Dive Brief:
- Honda Motor Co. has recalled more than 400,000 Civics because of a potential wheel detachment risk, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall involves accessory wheels on certain model year 2016 to 2021 Civics, though only 0.1% of the recall population is expected to have the defect. The affected wheels were produced between Dec. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2019, at a Tier 1 supplier factory in Italy.
- Dealers will inspect vehicle wheels and replace them as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are scheduled to be sent Dec. 8.
Dive Insight:
The defect involves accessory wheels that were manufactured without steel inserts in the lug nut seating area. Without the steel insert, the aluminum alloy seating surface could warp during vehicle operation, potentially causing the lug nut to loosen. If a lug nut fails, the wheel could detach from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
In July 2024, Honda received a report from the Japan market of a Civic missing all of its steel lug seat inserts, discovered during a routine inspection. The company immediately began to investigate the issue.
In early August 2024, Honda inspected all Civics in its U.S. inventory and confirmed that all wheels had the steel lug seat inserts installed correctly.
Honda continued its investigation over the next several months and traced the affected components to a factory in Italy operated by Honda Access Europe, a Belgium-based Tier 1 supplier. According to Honda, fencing used to separate finished and unfinished products had been removed during the installation of new factory equipment. As a result, between December 2018 and December 2019, some unfinished wheels lacking steel lug seat inserts were mistakenly stored, and later shipped, with finished products.
The factory that produced the affected wheels ceased operations in 2023.
On May 12 of this year, the company began to consider which wheels could be affected in the U.S. market, and on June 4, Honda began identifying the potentially affected U.S. vehicle population using supplier and sales records.
On Oct. 23, Honda issued the recall, with affected vehicles identified by their VINs.
Honda had not received any warranty claims or reports of injuries related to the defect as of Oct. 16. In a service bulletin to dealers, the company said the “possibility of repairs is very low” relative to the number of Civics recalled.
