Honda has confirmed that it is indeed stopping the sale of its Odyssey minivans in the United States and will recall nearly 640,000 units sold from 2010 until 2015.
A safety recall affecting 633,753 Odysseys from the 2011 through 2016 model years involves a second-row release lever that allows access to the third row.
The lever could stay unlocked, causing the second-row seat to move unexpectedly, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) documents. No injuries have been reported related to the issue, which was discovered in warranty documents, Honda said in a statement. Honda dealers will add an additional bracket and a spring to both second-row outboard seats for free. The recall is expected to begin in February 2017, although parts are not expected to be available until spring.
Until the repairs can be completed, Honda is telling Odyssey owners to lock the seat in place manually with the horizontal position adjustment bar. In a separate, noncompliance recall of 7549 Honda Odysseys from only the 2016 model year, there’s an issue with the horizontal adjuster bar in the second row’s center seat.
The bar could stick in the unlocked position, causing the seats to slide unexpectedly, according to NHTSA recall documents. No reported injuries have been linked to the issue, which was discovered in internal-quality checks, Honda said.
Honda dealers will inspect the slide function and replace the affected bar if necessary. That recall is expected to begin late next month. As is common practice, Honda has put a stop-sale on all minivans affected by the two recalls.
