Honda (American Honda Motor Co.): Traction Control System
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) reported this defect to federal regulators on Mar 14, 2013 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 183,576. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 Pilot vehicles manufactured July 29, 2004, through August 29, 2005; model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 16, 2004, through September 22, 2005; and model year 2005 Acura RL vehicles manufactured March 1, 2004, through June 29, 2005. An electrical capacitor may have been damaged during the manufacturing of the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) control module causing intermittent, automatic, minor brake application. However, if the driver applies the brakes while the VSA is malfunctioning, the vehicle may come to an abrupt stop. Additionally, due to a loose ground connection, certain model year 2005 Pilots have a VSA system that may apply partial brake force, without the illumination of the brake lights, whether or not the driver is using the brakes.
The risk
Sudden inadvertent braking, especially without illumination of the brake lights, may increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
The remedy
Owners will be notified and instructed to take their vehicles to a dealer of their respective brand. The dealer will install a partial wiring harness containing a capacitor for the VSA modulator, free of charge. The affected model year 2005 Pilots will have their ground connection tightened. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Honda owners may contact Honda Automobile Customer Service at 1-800-999-1009, and select option 4 or go to www.recalls.honda.com; Acura owners may contact 1-800-382-2238, and select option 4, or go to www.recalls.acura.com.
4 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Acura MDX | 87 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| 2005 Acura MDX | 180 | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 2005 Acura RL | 125 | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| 2005 Honda Pilot | 679 | 15 | 8 | 42 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 13V092000.
Full record for the 2006 Acura MDX → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →