2013 Honda Pilot 4wd Ex-l on 2040-cars

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Honda recalling 183k cars and crossovers over unintended braking issue

A recall has been issued for nearly 183,000 Honda and Acura brand vehicles from the 2005 and 2006 model years. The problem stems from a potential malfunctions to the vehicles' stability control and braking systems.
Drivers have reported a malfunction to Honda's Vehicle Stability Assist system, though to date, no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of it. Some of the vehicles' Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) control units may have an electric capacitor that was damaged during manufacture. A damaged control unit could cause the VSA system to apply brake force for a "fraction of a second" without any driver input, or could add additional brake force if it malfunctions while the driver is already braking. Either example could increase the risk of a crash.
To fix the issue, Honda will install a new electrical sub-harness, free of charge to the owner. The recall specifies 101,000 Honda Pilot (pictured), 60,000 Acura MDX and 21,000 Acura RL vehicles from the 2005 model year will be affected. An additional 800 MDX crossovers from the 2006 model year are also included in the recall. In addition, 51,000 of the affected 2005 Pilots will be inspected to be sure that a ground bolt for the VSA system is properly tight. Should this bolt come lose, similar unexpected brake activation may occur.

Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."

Honda Civic overtakes Toyota Corolla as America's best-selling compact

The battle to claim October's best-selling compact sedan title has been won by the Honda Civic. The Japanese four-door sold 27,328 units, leaving the Toyota Corolla - September's title holder - in its wake with 23,637 units sold. In terms of year-to-date sales, the Civic sits at 280,899 units, with the Corolla trailing at 257,184 vehicles.
Sitting in third place, separated by a significant gap from the leaders, is the Chevrolet Cruze with 16,087 units sold. The Ford Focus earned fourth, with 15,108 units moved out of showrooms. (It is interesting to note that while the Civic and Corolla have both enjoyed double-digit sales increases year-over-year, the Cruze and Focus have seen significant decreases during the same period.)
Sales of the Hyundai Elantra hit 14,876 units, putting it in fifth place, with the Volkswagen Jetta earning sixth place with 11,710 units. Rounding out the ten top sellers were the Nissan Sentra (8,399 units), Mazda3 (7,647 units), Dodge Dart (5,617 units) and Subaru Impreza/WRX (4,923 units). The Kia Forte (4,706 units) and Volkswagen Golf (2,249 units), eleventh and twelfth respectively, have fallen behind.