Honda Recalls 344,000 Odysseys & 68,000 Elements

Honda is recalling 344,000 Honda Odysseys and 68,000 Honda Elements from model year 2007 and 2008.

These vehicle, when equipped with “vehicle stability” can have issues with a soft break pedal.

Vehicle stability is a safety a system where the vehicle computer can assist the driver in keeping the car upright during emergency driving by intelligently applying the break to the wheels independently to keep the vehicle stable.

The issue, according to Honda, is with the self test that the “vehicle stability assist modulator” performs when the vehicle is started.  When this self test is initiated the module allows a small bit of air into the hydraulic breaking system.  Each time the vehicle is started, a bit more air is added to the system, causing a soft pedal, and potentially more force required to apply the breaks.

The Hydraulic Breaking System & You – A Crash Course in How Your Breaks Work

The hydraulic breaking system used on cars today relies on fluid dynamics to stop the car.  For those of us that aren’t physics wizards what this means in simple terms is:  The breaks on your car rely on pressurized liquid (break fluid) to actually do the heavy lifting of stopping the car.

I’m sure you’ve heard of break fluid before.  The reason it’s so important to stopping you car is that a fluid cannot be compressed.  So when you step on the break, the fluid is forced into a smaller chamber on your wheel that acts as a multiplier on the breaking force you applied.

This is where air entering the system becomes an issue…air CAN be compressed.  The more air you have displacing fluid in the breaking system of your car, the less “non-compressible” fluid you have. This translates into a spongy feel on your break pedal, increased force required to stop the vehicle, and less efficiency in the entire system.

Your mechanic can “bleed” the break system to remove the air, restoring normal braking for you and your car.

What Does This Mean to Me and My Honda?

Honda is saying that there is no reason to panic.  If you feel like you’re vehicle is experiencing soft pedal or reduced breaking, contact your dealer.  They are being instructed to bleed the break system to remove the air and to cap and seal the points on the modulator that are allowing air to enter the break system. This will restore your break pedal to it’s proper function and buy them time to get the corrected replacement part in stock.  Honda reported that they will issue letters to impacted owners during mid- to late- April.

How Can I Tell If MY Vehicle is Impacted by This?

Honda is still working to determine a full list of the vehicles that are affected by this issue.  After April 19th Honda expects to have gathered all the required info for owners.  After that time you can:

Call Honda Customer Service at 800-999-1009 and select option #4
Go to www.recalls.honda.com and enter your VIN number.

Are you experience trouble with the breaks “not feeling right” on your Honda Odyssey or Honda Element?  If you’ve talked to your dealer what have they told you?  Please share your experience with us in the comments section!

Tags: 2007 Element, 2007 odyssey, 2008 Element, 2008 odyssey, break recall, Honda Element, Honda Odyssey, honda recall

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 10:30 pm and is filed under Auto Safety News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.Both comments and pings are currently closed.