Honda has been playing catch-up to Toyota since the Prius came out. Their sales were lower, their revenue was lower, and their stock was lower. It’s enough to affect a global car manufacturer’s self esteem.
Now, Toyota is again eclipsing Honda in the news with recalls associated with the sudden acceleration of most of the models they offer. Being in the news all of the time has prompted Toyota to offer zero percent financing for 24 months on cars that are actually still on their recall list and may or may not be fixed. People don’t seem to care because they’re buying Toyotas anyway, leaving Honda shrugging and as jealous as a 4th place Olympian.
So Honda has announced recalls, loudly. Usually these recall announcements come on Friday afternoon at around 4:59 pm when all of the news people have already hit 4 pm happy hour. But not this time. Honda wants the publicity. The old saying goes, and Toyota has proven it, “there’s no such thing as bad press.”
Honda Recall Details
Honda has recalled more than 410,000 Odyssey minivans and Element small trucks. They are having braking system problems that could make it harder to bring the vehicle to a stop if not repaired, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.
These types of brake problems can make an owner have to stamp on the brakes and may cause longer than normal stopping distances. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported three crashes due to the problem with minor injuries and no deaths, Martin said.
Honda notified NHTSA of the recall on Monday, he said.
The recall includes 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements from the 2007 and 2008 model years.
Honda said that over time, brake pedals can feel “soft” and must be pressed closer to the floor to stop the vehicles. If left as it is, the problem could cause a major loss of braking power and possibly an accident.
“[The brake line is] definitely not operating the way it should, and it’s safety systems, so it brings it to the recall status,” Martin said.
This is not the first recall of the Honda Odyssey. Honda recalled some in February of last year for faulty emergency brakes. This problem caused no injuries and was considerably smaller than this problem.
Recalls on the Rise
In a perfect world all cars would work perfectly straight off of the production line. This is certainly not a perfect world, but voluntary recalls help get us closer.
Nissan, on March 3rd, announced the recall of more than a half a million saying, “the recall covers the Titan, Armada and Infiniti QX56 built from 2005 to 2008, and the Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra produced between January and March 2006 and between October 2007 and January 2008.” Apparently the brake pedals could have faulty components that cause the pedals to wobble.
Just two days earlier General Motors recalled 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail. The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico. They say that the cars can become difficult to steer under 15 mph.
In the past these problems were called “quirks”. Unless people were dying then they either had to live with it or get out the old tool kit and fix it themselves. That is until Ralph Nader came along in the late 70’s and changed all of that. Since then car companies have been learning hard lessons over and over again about putting profit before their customer’s safety. Yet they keep on doing it. Toyota is no different this time.
Luckily for the consumer recalls have risen and perhaps with this gargantuan Toyota fiasco, the car manufaturers have finally learned their lesson, because as the chart below shows, recalls are rising and on the heals of the Toyota recalls have shot through the roof.
Defective Automobiles
The difference between the Honda recalls and the other recalls this month is that the Odyssey is a very popular vehicle to transport children. It is the quintessential family travel machine and the NHTSA has given it an impressive 5 star crash safety rating. Unfortunately, with brake problems it will need it.
The point is that, if you are a safe defensive driver, then barring other people’s erratic driving habits, you should be able to rely on your car to get you to your destination safely. Of course every car eventually has engine troubles, but driving down a hill toward a busy intersection and finding that your brakes have failed is not “engine troubles”. It is a life or death situation that can lead to serious personal injury or even wrongful death.
If you or someone you know has been adversely affected by a defective automobile it is essential that you contact legal council that is experienced in defective product litigation. Call Phillips Webster to speak with a legal professional about your legal options.
Learn More About:
- Toyota Recalls
- Crashworthiness
- Defective Tires
