Honda, Acura cars to be recalled for pump defect

Honda Motor’s American arm in Torrance is recalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving.

According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used for in 20172020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which “can deform and interfere with the fuel pump body” over time, regulators said, leading to an inoperative fuel pump.

If the fuel pump module doesn’t work, the car’s engine may not start or can stall while driving, the NHTSA said, increasing crash and injury risks. Honda said it has not received any crash or injury reports related to this recall to date.

The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases, with the first batch of owner notification letters going out in February.

“Countermeasure replacement parts are not available in sufficient quantities for all recalled vehicles at the time of this announcement and American Honda intends to notify vehicle owners in stages,” Honda wrote.

Dealer notification was scheduled to kick off this week, according to NHTSA documents.

Drivers can confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall using the NHTSA site and/or Honda and Acura’s recall lookup platforms.

Earlier this week, the NHTSA and Honda also announced a recall of more than 106,000 2020-2022 CR-V hybrid vehicles due to a missing fuse on the power circuit of exterior 12-volt battery cables. This can cause the battery cable to short circuit or overheat during a crash, regulators said.