Honda Recall - Information & Updates

The Japanese car maker - already experiencing supply and manufacturing issues following the eartquake and tsunami in Japan - has recalled 45,524 of it popular Accord Euro sedans after a fault was identified in the engine bay.The recall notice said "prolonged high under-bonnet temperatures may cause the power steering hose to deteriorate prematurely" which could cause cracks and a leak from the hose. "Power steering fluid could leak onto a hot exhaust and could produce smoke and a burning smell, with the potential for an under-bonnet fire," the notice said.  Honda Australia national public relations manager Mark Higgins said the recall was effecting Australian-retailed vehicles, of which the company has sold more than 54,000 in the recall timeframe."There have been a couple of customers who have reported at a service that there's been a little bit of smoke in the engine bay that they have smelt and noticed, there have certainly been no fires - it's a simple replacement of a power steering hose to fix the problem," Mr Higgins said.The recall covers the model line-up from 2003 until 2008.  The Accord Euro recall is the company's fourth for 2011 - earlier this month the Civic Hybrid was recalled over a fuse short.The City Sedan and Jazz Hatch were recalled in February over an engine stalling problem and the Jazzz hatchback was recalled in January for a headlight problem.  Honda has closed all its production facilities but Mr Higgins said the Australian branch of the company had sufficient Japanese-sourced vehicle stock on the ground here and there were no parts shortages."There are no issues with replacement parts coming from Japan, the latest update on our situation is that production is closed until April 3 and there will be a decision made after that," he said.Honda Australia said it was contacting effected owners by mail and was advising them to contact an authorised Honda Dealership to have the power steering feed hose replaced.

In extreme situations, owners have been warned their vehicles may catch fire.Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be checked.The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan, built between 2006 and 2007, which may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts built this year which may have a problem with door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door while the car is being driven.Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to look at 1770 of its B4000 utes built between 2005-2006 because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001 and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate which may suddenly drop.Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the recalls were to check for "minor or niggling" faults."We have had no incidents of anyone being injured in Australia and we found only six cars which had the faulty (tailgate strut) connection."Many recalls are done as a pre-emptive measure to avoid possible problems further down the track, " he said.Other potential faults include electrical short circuits, which in extreme circumstances, may start a cabin fire in Landrover Freelander diesels built since 2007. Landrover warns the fault may occur when the vehicle is parked and unattended.Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat's Grande Punto; and a chance that the panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen's Picasso could be dislodged.Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler outlet pipe insulator.Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for a loss of steering in Chrysler's 300C built last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.Jayco has recalled some of its motor homes to check and fix awning and exhaust pipe problems.Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain Yamaha models.An ACCC spokeswoman said this year's figures were actually less than last year but the number has been steadily rising over the past 20 years.The ACCC says there have been 52 individual recalls this year compared to 171 last year.Full details of the recalls can be found at www.recalls.gov.au