Honda Motor Company recently issued a recall for around 295,000 Honda and Acura vehicles due to a potential software defect that could cause the vehicles' engines to stall or lose power. Here's everything we know from Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Which Honda Vehicles Have the Potential Engine Defect?
According to Honda's report to the NHTSA, 294,612 vehicles are part of the recall. That breaks down to the following Honda and Acura models:
- 2022-2025 Acura MDX Type-S SUV
- 2021-2025 Acura TLX Type-S sedan
- 20223-2025 Honda Pilot
Honda estimates that 1%, or around 2,946, of the recalled vehicles may actually be affected by the defect.
What's Wrong with the Honda Engines?
In the language of the recall,
Due to improper programming of the fuel injection electronic control unit (FIECU) settings, sudden changes in the throttle opening could cause the MIL (malfunction indicator lamp) to illuminate and/or the engine to lose drive power, hesitate and/or stall.
What does that mean? Well, we're not mechanics or engineers, but you don't help people with car accident cases for decades without picking a few things up. Honda didn't get too specific, but they say there's a software problem with their vehicles' fuel injection systems. Because of that, pressing or releasing the gas pedal could cause the "check engine" light to turn on—or far more concerning, it could make the engine cut out entirely.
What Harm Could the Honda Engine Defect Do?
A warning light on your console might be little more than an inconvenience, but an unexpected engine shutoff is a whole different matter. If your car loses power on the road on the road, for example, you may find yourself fighting to maintain speed and control—and if you were trying to make a sharp turn or overtake another vehicle, the risk of an accident would go through the roof. Even if the engine doesn't quit entirely, a brief stall-out could leave someone stranded in a dangerous spot, like in an intersection.
To be clear, that's just the kind of thing that could happen in a worst-case scenario. Honda reports they have 674 warranty claims related to the problem, but say none involve crashes or injuries.
What Can Consumers with Affected Hondas Do?
According to Honda, a mail campaign is expected to start in March and owners of the potentially-affected vehicles should expect to see a notice around that time. Since the defect is a matter of software programming, owners will be asked to take their Honda or Acura vehicles to a local dealership for an update that should clear up the issue.
Why Should People Care about This Honda Recall?
People may see the details of this recall and be tempted to shrug it off, but buggy software is more and more common in modern vehicles. Tesla may be the poster children of those recalls, but every automaker is stuffing more electronics into their cars—and the "brains" controlling them occasionally have a screw loose.
Software failures may be easier to address than exploding tires or bad brakes, but in the end they're still manufacturer mistakes that shouldn't have happened. A company is expected to take care in the creation of its product, including how they program it to run. If—God forbid—the engine defect we talked about today actually makes a Honda stall out and crash, the driver won't be thinking "at least it's only software!"
That's why this and any recall should be taken seriously. In an ideal world there wouldn't be nearly as many because products would be adequately tested before entering the market, but if that's the way things are then the companies behind those faulty vehicles owe more than apologies and software updates to anyone hurt by their carelessness.