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Defective Gearbox Leads to Acura and Honda Recall

Written by Joseph Lyon on . Posted in Product Recalls.

The Auto Recall Lawyers at The Lyon Firm are currently investigating injury and accident claims related to alleged defects on certain 2023-2025 Honda and Acura vehicles. Contact our auto defect attorneys if you have purchased or leased one of the affected automobiles or have questions regarding the recent Honda recall. Free consultations are available for plaintiffs nationwide.

Which Honda and Acura Cars have been Recalled?

Honda announced that the company is recalling over 1.6 million cars and crossovers because of an issue with the steering gearbox assembly. Affected vehicles are 2022-2025 Honda Civic and Civic Type-R, 2023-2025 Acura Integra and Integra Type S, and 2023-2025 Honda CR-V and HR-V.

The company says there is a remedy, however customers may not be officially notified until November 18. The Honda Motor vehicles covered in the recall are all from model years 2022 to 2025 and include tens of thousands of Acura Integras, Honda Civics, Honda CR-Vs and HR-Vs.

Why Were Honda Vehicles Recalled?

A recall was the best course of action because a defective gearbox and spring may lead to “increased friction” when attempting to turn the wheel, according to a document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A full description of the alleged defect from the NHTSA is provided below:

  • “Due to an improperly produced steering gearbox worm wheel, the wheel can swell during use, reducing the grease film thickness between the worm wheel and worm gear. In addition, the worm gear spring preload was set improperly high, increasing the sliding force between the components. As a result of the reduced grease film thickness and increased sliding force, friction between the worm wheel and worm gear increases.”
  • “Increased friction between the worm gear and worm wheel can increase steering effort and difficulty, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.”
  • “Due to an insufficient annealing process and high load single unit break-in during production of the worm wheel, environmental heat and moisture may cause the worm wheel teeth to swell during use, resulting in the increase of the worm wheel teeth pressure angle. This leads to higher surface pressure and a reduction of grease film thickness, increasing the friction between the worm wheel and worm gear. In addition, the preload of the worm gear spring was set too high, increasing the gear slide load and resulting in higher friction and increased torque fluctuation when steering.”

The NHTSA announced an investigation of the safety issue in March, but only after it received 145 complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering could stick. The safety agency did not receive any reports of crashes or injuries from the problem. But if you notice any trouble with the steering on your new Civic, Integra, HR-V, or CR-V, it may be best to take the automobile to a dealer as soon as possible.