On Oct. 1, American Honda posted its sales figures for the third quarter of 2024, which it says is still strong despite setbacks such as supply issues due to prep for EV manufacturing and Hurricane Helene.
Honda (HMC) alone sold 333,105 cars, a 10.2% gain over the same quarter last year. Over 95,601 of them were sold in September.
The top seller is the ultra-popular CR-V crossover SUV, which sold 29,217 units last month. In second place is the compact Civic, which sold 15,761 units.
Combined, the Civic and CR-V are essentially money printers for Honda, as they represent roughly 47% of Honda's sales in the United States. However, a new development might threaten that viability.
Honda
Honda's huge, new recall is years in the making
According to new documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 1.7 million Honda and Acura vehicles face a safety recall over a critical safety issue.
The recall affects the 2022 to 2025 model years of some of the brands' most popular models: the Honda Civic, CR-V, HR-V, and Acura Integra. These vehicles are affected by a critical issue in their steering systems.
The NHTSA documents say that the recall stems from a problem in the steering gearbox assembly; the set of gears that control the direction of the front wheels.
The regulators say that the defective part may have been manufactured incorrectly and potentially cause “excessive internal friction," making the vehicle difficult to steer and increasing the chances of a crash.
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This issue is commonly referred to as "sticky steering," it reportedly occurs when motorists experience a brief loss of power steering assistance, making moving the steering wheel require much more force than normally needed.
Honda itself has claimed that it has received 10,328 warranty claims related to the issue since 2021. In March 2023, the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) started looking into what they described as an "alleged defect of momentary increase in steering effort" in new Civics.
In November, the ODI upgraded the investigation to cover the CR-V and Integra, as the Civic shares parts with the other models.
Last year, the NHTSA said it received reports of 13 crashes related to the issue. About 11 of those drivers who reported what happened said they lost control because they experienced the steering wheel getting much heavier and requiring much more effort to turn upon leaving a highway or freeway.
The recall documentation did not mention any accidents, injuries or deaths caused by the steering defect and estimates that just 1% of the nearly 1.7 million vehicles affected may actually have this issue.
Honda and Acura will mail notification letters about the recall to affected car owners by November 18 and will service affected vehicles free of charge for the issue.
The Honda Motor Co., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker HMC, is down 1.69% from the opening bell, trading at $31.45 at the close.
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