Honda announced that it will be issuing a recall for 344,000 Odyssey minivans in the United States. The reason for the recall is a defect in the software that could cause unintended braking.
The defect could cause affected vehicles to brake very suddenly and harshly without the driver pressing the brake pedal at all. The has the potential to cause an accident, but Honda says they have not yet received any reports of accidents due to the software glitch.
Odyssey minivans from model years 2007 and 2008 are the only years affected by the recall. In order to fix the problem, vehicles will need a new yaw sensor which Honda says they won’t be able to have ready until sometime in the Spring.
The problem was first investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) back in June of this year. They say they had received 22 complaints about the issue when they decided to open their investigation
The problem happens when the vehicle stability assist system malfunctions. This will only happen if an affected Honda Odyssey is driven in a certain way, and it will not only cause the vehicle to suddenly and aggressively brake, but the vehicle’s brake lights will not illuminate. This further increases the possibility of a crash.
Although the necessary replacement yaw sensor won’t be available until next Spring, Honda realizes that customers will be understandably concerned driving a vehicle with a recall for the next few months. As an interim measure, they will be providing Honda Odyssey owners with affected vehicles with instructions on how to avoid the problem.
Owners will be sent letters describing how to make sure the vehicle stability assist system is correctly calibrated in their Honda Odyssey when their vehicles are started. Once the replacement yaw sensors become available in the Spring, Honda will then send a second letter to notify owners of the part’s availability so they can have it replaced.
Check out this throwback video of the Honda Odyssey Concept debut at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show….
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.