Old troubles with Civics, Elements and Accords spark a Honda recall

Over 1.4 million Honda cars are recalled already over a shift interlock problem. The exact same problem has led to the 2010 Honda recall. This Honda recall covers 2003 Accords, 2003 Civics and some 2003 and 2004 Elements.

The shift interlock issue behind the Honda recall

The shift interlock system is the basis of this 2010 Honda recall. If the shifter is not in park, the shift interlock is intended to keep the key from being removed. If this system malfunctions, the automobile can roll away. 17 separate accidents are attributed to this malfunction. These issues tend to happen when the key is removed before the shifter is in park. When left like this, automobiles will roll out of parking spaces, sometimes into traffic or other dangerous situations.

Honda recall because of NHTSA investigation

This current Honda recall for shift interlock problems was instigated by an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In late 2009, the NHTSA upgraded their investigation from “recall query” to “engineering analysis” – a more serious rating. Honda recalls are also being investigated for their “timeliness”. If the NHTSA finds that Honda has not responded “promptly, truthfully, and completely” to problems that are worthy of a recall, they could very well be facing civil fines. There is also an ongoing investigation, related to the expanded 2009 recall over air bag deployment.

Cars that are incorporated within the 2010 Honda recall

The full list of recalled Honda vehicles will be released in September of 2010. There can be about 197,000 Honda Accords, 117,000 Civics, and 69,000 Elements incorporated in this recall. This same issue has caused two previous recalls that integrated the 1998-2002 Accord, 1999 Odyssey, 1999-2000 Acura TL, 1997-99 Acura CL, and 1997-2001 Prelude. If you receive official notification of the recall from Honda, you are intended to take your car in to a Honda dealer. Owners are asked to call 1-800-999-1009 or visit recalls.honda.com to get more data about the recall.