It is no longer a given - or shouldn't be - among potential buyers or government safety officials that the Japanese are quality leaders.
While most of the attention during the past year has been on Toyota’s quality and recall problems, Honda has also been recalling large number of vehicles for safety defects.
In the latest instance, thousands of 2010 Honda Accord cars and CR-V sport utility vehicles can suddenly stall, increasing the potential for accidents.
This recall is relatively small and arguably benign. It comes after a new found interest at NHTSA in enforcing U.S. safety regulations after it was severely criticized for being the “lap dog” of the auto industry during U.S. Congressional hearings on Toyota unintended acceleration. And automakers are recalling with an alacrity not seen in years.
The newly reported Honda stalling problem has not resulted in any accidents yet. The root cause is an engine wiring harness connector which may cause intermittent firing of the spark plugs or a complete ignition failure. The connector was damaged during testing because of an improperly repaired tool that damages a connecting pin. It fails over time.
As previously stated, Toyota or the “Toyota Recall Effect” was the big reason that 2010 was the second highest recall year on record. However, a quick scan of previous Honda recalls questions whether the long-standing Japanese reputation for quality is not as accurate as previously portrayed by the media.
Consider in December of 2010 alone American Honda recalled:
- 2010-11 Accord and 2011 Pilot vehicles in to prevent a potential front suspension failure
- 1998-2002 Passport SUVs for rear suspension failures
- 2007 and 2008 Honda Fit vehicles because of a bad headlight switch, which can case the low-beams to fail and possibly start a fire
During the rest of 2010 American Honda recalled:
- 2007 and 2008 model year Fit (and Jazz elsewhere) subcompacts for possible fires
- 2006 and 2007 Ridgeline pickup trucks after several of them caught fire
- 2004 through 2008 Acura TSX models for fires
- 2003 Accord models Civic models for rolling away because of a bad ignition switch
- 20003-2004 Element crossover vehicles for rolling away
- 2010 Accord Crosstour for front passenger airbags
- 2007-2008 Odyssey minivans Element crossovers for bad brakes
To be fair, Honda still tops the respected Consumer Reports survey on reliability. And Nissan – the other member of the Japanese Big Three — also recalled millions of vehicles globally during 2010. But with all of the Japanese recalls consideration of Detroit Three vehicles is rising. It is no longer a given – or shouldn’t be – among potential buyers or government safety officials that the Japanese are quality leaders.
[Honda identified this latest stalling issue through warranty repairs. Notification to Honda owners will begin in early February 2011. (Honda 1-800-999-1009) Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.]
