Clocks In Some Dated Hondas Stuck In 2002 Until August 2022

Remember the Y2K bug that caused a worldwide scare in 1999? Fortunately, only a few major errors occurred as the new millennium set in, thanks largely to the pre-emptive measures employed by various industries.

A similar tech bug has been discovered lately. But unlike the Y2K glitch, the weird error isn’t on a global scale. Rather, it only involves a number of Honda and Acura units that use Navi systems on their head units.

Apparently, several old Hondas and Acuras show an incorrect time and date on their Navi systems as we entered the new year. The date on the systems shows January 1, 2002, instead of 2022, which puts the system 20 years behind.

According to owners, manual override to adjust the time and date isn't working. Several owners have reported the same issue on a number of forums such as the Ridgeline Owner's Club, CR-V Owner's Club, and even on Reddit. The issue affects a range of cars, from as old as 2004 to as new as 2012.

The reported errors come from various places notably in the US, Canada, and even in the UK. Some forum posters also include photos of their head unit showing the incorrect time and date.

Fortunately, it seems like the incorrect time and date are the only issue at this time. The owners said that their navigational systems work just fine, along with other functions.

Jalopnik has reached out to American Honda and got this as a response:

American Honda is aware of a potential concern related to the clock display on certain older Acura and Honda models equipped with navigation systems. We are currently investigating this issue to determine possible countermeasures and have no additional details to share at this time.
An affected CR-V owner also reached out and received a different reply:

We have escalated the NAVI Clock Issue to our Engineering Team and they have informed us that you will experience issue from Jan 2022 thru August 2022 and then it will auto-correct. Please be assured that we will continue to monitor this and will advise you if a fix is available before that time.
A Honda owner from the UK got a different response as well, assuring the affected owners that the company is already working on the issue.

As Jalopnik pointed out in their report, the error can be attributed to how Global Positioning Systems measure time and how the software has been coded. As to when will there be a fix, Honda has yet to provide a concrete timeline but it looks like owners are in for a waiting game – whether for an actual fix or when the system auto-corrects itself in August 2022.