Honda Motor Co. is recalling 600,000

Honda recalls 600,000 vehicles for defect

DETROIT (April 14, 8:33 am ADT) - American Honda Motor Co. is
recalling 600,000 minivans and sport utility vehicles in the United
States and Canada because their transmissions can fail.

Involved in the recall are 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey minivans, 2003-2004
Honda Pilot SUVs and 2001-2002 Acura MDX SUVs.

Honda said insufficient lubrication can lead to heat build-up and
broken gears in the transmission. Owners may notice noises coming from
the transmission if the gears break. In rare instances, gear breakage
could lock up the vehicle's transmission.

Honda said it has confirmed 10 cases in which the transmission failed.
All were vehicles with high mileage.

Honda will begin notifying owners about the defect at the end of
April. Honda dealers will inspect gears for free and replace the
transmission if necessary.

 

Here's the Reuters story with essentially the same information and a
few more details:

Honda recalls about 650,000 minivans, SUVs
Automaker to fix potential transmission problems
Updated: 2:58 p.m. ET April 14, 2004

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has recalled about 650,000 of its minivans and
sport utility vehicles sold in the United States and Canada to fix a
potential problem with the transmission, the Japanese automaker said
on Wednesday.

The recall includes certain model year 2002, 2003 and early 2004 Honda
Odyssey minivans; 2003 and early 2004 Honda Pilot SUVs; and 2001 and
2002 Acura MDX SUVs, all equipped with V-6 engines and five-speed
automatic transmissions.

The gear teeth in the transmission could chip or break, resulting in
abnormal noise or in rare instances, possible locking of the
transmission, creating a potential safety hazard, Honda said.

Honda is aware of 10 incidents of transmission failure, but there were
no injuries or accidents resulting from the condition, the automaker
said.

Honda will begin notifying owners of affected vehicles by mail in May,
and they will be asked to take their vehicle to an authorized Honda or
Acura dealer to be repaired free of charge. In most cases, the repair
involves a simple gear inspection, and a modification to increase the
flow of transmission fluid to the affected gear. Honda will replace
the transmission assembly at no cost if necessary.

The recall includes 600,000 vehicles sold in the United States and
about 50,000 in Canada.

 

Doesn't the V-6 Accord use essentially the same transmission?

What is it with Honda and bad automatic transmissions? Do they need to
start buying them from someone else instead of trying to make their own?


John

 

Only 5-sp. autom are covered. The previous Accord had a 4-sp.autom.

But I have heard issues with the 4-sp. autom. with V6 as well. Honda says
that the failure rate is less than 5%.

FYI, GM is buying V6 and autom. transmissions from Honda. First
application; Saturn Vue.