Honda 2.3 hp outboard dangerous starting

[jen1722terry]

Hello to all.

We purchased a new Honda 2.3 hp 4-stroke outboard in June, 2022. The starter cord handle would occassionally snap out of my hand with great force during the pull and hit the engine cover (and sometimes my hand).

Now, 2 months after purchase, the starter cord snaps back fiercely on every first and second pull, the motor starts on the third pull. I've already aggravated an old back injury with this motor. The snapping force is so great I fear I'm going to injure my shoulder or hand also, so I've stopped using the motor.

Looking on line, I see others have reported this problem. Honda apparently will not fix the problem or even acknowledge that there is a problem. See
https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/th...s-back.169652/

We're taking the motor to the dealer on Wednesday. He said he's never heard of the issue. We'll show him the other on-line reports of the snap-back. Not sure what will happen.

Oddly, this is the second Honda 2.3 hp we've owned. The first one (2013 model) lasted only 8 years with relatively light usage and by-the-book maintenance (damaged engine bearings was the dealer report.) The local dealer gave us some trade credit so we bought another one, apparently a bad idea.

In the mean time, if you are considering a new or used Honda 2.3 hp, beware.

And happy cruising to all of you.

Jenn and Terry
Northeast Harbor, ME

[Tetepare]

I had a 1964 Johnson 9.5 that would do that occasionally. Darned if I can remember what was the cause.

I believe, correct me if wrong, it's not "snapping back" it's ceasing to allow the cord to turn the flywheel, causing you to lose grip, and it rebounds. So something is stopping the flywheel from turning. Darn it was 15 years ago; can't remember what caused it.

[rslifkin]

If it's got an automatic compression release to make the start cord easier to pull, then check the valve adjustment. If it's out of whack the decompression may not work properly, causing it to kick back. With any engine with an automatic decompression feature, it's also helpful to start with a gentle pull for the first few inches and then pull harder. If you encounter significant resistance, hold it there for a second and then release and try again.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by jen1722terry

Hello to all.

We purchased a new Honda 2.3 hp 4-stroke outboard in June, 2022. The starter cord handle would occassionally snap out of my hand with great force during the pull and hit the engine cover

Be sure you store and transport the motor in the proper orientation. Keeping it wrong side up, even for just a few minutes, can lead to some oil leakage into the combustion chamber which causes the problem you describe. All 4-strokes are prone to this.

Oddly, this is the second Honda 2.3 hp we've owned. The first one (2013 model) lasted only 8 years with relatively light usage and by-the-book maintenance (damaged engine bearings was the dealer report.)

The Honda 2.3 in particular is reported to be a short-lived "disposable" engine because it is air cooled rather than water cooled. Around 500 to 1000 hours and then they're scrap. On the other hand they don't have water passages to clog and corrode, nor an impeller that requires periodic replacement.


A family member has a Suzuki 2.5 which I've used. It's only a few months old so it's too early to tell but so far we both like it. It's already survived a swim in the river.

[Cthoops]

We’re on our second Honda 2.3. We beat the heck out of the first one and liked it enough that we bought another.

I had the same issue with the cord snapping back (hurts like a mofo when it hits your hand), but I changed my seating position to start it and that solved the problem.

[Williamp]

We had this issue on our Honda 2hp, got to the situation that my wife refused to start it and it had to go..

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

If it's got an automatic compression release to make the start cord easier to pull, then check the valve adjustment. If it's out of whack the decompression may not work properly, causing it to kick back. With any engine with an automatic decompression feature, it's also helpful to start with a gentle pull for the first few inches and then pull harder. If you encounter significant resistance, hold it there for a second and then release and try again.

This. Exactly.

You should definitely be rotating the engine using the pull cord until you get to that hard compression point. Where it gets very hard to pull.

From there give it a good tug, but not really far. Just a short pull. But a hard one.

Try it out a little bit to get a feel for it. By pulling it slowly. Put past some of the slow spots, the difficult spots. Then you get to one really difficult spot. And you can get past it if you keep some pressure on the pull cord. It will move past that spot slowly but surely.

Once you can always identify where the beginning of that hard spot is, you’ll always know where to start your very strong but short pull.

Try that out. You might not need to go through all the hassle of dealing with the dealership and trying to make a claim. Just change the starting technique a little bit.

Same thing happens with a kickstart motorcycle. You have to find your way through to what is called the compression stroke. If you kick it before the compression stroke, you could very well have it shove your leg right back in your face.

Or in the case of the Outboard, pulling right back on that cord pulling it out of your hand and snapping it back.

[Seaslug Caravan]

Sounds like the timing is out and the motor is firing early .
Get a mechanic to check the timing. Could be as simple as a key on the crankshaft sheared allowing the electrics to get slightly out of whack.

[Shrew]

I hade the same issue occasionally with a Honda 2HP. But honestly, I think that is indicative of Honda motors. I had a 4 stroke 400cc Honda dirtbike that had a decompression lever. The kickstart would either kickback and slam me in the calf, or practically launch me over the handlebars. I used to have to re-gap the valves on that dirtbike every spring.

I seriously doubt that any mechanic is going to 'fix' that. I wouldn't waste my money. I brought mine in for major scheduled service, which included valve adjustment. The head had to be removed to do the service. I ended up with a $650 service bill for a $900 OB (10 yr old). Had I known I would have sold the one I had for $400 and bought a new one ($500 out of pocket).

[SailFastTri]

I had the same issue with a Suzuki DF2.5. Not every time, but enough so I decided to sell it. Next was a Torqeedo. I like it a lot. There are also other electric OBs on the market now that are worth a good look.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

I had the same issue with a Suzuki DF2.5. Not every time, but enough so I decided to sell it. Next was a Torqeedo. I like it a lot. There are also other electric OBs on the market now that are worth a good look.

I completely agree with this. If you are only trying to do a 2.3hp motor, there’s almost no reason not to go electric.

I wasn’t trying to push the conversation in that direction, but, just the sheer fact of not having to screw around with the carburetor or pull the thing to start it would be well worth the change.

[jen1722terry]

Hi all and thanks for the comments last year on dangerous starting of our Honda 2.3. This year (June 2023) our local Honda dealer here in mid-coast Maine gave us a new 2.3 in exchange for our one-year-old 2.3 due to hard and at time dangerous starting (hard snap back of starter cord that slams into your other hand; poor wet weather starting).

The new 2023 version started very well for about 8 hours of use this summer, then on Sept. 2, the snapping back started again. I now have a sore and somewhat swollen hand. Honda refuses to refund our money. The dealer has offered to service the motor but past experience with our two prior 2.3 Hondas is that the issue will continue.

We plan to scrap this almost new motor so no one else gets hurt and get a Yamaha 2.5 next spring. We see several in our marina and have had no complaints from the owners.

I'm too old for this. We haul out in 2 weeks and hopefully I can get there without a hand injury from this #%@* Honda 2.3 (which is, we understand, the only Honda OB made in China).

Thanks to all for listening to me whine.

[KingRichard]

Go to know, it's not whining, we're here to hear the bad and the good. Helps us all!

[chuckg5]

Finally.......i've had this new honda 2.3 for six months. i'm 74 and have gotten a little timid pulling on it because of the kick back. it tries to break my left hand with the pull grip. it was 1,100 on ebay from a michigan dealer so i had to use a local honda dealer to bring it to. just 3 days later they said it was ready but i had to pay the bill of 145 dollars. they took it apart and found nothing wrong with it and the 145 was a labor shop bill. honda would not pay for it, no problem..no pay. After reading this post i'm willing to junk it and go for a yamaha. I thought it was just me. I feel a little better now,
i'll just be a little poorer!

[HankOnthewater]

Hi Jen & Terry, good to hear you got your outboard replaced, and good on the retailer, as I doubt it came from Honda.
Not good that the new one started to show the same issue.

I also had a Honda, 2 HP purchased late nineties, used extensively and it showed such violent pull back of starter cord, about 1 in 10 starts. I found that before the first 'real' pull, I would gentry pull the cord turning the engine over, but not starting it. Then do a proper pull, virtually never had that problem anymore.