The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a potential braking issue with Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) Honda Odyssey minivans that could cause them to brake without the driver touching the brake pedal.
Earlier last week, the vehicle safety arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was opening an investigation of the issue, which could affect nearly 344,000 vans from the 2007 and 2008 model years.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a potential braking issue with Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) Honda Odyssey minivans that could cause them to brake without the driver touching the brake pedal.
Earlier last week, the vehicle safety arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was opening an investigation of the issue, which could affect nearly 344,000 vans from the 2007 and 2008 model years.
According to a report on the administration's website, the agency has received 22 complaints alleging incidents of unexpected braking, including some complaints in which the car suddenly brakes by itself while the driver is accelerating, causing the car speed to quickly fall by as much as 30 miles per hour.
So far, there have not been any crashes or injuries attributed to the problems, which appear to be related to the car's vehicle stability assist system, a safety feature that automatically applies the brakes on sharp turns or when the car is accelerating on loose or slippery surfaces.
A Honda spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
In March, Honda recalled nearly 250,000 vehicles globally due to similar braking problems. In the United States, the recalls affected the Acura RL sedan, Acura MDX crossover SUV and the Honda Pilot SUV, but in Japan, the recall included the Legend sedan and three types of minivans, including the Odyssey.
Most of those vehicles were made between 2004 and 2005.
As with the current issues seen in the Odyssey, the issue involved the vehicle stability assist system, which in some cases could malfunction and apply the brake even when the driver was not pressing the brake pedal.
But in Nigeria, operators in the fairly used vehicle business have advised customers and buyers not to be afraid as the Honda Odyssey 2005 model is not a hot brand in the country.
A cross-section of importers and auto dealers who spoke with Auto Port Weekly in Lagos explained that Toyota Sienna 2002 model is most preferable to Nigerians.
Pastor Andrew Uzor, a director at Sunrise Motor Dealers, said the Honda Odyssey 2005 is not commonly seen at many fairly used markets, because of low patronage of the brand.
According to him, all Odyssey brands, record low sales because customers prefer Sienna thus even though they find their way into the country for any reason, it has little or no impact.
He added that a handful of Nigerians patronise the brand.
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