Ford may historically claim the crown for recall volume, but Honda is making a late-season surge for the title. It could be the automaker with the most concurrent federal scrutiny. Hot on the heels of a separate brake investigation into the Acura ILX, the NHTSA has opened three distinct preliminary evaluations into Honda. Collectively it impacts a staggering 708,369 vehicles.
The most concerning of these simultaneous probes involves the 2018–2022 Honda Odyssey minivans. Here 18 complaints allege the supplementary side airbags are activating without proper cause. Imagine cruising along the highway and suddenly experiencing an unnecessary safety deployment. Not only can this result in injury but a startling deployment can obviously induce a crash.
The Office of Defects Investigation is currently trying to figure out if the Odyssey is designed to protect you from accidents. This is the largest of the three issues, potentially affecting 441,002 minivans.
Meanwhile, the 2023 and 2024 Honda Pilot models are under the microscope for a less explosive failure. A malfunctioning rear passenger seat belt warning system. Six complaints and multiple field reports suggest the system is generating both false positives and, critically, false negatives. This defect could train drivers to simply ignore the warnings, or worse, falsely reassure them that rear-seat occupants, like children.
Finally the 2020–2022 CR-V Hybrid models face alarming reports of a sudden loss of power at highway speeds. The only warning system for this hybrid horror is a brief, flashing check engine light before the vehicle decides to coast silently to the shoulder.
Owners must then perform the universally recognized technical repair. Turning the vehicle off and then back on again. The problem is intermittent, the error codes erase themselves during the “fix”. So, owners are left with a ghost in the machine. This issue alone has prompted 48 complaints and impacts 124,795 Honda CR-V Hybrid vehicles.
