Timing Belt Snafu Sparks Honda, Acura Recall

If you’re driving a car, the last thing you expect the vehicle to do is stall.  Whether it’s in a commercial parking lot, on a suburban roadway, or in heavy highway traffic, an unexpected stall can pose a serious safety hazard, both for anyone in your car and others nearby.

Honda is recalling nearly 100,000 cars because of a timing belt problem that could cause the vehicles to stall in traffic.  The company says the teeth on some of those belts may separate, causing the belt to fail and the engine to stall.

“Due to manufacturing process errors, certain lots of timing belts for V6 engines have insufficient strength in the belt teeth, which may break away from the belt, leading to slippage of the belt and incorrect engine timing,” Honda said in a statement announcing the recall.  “If this happens, an engine may stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash or injury, and potentially causing engine damage.”

The cars covered by the recall include the 2018-2019 Acura MDX, 2019 Acura TLX, 2019 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid, 2019 Honda Odyssey, 2018-2019 Honda Pilot, and 2019 Honda Ridgeline.

Honda is sending recall notices to owners and lessors beginning in June.  The company said owners and lessors should bring those vehicles into a dealership for an inspection.  Honda also said it will perform free repairs on affected vehicles.

“Honda is announcing this recall to encourage each owner of an affected vehicle to take it to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda or Acura,” the company said in the announcement.

The California Lemon Law

This is not the only recent safety concern for Honda owners and lessors.  The company is refusing to recall CR-V sport utility vehicles, despite concerns that an oil problem could cause some of the cars to stall.  The company said in March it was recalling another 1.1 million vehicles over concerns Takata airbags could explode unexpectedly.  Those airbags were already recalled, but the company said they are still defective.

The California lemon law offers some important legal protections to car owners and buyers in the Golden State, regardless of whether their vehicles are the subject of a recall.  The law makes car manufacturers responsible for certain repairs.  It also requires them compensate the owner or lessor—or replace the vehicle—if the car maker refuses or is unable to make those repairs.

The law also makes the manufacturer responsible for picking up the tab for any legal fees that an owner or lessor incurs in enforcing his or her rights.

How Our California Lemon Lawyers Can Help You

If you have been stuck with a lemon, you have the right to hold the car maker legally liable.

The California Lemon Law attorneys at the Bickel Law Firm have represented hundreds of clients in defective vehicle cases across the state.  Our offices are conveniently located in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.  Call us at (888) 800-1983 or contact us online to speak with an attorney.