More than 500 Honda Pilot models from the 2023 and 2024 model years have been recalled in the United States due to a transmission issue that could cause the steering to lock up. According to the NHTSA recall notice, Honda took some gearboxes off the main assembly line for rework during the assembly process, but the rework could have resulted in a loose ball bearing becoming misplaced within the transmission before it was reassembled.
There are 519 affected units, all of which were manufactured between June 30, 2023 and September 25, 2023. Honda began notifying dealers of the recall on November 3, and consumers will be notified around December 18 and requested to drive their car to a dealer to have the electric power steering rack changed. Those who paid to have the problem corrected will be compensated.
According to Honda, the car may lose all steering if a ball bearing were to fall into the space between a revolving component inside the gearbox. That clearly raises the possibility of a crash, and it's a bug that needs to be fixed right away.
On August 30, while a car was being transported for shipping, the steering of one of the vehicles stuck, alerting the automaker to the issue. On September 21, there were two instances of the same kind at a Honda factory. The automaker has not been notified of any injuries or fatalities associated with the problem, nor has it received any warranty claims.