• honda

Honda has announced a worldwide recall of nearly a million of its cars to fix two separate problems, CNN Money reported recently. The news source explains the manufacturer “is recalling 936,000 cars worldwide from its Fit and CR-V lines to replace the master switch for the cars’ power windows,” which has a design flaw that can “allow residue from window cleaners to accumulate, which over time can degrade the switch’s electrical contacts and potentially cause a fire.”

According to a September article from The Detroit News, the U.S. government had received five complaints of fires in 2006 Honda CR-Vs due to the issue with the electrical switch, leading to the current recall. CNN reports that this recall “affects 80,111 cars in the United States from the CR-V’s 2006 model year.”

CNN goes on to report that the second recall involves 26,000 Honda 2011 CR-Z compact hybrid cars. This issue results from a software glitch affecting the transmission in the CR-Z. With this recall, a “software bug could allow the motor, under some conditions, to rotate in the opposite direction from the transmission’s gear — allowing the car to, for example, roll backwards when the transmission is in forward gear,” the news source reports. According to CNN, Honda intends to install a simple software upgrade to correct the rollaway problem.

There have been no injuries or deaths reported with either issue to date, CNN reports. However, these September recall announcements will likely take their toll on the Japanese car company, because, as CNN explains, “it struggles to recover from a run of bad news and sluggish sales.”

The two September recalls come on the heels of two earlier 2011 Honda recall announcements, CNN reports. The Detroit News reports that in May “Honda boosted a recall of vehicles for air bags that can deploy with too much pressure by 833,000.” To date, the news source reports that a total of 1.6 million Honda vehicles have been recalled over the faulty airbag issue. Twelve recorded incidents and one death have been linked to that defect.

In August, the car-maker announced that it would also recall 1.51 million of its vehicles in the U.S. to address the problem of vehicles shifting out of park and engine stalls, the Detroit news source explains. That U.S. recall is part of a global recall of approximately 2.5 million cars.

CNN goes on to report that “Honda recalled 2.4 million vehicles in the United States in 2010 — the third highest number — behind Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co.” Based on this latest round of recalls, it appears 2011 will end with many of the same issues for the auto manufacturer.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of issues with power windows or the transmission  in one of the affected Honda models, contact Newsome Law Firm and fill out a case evaluation form today. Our team of attorneys has experience specific to complications associated with automobile recalls. Not only can they give you the legal guidance you need, they can help you get the compensation you deserve.

References:

CNN Money Staff. (September 5, 2011) “Honda recalls 1 million cars globally.” Retrieved on October 31, 2011 from CNN Money.

Shepardson, David. (September 4, 2011) “Honda recalling 86,000 vehicles in U.S. for fire, rollaway concerns.” Retrieved on October 31, 2011 from The Detroit News.