Over a half million Honda Accords recalled for power steering fire risk

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall of over 572,000 Honda Accord sedans over a concern that a high pressure power steering fluid line could leak and lead to an engine bay fire – adding these vehicles to the 52,615 Acura TL models recalled earlier this year for the same issue.

This new Honda Accord power steering fluid line recall pertains to those vehicles from the 2003 through 2007 model years that were equipped with the V6 engine option. In these Honda sedans, a combination of high engine bay temperatures and high power steering fluid temperatures could lead to premature deterioration of a pressurized power steering fluid line. Should this line deteriorate to the point where it begins to leak, the power steering fluid spraying around the engine bay could come in contact with something very hot (like any portion of the exhaust system). When this happens, there could be an excessive amount of smoke coming from under the hood and in the worst case situations – an engine bay fire could occur. 573,147 examples of the 2003-2007 Honda Accord are affected in the US alone.

Honda will begin notifying the owners of these 573k+ V6-powered Accord sedans beginning on October 26th 2012 to let them know that their vehicle is included in the recall. This recall formally began in June 2012 for the 2007 and 2008 Acura TL but the recent addition of the Honda Accord from 2003-2007 comes with a bit of a hitch, as Honda does not currently have the replacement parts for over a half million vehicles. Honda expects to have the replacement parts in the early portions of the 2013 calendar year so when owners first get these recall notices, they will be asked to bring their vehicle in for inspection when the first portion of the recall is sent out in late October while those vehicles that are exhibiting problems will be contacted again in early 2013 to get the problem fixed. However, those owners of the affected Honda Accord V6 sedans who believe that they may already have a power steering leak are encouraged to contact their local dealership. Owners can also call Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009 in reference to recall number S59 for the investigation portion of the recall and number S60 pertains to the repair of the faulty hose once the parts are available.

Luckily, there have been no reports of accidents, fires or injuries stemming from the Honda Accord and Acura TL power steering fluid line recall but with the chance of an engine bay fire – albeit a slim chance – Honda is making the safe call to get these sedans repaired before there are any unfortunate reports.

In addition to the 573,147 Honda Accord sedans affected in the US, there are an additional 30,058 units in Canada that are also subject to this recall. These vehicles will join the 56,881 Acura TL sedans from the 2007 and 2008 model years that were recalled in May with 52,615 of those found in the US while the other 4,266 are in Canada. For those of you who don’t want to do the math – this power steering reaches 660,085 sedans in North America.