- NHTSA is investigating nearly 710k Hondas over safety concerns.
- Three separate probes involve airbags, seat belts, and power loss.
- Models include the Odyssey, Pilot, and CR-V Hybrid vehicles.
Ford might be the undisputed recall king, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened three separate investigations into Honda, all at once. The move comes roughly a week after they began looking into the Acura ILX for a possible braking issue.
One of the more alarming investigations involves inadvertent airbag deployments in 2018-2022 Honda Odysseys. The government has received 18 complaints that allege the side airbags can randomly activate while the vehicle is being driven.
More: Government Probes Honda And Acura Engine Failures After Shocking Surge In Complaints
Some of these activations reportedly come after hitting a pothole or another road imperfection. However, these relatively minor impacts shouldn’t trigger an airbag deployment.
Needless to say, this is a serious safety issue as airbags can injure occupants as well as surprise the driver, triggering a crash. Unfortunately, this isn’t theoretical as the government is aware of one case that reportedly injured two people.
The Office of Defects Investigation’s preliminary evaluation seeks to “determine the scope and severity of the potential problem and to fully assess the potential safety-related issues.”
A Bad Seat Belt Warning System In Pilots?
The second investigation focuses on the 2023 and 2024 Pilot, which may have a faulty rear passenger seat belt warning system. The government has received six complaints as well as multiple field reports related to the issue.
Owners allege the safety system can give both false positive and false negative results. This could cause drivers to ignore warnings or believe rear seat passengers – particularly children – are buckled up, when they’re actually not.
Like in the previous case, this is a preliminary evaluation that’s trying to determine the scope and severity of the issue as well as the potential impacts.
Loss Of Drive Power in CR-V Hybrids
Finally, there are alarming reports that 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids can lose power at highway speeds with little warning. This is said to be an intermittent issue, which is foreshadowed by a “flashing check engine light immediately before the loss of motive power occurs.”
Drivers appear to have to coast to the side of the road, where they can turn their ignition off and back on again. This reportedly fixes the issue, but wipes the check engine light and fault codes.
The intermittent nature and clearing of codes makes finding the root cause difficult, leading to the issue going unresolved even after owners seek repairs. The problem could impact 124,795 vehicles and the government has received 48 complaints as well as a handful of field reports.
All told, the three investigations involve a total of 708,369 vehicles. The Odyssey’s potential airbag issue would have the largest impact as it could ensnare 441,002 minivans.
