a box of doughnuts your ISG is just fine.

 

[Fred H.]

By the way, you might want to check the two fuses mounted below the fuse box. They have been known to get corrosion due to moisture intrusion in the fuse terminals and cause issues.

 

[Navy Gator]

Correction 3 days and I had put 200 miles on it. I have owned 2 other wings and this one was in great shape.

I am only the messenger on what the dealer said. I thought it was crazy myself. I went down a few hours ago to talk directly to the mechanic instead of the service writer and he clearly said Honda directed him too. I am shocked there is not a testing method outside the chassis. Unfortunately I am not aware of a good trustworthy dealer in Metro Atlanta. I or my buddies have had poor experiences with them all.

I called my dealer‘s service manager whom I trust. He said Honda would never tell them to take a part off another customer’s bike. Maybe a dealer bike but never a customer’s bike.

 

[1Phoneman]

What would happen if by chance the sidestand switch went bad ? Could that cause the starting problem ?

 

[gkarasik]

It's rare, but it happens. I had an ISG go bad shortly after I bought my then-new 2018. There was only one symptom: The bike would not start or even turn over. The dealer tried everything he and Honda could think of until Honda finally authorized a new ISG which got the bike going again. Because no one knew what the problem was, Honda was initially reluctant to throw a very expensive part at an undiagnosed problem. The dealer had my new bike for months, but once every other trouble-shooting possibility was eliminated, Honda gave the go-ahead. As the mechanic relayed it to me, the ISG, which is a French-made part that Honda uses, has no diagnostic port, meaning there is no way to test it.

 

[L1Wolf]

When you depress the start button it fires up and runs for 1-2 second shuts off, on its own then restarts fires up and dies. The mechanic has confirmed that occasionally it does it a third fire up and shutdown. Then you can press the start button and it does the cycle again. Eventually you will kill the battery once a new battery is installed it will do the same thing when pressing the start button.

Sounds like it could be the start/kill switch. Have they checked that switch to see if that is causing the stop start symptoms you describe above.

@Fred H. You mentioned possible fuel pump. Would a faulty pump cause the bike to start again after a stop as the OP describes?

 

[Zee Fifty]

There was a rider here in the last few weeks that had a similar issue .. when he held his start switch down to start without releasing it his bike kept running normal. Once he released it his quit…. You might try that. He had a broken switch.

 

[Captron]

I'm sad to admit this, BUT with ALL the new problems the 2018 (and newer machines) are having, I've been quite hesitant to purchase a new bike, when my 2010 (with 80,000 (ish) miles bike, is running perfect....
I'm the only one to ever ride my bike, so I know that every mile has been babied, and never beat on, and of course you all know that clean fresh oil has always been splashing around in my motor since day one.. This is another reason that I'd never buy a used motorcycle.....

Ronnie
9/11/25

 

[Shadowjack1020]

I looked at Partzilla once and it showed a new ISG would sell for around $2000US. I can see where nobody would keep one in stock, or even order one if they weren't sure it was bad.

 

[remoandiris]

I'm sad to admit this, BUT with ALL the new problems the 2018 (and newer machines) are having,

What about those owners who've never had a problem with their 2018+? I know at least 3 with over 150,000 miles on a 2018 and never had an issue. I'm still sitting just under 80,000 with no issues. But yeah, " ALL the new problems the 2018 (and newer machines) are having"...PUH-LEEZE!

 

[Earthdog]

I looked at Partzilla once and it showed a new ISG would sell for around $2000US. I can see where nobody would keep one in stock, or even order one if they weren't sure it was bad.

I looked at them to get the part since the Honda Dealer wants MSRP for the part. The issue with them (as of yesterday) they don't have it and no eta from Honda.