Last week was fairly newsworthy for consumers due to several automobile manufacturers issuing voluntary recalls. Ford announced a recall of more than 13,000 2013 Explorer, Taurus and Lincoln MKS models, and Mitsubishi announced a recall of about 3,200 2011 Outlander Sports models. This week, another vehicle manufacturer is making headlines. Honda is voluntarily recalling about 700,000 Honda Fit models worldwide due to the possibility that moisture may be able to seep into the driver’s door and damage the switch. Should this occur, the switch could possibly overheat, melt, and/or catch on fire.
According to USA Today, the Honda recall affects 143,083 2007 to 2008 Honda Fit models in the United States. Honda states that there have been no reported crashes or injuries due to the problem. The company recommends that consumers park their affected vehicles outside until a dealer can inspect the switch.
Honda issued a recall in January 2010 of the same vehicle models for the same issue. However, that repair procedure was subsequently “determined by Honda not to be sufficiently robust to ensure that all switches would be completely sealed against all possible moisture intrusion,” according to a news release from Honda. Under the current recall, owners of the affected Fit models will be asked to bring their vehicles to Honda dealers for an inspection of the master power window switch. If the switch is shown to have damage, then it will be replaced immediately using the company’s current limited supply of updated parts. If the switch is shown to not have any damage, then the vehicle will be returned to the customer and repaired at a later date.
Honda will mail customer notifications of the recall in mid-July, and customers will be able to determine if their vehicles require a repair through recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009 and selecting option 4.