The U.S. government’s Highway Safety Administration has begun investigating reports of engine failures in up to 1.4 million Honda and Acura vehicles, according to a document posted on the agency’s website on Monday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began an investigation after receiving 173 complaints from owners whose vehicles had engine failures.
Honda recalled approximately 250,000 vehicles in November 2023 to address a similar issue.
Some drivers reported connecting rod bearing failures, and one crash resulted in a collision, but no injuries were reported.
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The agency has launched a recall inquiry to assess the scope of the problem with the vehicles, which was not included in previous recalls.
How do recalls work?
NHTSA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation and is tasked with ensuring the safety of vehicles on America’s roadways.
If NHTSA receives enough complaints to suggest a possible broader problem, it can initiate a formal investigation or recall investigation.
This process collects information from the manufacturer, including data about warranty claims, incident reports, and internal investigations conducted by the company.
Recalls are issued when the manufacturer or NHTSA concludes that a vehicle poses an unreasonable safety risk or does not meet required safety standards.
Manufacturers must address the issue by offering repairs, replacements, refunds, or in rare cases, repurchase of affected vehicles.
Which cars are affected?
This study covers certain models equipped with 3.5-liter V6 engines, including 2016-2020 Honda Pilot, 2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, 2016-2020 Acura MDX, and 2018-2020 Acura TLX. It is targeted.
The 2017-2019 Honda Ridgeline is also under scrutiny.
According to NHTSA documents, connecting rod bearings in these vehicles are prone to failure, which can lead to catastrophic engine failure.
The connecting rod that connects the piston to the crankshaft plays an important role in converting the vertical motion of the piston into rotational force and powering the vehicle.
Honda said it will cooperate with the NHTSA investigation.
Honda and Tesla recalls
In the 2023 recall, the automaker cited 1,450 warranty claims due to problems with the bearings, but there were no related injuries.
At the time, Honda instructed dealers to inspect affected vehicles and repair or replace the engines as necessary.
In October, Honda recalled about 1.7 million vehicles in the United States due to steering problems that could lead to crashes.
Also in October, Tesla announced it was recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks due to a delay in rear visibility video that could increase the risk of a crash.
This isn’t the first time Tesla has announced a Cybertruck recall.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
