Category Archives: Honda

News about Honda automobile manufacturer. News about Honda recalls, technical service bulletins (TSB), and problems regarding Honda vehicles.

Automobile Recalls For May 2010

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Below are some of the automobile recalls for May 2010

  • Ford is recalling certain 2010 Fusion, Milan, and Escape vehicles manufactured between February 27, 2010 to March 26, 2010 for a park rod guide retention pin that may have not been properly installed. A vehicle parked without an engaged park pawl and without an applied parking break may roll causing an accident. Ford will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
  • General Motors is recalling some 2010 Chevrolet Express and GMC 2500, 3500, and 4500 Savana vans for a defective generator that may develop a short in the voltage regulator. This short could eventually lead to enough heat generated to cause an engine fire. Dealers will inspect and replace generators if necessary free of charge. The safety recall began on April 12, 2010. Owners can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 and GMC at 1-866-996-9463 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
  • General Motors is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac SRX, equipped with 2.8L V6 engines, for pre-ignition problems. This problem may occur due to the use of low octane (regular fuel) as opposed to the high octane (premium fuel) recommended in the owners manual and on the fuel filler door. If pre-ignition occurs, you may hear a pinging or knocking sound from the engine. This may result in a connecting rod or piston breaking. The problem will be corrected by dealers reprogramming the engine control module. The recall is expected to begin before June 11. Owners can contact Cadillac customer assistance at 1-866-982-2339 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com
  • Honda is recalling some 2010 Acura ZDX vehicles manufactured between November 12, 2009 to March 22, 2010 for dashboard covering material that has no been properly laser scored. During a crash, the airbag will not deploy properly leaving passengers vulnerable to injury. Acura dealers will inspect and replace the part free of charge. The safety recall began on April 21, 2010. Owners may contact Acura Client Services at 1-800-382-2238. Honda’s recall campaign number is R34.
  • Porsche is recalling some 2010 Panamera S, 4S, and turbo 4 door sedans for a possible malfunction of the seat belt mount. If the front seats are adjusted towards an extreme position, the belt mount could detach form the anchoring system. Dealers will install additional locking elements free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule, but owners may contact Porsche at 1-800-545-8039.

Acura Recall For Power Steering Hose On TSX Models

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Acura will be recalling almost 170,000 entry level TSX models from 2004-2008 in the United States with the 2.4L inline 4-cylinder engine. The recall is due to the premature deterioration of the power steering hose from prolonged exposure to high temperatures in the engine compartment. The hose could crack allowing power steering fluid to spray on hot engine parts which could lead to a fire. Acura has received one complaint which resulting in a fire.

Owners of affected vehicles will be informed by mail starting at the end of May. In addition, TSX owners can go to owners.acura.com/recalls or may call (800) 382-2238 for more information.

Acura ZDX Recall For Airbags

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Honda will be recalling approximately 1,850 2010 Acura ZDX vehicles for passenger side airbags. While no incidents have been reported, a manufacturing quality check revealed that some vehicles do not have the necessary laser-cut scoring on the underside of the dashboard surface material to allow the airbag to deploy properly. A simple visual check of the dashboard will be carried out, and if the vehicle does not have the proper scoring, it will be replaced.

Owners of affected vehicles will be informed by mail later this month. In addition, ZDX owners can go to http://owners.acura.com/recalls or may call (800) 382-2238 for more information.

Honda Recall For Brakes

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Honda will be recalling about 343,000 2007-2008 Odyssey and 68,000 2007-2008 Element vehicles in order to modify the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) modulator. Complaints of “soft” or low brake pedals over time has led Honda to encourage all owners to take their vehicle to their dealer as soon as they receive notification from Honda starting at the end of April.

Some VSA modulators were assembled in a manner that could allow air intrusion, making it possible for air to enter the modulator during the VSA self-check mode. While only a small amount of air can enter the system during each check, over a period of months or years, the air will accumulate and can result in the “soft brake pedal” or “low brake pedal” condition. Although not all vehicles being recalled are affected by this issue, all possible units are recalled to assure all customers that their vehicles will perform correctly.

Honda Toyota Price Wars

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In the recent shadow of Toyota’s unintended acceleration, Toyota has offered price and loan incentives to get customers back in the doors and buying automobiles. Honda, in an attempt to not fall behind, is offering its biggest deals ever, starting a price war which could leave other automobile manufacturers behind. The irony of this price war is that it is being started by Japanese automakers which historically don’t use these types of tactics. American automakers have been cautious about entering the price wars since they do not have a lot of cash to offer incentives.” said Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight.

These incentives may end up hurting Toyota in the near future. The company has seen sales soar as bargain hunters and loyal customers stream into showrooms to take advantage of the deals. Once that traffic runs out, Toyota will find it even harder to sell to people who are not loyal or who are skeptical of the brand.

2009 Was A Year Of High Auto Recalls

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced 2009 as the highest for auto recalls since 2005. Although the number of campaigns was the lowest in five years, the number of automobiles recalled in each campaign was high. 2008 brought about 10.5 million vehicles recalled in 684 campaigns while there were 16.4 million vehicles recalled in 2009 in 492 campaigns. Only Honda reported a decline in recalled vehicles in 2009.

Below is a list of how the recalls were distributed amongst auto makers in 2009:

  • The leader with nine campaigns adding up to 4.26 million vehicles recalled was the automaker Toyota and their unintended acceleration problems. This is the first time a Japanese automaker has led the industry total.
  • Ford recalled 4.5 million vehicles in eight campaigns. The largest being a defective cruise control switch which was linked to vehicle fires.
  • General Motors had 2.2 million vehicles recalled in 16 campaigns. The possibility of engine fires in passenger sedans accounted for 1.5 million vehicles recalled.
  • Chrysler had 15 campaigns, recalling almost 600,000 vehicles. Chrysler’s popular minivans the Town & Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan accounted for over 350,000 of these recalls for defective crash sensors.
  • Honda had four campaigns recalling 454,000 vehicles. Almost all these vehicles were recalled due to an airbag defect.
  • Nissan Motor Co. had six campaigns, recalling 706,000 vehicles in 2009. Almost 550,000 of these recalls were due to a brake pedal pin becoming partially disengaged causing a loss of normal braking power.
  • Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia unit recalled 1.3 million vehicles in eight campaigns. Over 530,000 recalls were due to a malfunctioning stop lamp switch that could prevent the brake lights from illuminating or cause them to stay lit after the brakes were released.
  • Volkswagen had eights campaigns and 100,000 vehicles recalled. Almost 17,000 sport-utility vehicles were recalled to fix a software program that could lead to passenger air bag failure.

Toyota Ranks Well In Consumer Reports

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After all the news we have been hearing about Toyota and their problems, Consumer Reports still ranks Toyota vehicles as number three. (The same ranking as last year.) The rankings are based on performance, comfort, utility and reliability of over 280 different vehicles.

“Toyota builds extremely good, reliable cars”, said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “I think once they get through all the recalls you will see that they are a very reliable manufacturer.” The magazine ended up dropping a couple of Toyota models from the Top Picks after the company suspended sales because of the recall. Since the vehicles were not for sale at the time, they could not make the list.

Honda (which includes Acura models) and Subaru were tied for first place, the fourth year that Honda was the leading manufacturer. They were followed by Toyota, and Hyundai (including Kia) which was ranked fourth, up from ninth last year. American manufacturers fared poorly. Ford was ranked eleventh, moving up one place from last year. General Motors and Chrysler occupied the bottom two slots, respectively.

Honda Airbag Recall

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In November of 2008 and June 2009 Japan’s number two automaker, Honda, recalled a total of 510,00 vehicles for an airbag inflator. This week the recall has been expanded to include another 428,000 vehicles.

The driver’s airbag inflators in these vehicles may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture resulting in injury or fatality. The airbag defect has been linked to one fatality and eleven injuries in the United States. There have been no other reports, Honda said. All cars to be recalled globally are made at Honda’s U.S. and Canadian plants.

The latest recall applies to:

Owners of these vehicles will receive notification through the mail or can go to http://owners.honda.com/recalls or call (800) 999-1009; Acura owners can go to http://owners.acura.com/recalls or call (800) 382-2238.