Thanks to a software snafu, the navigation-enabled digital clocks on older Honda and Acura vehicles have turned back to 2002. As numerous complaints from frustrated owners began to pour into online forums – as well as the inboxes of the Honda PR team – Honda corporate only announced that the problem would automatically correct itself in August 2022.

So what happened? Has the much-feared Y2K bug come 22 years late, or is the issue a simpler one? And why is there no quick fix? Let’s pull back the curtain and see what else might be at play here.

Honda Clocks Turn Back to 2002

As the world waved good riddance to 2021, the timekeeping software used in Honda navigation systems of various mid-2000 and early-2010 models failed to register the New Year. Instead, the stroke of midnight triggered a curious phenomenon: the display clocks of these navigation-equipped cars turned back to January 1st, 2002.

Though owners tried a variety of fixes—including manually adjusting the clock, upgrading to the latest navigation disc, and performing a hard reset by disconnecting the battery—the nav system stubbornly refused to display the correct time. It simply reverted to the incorrect date and time on the next ignition cycle.

Once word of this spread on the forums, it became clear the problem wasn’t isolated to a particular model or year. The widespread issue has potentially affected navigation-equipped Honda and Acura products built anywhere from 2004 through 2012.

What Caused This to Happen?

It’s still unclear why exactly the clocks turned back to 2002, and Honda has said little beyond confirming the issue. Adding to the mystery is that the company noted the problem should self-correct in August.

Related: How Does a Computer Execute Code?

That said, there is one promising clue that has shed some light on what may have happened. In an attempt to fix their clocks, a few ambitious owners entered the navigation diagnostics menu and took a look at the date and time stored internally by the system. What they found was telling: the internal date was set to May 19th, 2002.

Do the math, and you’ll realize that 1,024 weeks separate May 19th, 2002, from January 1st, 2022. If you’re a coder or programmer, you’re probably nodding your head right now. For the rest of us, let’s review how a GPS system tracks time.

GPS Epochs 101

The Global Positioning System that guides you to the nearest Starbucks drive-thru is not only a directional aid but a timekeeper (and you can even use GPS to track your car as well.) Every GPS satellite in orbit is equipped with an atomic clock; the time is beamed down to earth in a 10-bit string of binary code that reflects, among other things, the week number. A receiving device then interprets and reformats this code into the familiar Gregorian calendar style of YYYYMMDD.

The week number is the key here, because a GPS system can only measure 1,024 unique, consecutive weeks before its counter has to begin again at zero. Why? Because mathematically, a 10-bit binary system only can have 1,023 unique combinations. That means that on the 1,024th week the counter rolls over and resets to zero.

Think of it like the five-digit mechanical odometers commonly seen in old cars – once you hit 99,999 miles, the next mile would trigger the odometer to reset to zero.

speedometer with analog odometer

These periods of 1,024 weeks, known as ‘epochs’ in programming parlance, are typically accounted for by coders so that an epoch rollover doesn’t derail accurate timekeeping.

If Honda failed to do this back when this generation of navigation software was under development—which was likely occurring in, say, May 2002 – then the result would be what we’re seeing here: a system that went into an integer overflow state after reaching the end of its GPS epoch.

Is There a Fix?

As we mentioned, Honda has announced that the problem will self-correct in August, but until then it seems that owners are out of luck. For the record, Honda does claim to be looking more thoroughly into the issue, though it gave no further details.

With Honda itself being so coy, it’s no surprise that their dealers are equally stymied by this. Until August rolls around or Honda Corporate issues a recall or fix, it’s likely that there won’t be any way to resolve this issue short of replacing the entire navigation system with an aftermarket head unit.

Y2K Parallels

For anyone who’s old enough to remember, this incident might recall all the hoopla that surrounded Y2K in the months leading up to the new millennium—concern at the time was rampant that software would not be able to distinguish the year 2000 from 1900. The world became frenzied over the resulting outfall if the full extent of such a potential disruption was realized.

While the Y2K bug is not what’s causing these Honda clock troubles, parallels can indeed be drawn—particularly to the sensitivity surrounding what may otherwise seem like innocuous coding decisions. With so much of today’s information flowing through binary computer code, a simple mistake or miscalculation regarding bits or digits can result in what these Honda owners are dealing with today.

A Solution Is Coming... in August 2022

The timekeeping problem plaguing these navigation-equipped Hondas likely boils down to how the engineers coded—or failed to code—for a GPS epoch rollover. Evidence suggests that the system was unable to process the transition from one epoch to another, leaving the clocks stuck in a default state displaying January 1st, 2002.

The only thing to do, unfortunately, is to hope Honda comes up with a solution that can be implemented either at home or at the dealer. Otherwise, August 2022 can’t come soon enough.