2013-15 Honda Accords are under investigation by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a steering issue. Allegations of Accords suddenly losing control without warning have led to 107 complaints. According to a Motor1 report, there are as many as 1,120,470 Accords in the US that could be affected.
This condition occurs under normal driving conditions, without driver input. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) uncovered 77 complaints to the automaker and another 30 to NHTSA. Two NHTSA complaints included crashes or fires, and two had injury allegations. None of Honda’s complaints had crashes, fires, or injuries reported.
The next step is an engineering analysis to look at the cause, scope, frequency, and consequences of the purported steering control loss. ODI then decides if Honda needs to recall and fix the vehicles after completing their investigation and issuing a report.
Elsewhere, drivers described their Accords veering or jerking out of their intended path, without warning. NHTSA has also begun looking into vehicle owner questionnaires to see if a safety defect does exist.
The difficulty for Honda is the continuing Takata airbag inflator issue, which we commented on previously. Millions of vehicles with the airbags are still on the road, despite increased efforts by the automaker and the NHTSA to make owners aware of the danger. Now, three years of production are under scrutiny for this potential steering issue.
[Images: Honda]
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