Honda recalls Acura TL sedans to repair power-steering hose
American Honda Motor Co.said it will recall 52,615 model year 2007-2008 Acura TL sedans in the United States to replace the power-steering hose.
The automaker said the hose may deteriorate and leak fluid. That might cause a loss of power-steering assistance or, if it leaks onto a catalytic converter, may result in smoke or in the worst case, fire, Honda said.
No crashes, injuries or fires have been reported related to this issue.
The company said it wants “to encourage owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Acura.”
The notices will be mailed in mid-June. Owners can also determine if their vehicles require repair by going online to www.recalls.acura.com or by calling (800) 382-2238, and selecting Option 4.
Getting owners to take their cars in for repair is more of a problem than most consumers realize, according to auto information company Edmunds.com.
In a report earlier this month, Edmunds.com said its analysis of the two General Motors Co. recalls examined showed a completion rate of just 52.5% as of December 2011. GM says its recalls generally reach a completion rate of about 70%. No other automaker would provide Edmunds.com with a completion rate for their recalls.
Often these unrepaired vehicles are sold to unsuspecting buyers who have no clue they are purchasing a flawed vehicle.
“There’s only so much the manufacturers can do to reach out to car owners; the responsibility for ensuring that a car has been checked for recalls ultimately rests with individual owners,” said Edmunds.com Senior Editor John O’Dell.
O’Dell said used-car buyers should register their vehicles with the automakers to make sure they’re in the loop on any existing or future recalls.
They should also check out the U.S. Department of Transportation’s www.safercar.gov, a database where a car buyer can look to see if the model they are looking at was part of a recall.
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