On March 30, 2021, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (“Honda”) announced that they were voluntarily recalling a total of 628,124 of their vehicles in the United States due to potentially faulty low-pressure fuel pumps that could possibly cause alleged engine problems. This number allegedly includes a portion of Acura vehicles as well, as the Acura brand is a luxury division that is owned by Honda. In this recall, Honda and Acura have allegedly determined that vehicles from almost all of their 2019 and 2020 models as well as a singular model of Honda’s CR-V from 2018 may have this alleged defect. The Acura models that are allegedly affected by the recall include the 2019 ILX, 2019-2020 MDX and MDX Hybrid, 2019-2020 RDX, and 2019-2020 TLX. For Honda, the recall allegedly affects vehicles from the manufacturer’s 2018-2019 CR-V, 2019 Accord Hybrid, 2019 Civic Coupe and Si Coupe, 2019 Civic Sedan and Si Sedan, 2019 Civic Type R, 2019 Fit, 2019 HR-V, 2019 Odyssey, 2019 Passport, 2019 Pilot, 2019 Ridgeline, 2019-2020 Accord, 2019-2020 Civic Hatchback, and 2019-2020 Insight lineups. The recall allegedly does not affect the Acura NSX or the fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid versions of the Honda Clarity.
In April of 2021, Honda reported that the possible problem with the fuel pump has allegedly not caused any crashes or injuries. The recall centers around a potential alleged defect in the fuel pump’s impeller, which is the rotating part of the pump that draws and moves fuel. It is alleged that the impellers of the affected vehicles have been found to potentially be susceptible to cracks and breakage. This alleged potential problem is alleged to have been caused because the impellers may have been exposed to certain solvents during their manufacturing process.
In regard to vehicles in general, if the impeller of a fuel pump breaks, it could potentially cause an entire pump to stop working. In turn, a fuel pump failure could potentially cause a vehicle’s engine to stall or lose power and thus possibly increase the chance of a car accident. If a driver sees that a warning light has turned on in their vehicle’s instrument cluster, this could possibly indicate that a problem with that vehicle’s fuel pump has occurred.
Honda began notifying owners of the recalled vehicles via mail in late May 2021. Owners of these models can allegedly also check if their vehicles are affected by the recall by contacting Honda or Acura or by entering their VIN (vehicle identification number) into the manufacturers’ recall websites. To remedy this issue, the manufacturer allegedly declared that they would replace the potentially and allegedly defective fuel pumps free of charge.
Additionally, if an owner of a vehicle has issues regarding a faulty vehicle, the owner can contact a consumer protection agency, the Office of the Attorney General in their respective state, and/or a consumer protection lawyer who is licensed to practice law in the state in which the consumer resides. Seeking professional legal assistance may help a consumer become familiar with their rights and may provide them with answers to questions they have regarding defective vehicles.