Honda recalls 250,000 vehicles worldwide over braking problems

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Corp yesterday said that is was recalling around 250,000 of its Honda and Acura vehicles worldwide over a potential problem with the brakes.

Honda said that the defect involves the car's brakes suddenly getting activated even when the driver is not braking.

Honda said that the issue has been identified as a problem with the wiring and electronics in the vehicle stability assist system. The malfunction results in a small amount of brake force being applied even when the driver does not touch the pedal, or too much force when the driver is applying the brakes.

In the instances where the drivers complained, Honda made the necessary repairs at no charge, and the company says it will begin notifying affected owners next month.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) documents showed 205 complaints registered against the 2005 Honda Pilots braking.

In the US, Honda has recalled183,000 vehicles, including101,000 Pilots SUVs, 60,000 Acura MDX SUVs, 21,000 Acura RL sedans, and 800 of Acura's 2006 MDX models.

More than 56,000 vehicles were recalled in Japan, affecting the Odyssey, Legend, StepWgn and Elysion models.

As for other countries, Honda said that the recall applies to 8,000 vehicles in Canada, almost 1,000 in Australia, around 300 in Mexico, and only 70 in Germany.

All of the models were manufactured between March 2004 and May 2006.