Dive Brief:
- American Honda Motor Co. has recalled 259,000 vehicles for a condition that may cause the brake pedal to become misaligned, which increases the risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall is due to a manufacturing defect with the brake pedal pivot pin and includes the 2023-2025 Honda Pilot and Acura MDX; and 2021-2025 Acura TLX sedan.
- Dealers will inspect and replace the brake pedal assembly on the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 28.
Dive Insight:
According to the NHTSA, a Tier 1 supplier’s manufacturing error resulted in some brake pedal pivot pins not being staked before assembly. The error can cause the pedal to move laterally, leading to unintended application by a driver and increase the risk of a crash.
Honda’s Tier 1 supplier, Otsuka Koki Co., was in the midst of a production transition from the U.S. to a Mexico facility between June 14 and Oct. 25, 2024. The planned move required the company to increase its staffing levels to mitigate any supply disruptions. However, some of these new employees were insufficiently trained and the pivot pin staking process was not performed, according to the report. These defective parts were then supplied to Honda and installed in the recalled vehicles.
All of the improper brake pedal pivot pin staking occurred at the supplier’s U.S. plant, which has since closed. Production was fully transferred to Mexico in early November 2024.
In addition to the manufacturing error, a malfunction with the supplier’s QR code scanning system that’s designed to prevent process omissions was disabled, which allowed the problem to go undetected. But after it was discovered, Otsuka Koki Co. began to utilize a camera sensor to verify that the pivot pin is staked.
Honda was made aware of the problem on April 4, 2024, after it received a report of brake pedal movement on a vehicle. The automaker subsequently launched an investigation to determine the cause. On Dec. 2, 2024, the automaker received a second report of a vehicle experiencing brake pedal movement.
After receiving the second report, Honda in February began to inspect the parts inventory produced by its supplier. Through April of this year, Otsuka Koki Co. also investigated and analyzed the issue to determine the number of defective parts it may have supplied to the automaker.
On June 5, Honda determined that the problem resulted in noncompliance of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and elected to conduct the recall.
As of June 5, Honda is aware of three warranty claims related to brake pedal movement, but is not aware of any injuries.
The recall is Honda’s 12th since Jan. 1 and its second largest of 2025. In January, the company recalled over 294,000 vehicles to update engine control unit software that may lead to stalling or a sudden loss of power.
