As part of the fourth recall relating to the problem, Honda announced it would recall about 573,000 Accords from the 2003-7 model years equipped with V-6 engines because of a potential fire hazard. The recall plan was submitted in a report (PDF) to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday.
The most recent action meant that since 2007, roughly 1.1 million Hondas and Acuras have been recalled in the United States over the same concern: high temperatures in the engine compartment causing a power-steering hose to deteriorate and possibly leak. If power-steering fluid touches a hot surface, it can catch fire.
Honda told the safety agency it would not be able to start fixing the vehicles until early next year because it needed to manufacture a new hose.
Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the leaks were “very rare and quite small,” and an owner would probably first notice a smell. If that were to happen before the redesigned hoses were available, Mr. Martin said the dealer would replace a leaking hose with a current design as a stopgap. That hose would subsequently be replaced with the new hose early next year.
In its report to the agency, Honda said it began investigating whether there was a problem with the V-6-equipped Accords after recalling about 53,000 Acura TLs last May for leaking power-steering hoses. During that investigation, Honda said it learned from a dealer about a fire in a 2006 Accord and concluded it was likely caused by leaking power-steering fluid. Additional research led to the decision to expand the TL recall to include the Accords.
Honda said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries. The company said it knew of only one fire involving the Accords.
Aside from the recall initiated in May to repair the 53,000 Acura TLs, to which the 573,000 Accords were added, there were the following actions:
• In 2010, prompted by the report of a fire, Honda recalled about 167,000 Acura TSX sedans from the 2004-8 model years.
• In 2008, Honda recalled about 273,000 Acura TLs from the 2004-8 model years (PDF).
• In 2007, Honda recalled about 43,000 Acura RLs from the 2005-8 model years, after receiving reports of two fires in Japan (PDF).