New York, NYOn the heels of Toyota's massive recall of eight million vehicles worldwide, Honda announced on March 15 that it will recall 344,000 Odyssey minivans and 68,000 Element crossover vehicles in the 2007-2008 model years due to brake problems. According to Honda, consumers have complained that brake pedals feel "soft," that the brake pedal gets closer to the floor and the problem slowly increases over time. "Left unrepaired, the problem could cause loss of braking power and possibly a crash," said Honda spokesman Chris Martin.
The recall was announced after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported three vehicle crashes due to the brake defect. Honda said it has traced the problem to a device called a vehicle stability assist modulator, which powers the electronic stability control system and selectively brakes each of the wheels to keep the vehicle upright during an emergency situation.
The device tests itself when the vehicle is started by allowing a small amount of air into the hydraulic brake lines. Over time, an air bubble in the lines can cause the brakes to lose power, forcing the driver to push the pedal farther toward the floor to stop the vehicles, Martin said.
It makes one wonder whether Honda and Toyota (and, to a lesser extent, Ford) share the same brake parts manufacturer. A software problem in the Prius, Toyota's gas-electric hybrid, causes the brake pedal to drop momentarily toward the floor, and Ford has a similar software problem with its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.
Honda owners can't expect to get the problem fixed until at least the end of April, due to the unavailability of spare parts. Officials have advised owners to wait for a letter from the company before queuing up for the repair, or to visit their local dealers for a temporary repair until the parts arrive. Dealers can "bleed" air bubbles out of the hydraulic lines, which should put a band-aid on the problem until the parts arrive.
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