Keeping your tools clean isn’t just a habit for the fastidious, it can also avoid serious consequences, such as the ones being felt by Honda now. The automaker must recall a small number of vehicles due to a foreign object in a caulking tool that may have impacted seal quality and could lead to a roll-away risk.
Honda is recalling 386 vehicles from the 2023 model year due to a potential brake leak. Specifically, the Honda Civic and Accord, as well as the Acura Integra and RDX are implicated in this campaign.
The root of the issue is the ball valve in the vehicle stability assist modulator, which Honda’s supplier Continental Automotive Systems has determined was damaged during the manufacturing process, due to a “foreign object getting stuck in the caulking tool that seals the valve,” Honda wrote in documents filed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Read: NHTSA Investigating Whether Ford Botched Runaway Explorer Recall
Fortunately, it’s a very small brake fluid leak, and Honda has yet to receive any warranty claims as a result of the issue. It is also not aware of any accidents or injuries resulting from the fault and only found out about it because CAS noticed there might be an issue with the tool.
However, in investigating the problem, the automaker determined that the possibility of a low-speed collision exists, specifically when the auto hold function – which holds the brake even if the driver takes their foot off the pedal – is in use. Making the risk even more serious is the fact that drivers will have no warning that something is amiss until their vehicle starts rolling away.
To remedy the situation, Honda will start reaching out to registered owners on July 24. They will be asked to return their vehicle to a nearby dealer, where a technician will replace the vehicle stability assist modulator that was produced correctly.
