A group of angry customers filed a class action lawsuit against Honda because they say the company manufactured and sold vehicles with defective window mechanisms.

“The right passenger side window fell into the door of my 2002 Honda Odyssey LX in September 2011. It was a startling, loud sound that jolted me,” plaintiff Phyllis Grodzitsky of San Diego said. “I lost use of my Odyssey for two days and it cost over $400 to fix the window. I made a complaint to Honda. Honda said there is no recall for the window systems on my vehicle. I feel that arrogance by a large corporation in response to a safety issue is unacceptable in this day and age.”

The suit claims such a defect poses a hazard to drivers and passengers nationwide. The vehicles said to be affected  include Honda Odyssey (pictured above), Pilot, Element, Accord, CR-V, Civic and Acura MDX models from years 1994 to 2007.

According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, there is a defective piece of plastic that is meant to keep the windows in place while the window motor operates. Their claim suggests that piece of plastic breaks under normal operating conditions, causing the defect Grodzitsky described above.

The lawsuit is being filed against Honda by two disgruntled owners who apparently have gone through repeated repairs in an attempt to fix the same issue.

They may need a good bit of luck and patience to win this, though. Power windows in decade-old cars fail routinely and it’s not outrageous to think that after 10 years of weather and friction that such a part may fail. Honda has a crack-team of vicious lawyers who deal with cases like these as if they were insects.

Cases like these also rarely render significant compensation for the plaintiffs. A woman recently took Honda to small claims court over lower-than-expected mileage in her Civic hybrid. She chose that route because even when won, class action suits often offer little more than a coupon for cheaper repairs and minor monetary compensation.

We’ll keep an eye on the case and let you know how it progresses. What are your thoughts? Tell us below.

[Source: lieffcabraser.com]

Pricing details are now available for the rethought 2012 Honda Crosstour featuring a more cost-minded four-cylinder engine.

The 2012 Crosstour will start at $27,655 and go all the way up to $36,540 for the four-wheel drive version with navigation. At the base price, you get a 192-horsepower engine that squeaks out an extra three miles-per-gallon in the city and two on the highway. The 271-horsepower V6, which is unchanged over previous models, is still available as well.

The company made the official announcement about their plans to launch a less expansive version of their crossover last December. They hoped it would help the Crosstour finally feel marketable in light of failed sales. Despite that failure, Honda still seems confident and determined to make the Crosstour work.

“The new four-cylinder Crosstour offers sleek design, unmatched passenger comfort and ingenious functionality now with four-cylinder pricing and fuel economy,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. “With four-cylinder and V6 options and a long list of standard features, Crosstour should be on every CUV buyer’s shopping list.”

That might be how Honda feels, but the Crosstour has been consistantly criticized as the ugly duckling in the lineup. Consmers complain that it’s too much like a larger Accord, which makes sense because that’s how it was originally marketed.

Speaking of ugly ducklings, it’s probably important to point out that the top-of-the-line Nissan Juke sells for about $4000 less than the base Crosstour. It also gets better mileage than the two-wheel drive crosstour, with all-wheel drive. Sure, you sacrifice four horsepower, but who cares?

The only new selling point for Honda’s less potent 2012 Crosstour is a lower price, but we say that fails to deliver against the competition.

Gallery: 2012 Honda Crosstour

Honda‘s airbag woes grew significantly after they recalled an almost 1 million additional vehicles.

The issue involves airbag pressure in 2001 and 2002 Accords, Civics and Odysseys from 2001 through 2003, CR-Vs from 2002 to 2003 and 2003 Pilots. The recall also affects 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TLs and 2003 3.2 CLs.

The latest development primarily includes vehicles sold in North America. Owners can expect to receive notice soon if their car is included.

The recall started three years ago, so far Honda has recalled 2.8 million vehicles.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Gas, tires and insurance probably don’t matter much if you’re in the market for a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang, but safety does.

The  Camaro and Mustang GT come with more-or-less comparable horsepower and grunt off the line.  What the test drive won’t show you is that the Camaro is the first car to earn a perfect rating from the  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

NHTSA uses front, side and rollover tests to determine a vehicle’s safety during a crash and have strengthened their standards since 2011. The Camaro earned a perfect score in all categories, where the Mustang only earned four of five stars in the front and side crash tests.

The front-end tests are conducted at 35 mph and the side crash at 38.5 mph, as well as a slower 20 mph side-impact test against a narrow pole. Finally the NHTSA uses a mathematical calculation to determine how likely a rollover is.

To be fair,  most muscle car fanatics would call this story incomplete. The Dodge Challenger among many other cars have yet to be tested for 2012.

The next best-rated were the Honda Accord and Kia Optima, earning a five-star rating in each category except the side-impact tests where they only got four.

[Source:  NHTSA]

Now that we know the mid 1990s Honda Civic and Accord hold the top two spots amongst car thieves, what cars do thieves avoid most?

Well, aside from the BMW 5-Series, the common denominator on this list is that these cars are all pretty dull. Interestingly, midsize SUVs and German sedans are among what the Highway Loss Data Institute deems to be undesirable to car thieves.  These vehicles are likely on the list because they have proper anti-theft mechanisms that go beyond a mere alarm system. On the other hand, the Chevrolet Aveo is a rolling anti-theft system in itself.

Here’s the Top 10 car that thieves dislike:

1. Audi A6 all-wheel-drive, large luxury car
2. Mercury Mariner (2009-10) small SUV
3. Chevrolet Equinox (2010) midsize SUV
4. Volkswagen CC (2009-10), midsize car
5. Chevrolet Equinox four-wheel-drive (2010) midsize SUV
6. Lexus RX 350 (2010) midsize luxury SUV
7. Saturn Vue midsize SUV
8. Chevrolet Aveo (2009-10) mini station wagon
9. BMW 5 series all-wheel-drive large luxury car
10. Mini Cooper Clubman 2-door car

[Source: USA Today]

With the debut of the all new 2012 Toyota Camry yesterday (review here), Honda’s Accord soldiers on for another model year mostly unchanged save for the addition of a Special Edition (SE) trim level. All Accord models will also receive a USB audio interface for 2012.

The Honda Accord will also receive four engine variations , with the base 177-hp 2.4-liter i-VTEC engine in the LX,LX-P and SE sedans. Next is the 190-hp 2.4-liter 16-valve DOHC i-VTEC engine that’s standard in the EX and EX-L sedan. The top of the line 3.5-liter 24-valve SOHC, i-VTEC V6 engine produces 271-hp and is available  in the EX and EX-L.

Transmission choices vary between engine and trim level choices. There is a 5-speed automatic transmission standard for all 4-cylinder and V6 models. A 6-speed manual transmission will be available exclusively for the Accord V6 Coupe. The 4-cylinder Accord with the 5-speed automatic transmission will rank as the most fuel efficient model, achieving 23 mpg city and 34 mpg highway for a combined 27 mpg rating.

Honda’s Satellite-Linked Navigation System is available on the EX-L model and has an 8-inch screen and an interface dial for user input. The 2012 Accord sedan also earned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s best-possible Overall Vehicle Score 1 of 5 stars.

Honda has launched a recall for about 1.5 million vehicles in the United States to update the software that controls the automatic transmission. The recall will include the 2005-10 4 cylinder Accord, 2007-10 CR-V and 2005-08 Element models. The issue surrounds a bearing in the automatic transmission system that was not built with sufficient strength and as a result, may emit abnormal noise or cause the engine to stall during certain gear shifts. The secondary shaft bearing in affected vehicles can be damaged if the transmission is quickly shifted between each of the reverse, neutral and drive positions. This is most likely done in an attempt to free a car stuck in mud or snow. The software update will ease the transition between gears to reduce the possibility of damage.

Honda will begin notifying customers on August 31.

North American Honda production will return to normal in August, earlier than expected, the company announced in a statement today.

The Japanese automaker has accelerated their recovery following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Every Honda model will resume regualar production in August, except the 2012 Civic. The company expects full production of the Civic to resume in the fall.

When the supply of parts from Japan improves, production will ramp up on a step-by-step, plant-by-plant, and model-by-model basis. Models including the 4-cylinder Accord, CR-V and Acura RDX, as well as all V-6 models including the Accord, Accord Crosstour, Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline, and the Acura TL, MDX and ZDX will return to 100 percent production.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is glowing brighter for us, represented by this significant improvement in our production situation,” said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Throughout this crisis, Honda has been fighting to achieve a speedy recovery, while maintaining a focus on our longer-term plans for continued growth in sales and production in order to meet the growing needs of our customers.”

Honda, which employs 13,400 in Ohio, said in a statement that it has managed to avoid any layoffs in any of its 14 plants in North America during the parts shortage.

[Source: Honda Press/ Columbus Dispatch]

You meet the nicest people on a Honda… until they steal it. Honda owners should remember that the tagline only applies to motorcycles, as their cars were once again the most stolen and recovered vehicles of 2010 according to statistics released by LoJack security systems.

The Honda Accord and Civic, as well as the Toyota Camry, were the most stolen among the 10,649 total cars recovered by LoJack this year—just as they were in 2009. While this reflects the bestselling popularity among consumers, older Hondas have always been popular with thieves; mid-90s Accords, for example, and the Civic and Acura Integra are frequently targeted by nefarious enthusiasts so they can mod them.

But thieves are moving on up to newer and posher cars, just like their English brethren: one of the most stolen is the Cadillac Escalade, which is up there with the Nissan Maxima and Ram pickup. And the most popular areas for car thievery? SoCal, Texas, and Florida, where the populations are large and the car is a necessity. Click the jump to see the full list.

2010 Ranking (2009 Ranking)

1.   Honda Accord (2)
2.   Honda Civic (1)
3.   Toyota Camry (3)
4.   Acura Integra (4)
5.   Cadillac Escalade (5)
6.   Toyota Corolla (6)
7.   Ram pickup (New)
8.   Nissan Altima (8)
9.   Nissan Maxima (New)
10.  Chevrolet Tahoe (7)

Most Stolen and Recovered Vehicles by Year, Make & Model (Less than 5 Years Old)

1.   2007 Toyota Camry
2.   2009 Toyota Camry
3.   2006 Chevrolet Silverado
4.   2007 Cadillac Escalade
5.   2006 Ford F-250 Series

Apparently spiders don’t just prefer Mazdas. Honda has warned its dealers to keep an eye out for the same spiders that nested in 65,000 recalled Mazda6 sedans, as they may infest the Accord. Hyundai is also reportedly warning dealers of a similar issue with its models.

It’s not a full-blown recall, but if you see a spider inside your Accord, your local friendly Honda mechanic will be happy to get rid of the yellow sac spiders that are nesting inside a vent pipe and weaving “sack-like” webs that could lead to a blockage. The driver will find that the “check engine” light will come on, as well as a freaked-out friend or relative who will scream at ear-splitting levels. Possibly.

The fix is easy, because it consists of fitting a spring into a drain box—similar to Mazda’s solution. Unlike Mazda, however, there is no danger in blocking the gas tank venting hoses that may lead to an engine fire, and Honda has merely issued a service bulletin to its brave, spider-vanquishing mechanics instead of an all-out recall like its Japanese sedan brethren. The yellow sac spider hasn’t caused any engine stalling or fires in the Accord. Maybe yellow sac spiders prefer Honda over Mazda? And why not an Italian car? Or a convertible?

[Source: USA Today]

We’ve been waiting for Honda to come up with an Accord-based crossover since the moment Toyota pulled the wraps off its Camry-based Venza concept at the North American International Auto Show last year.

It’s no surprise that Honda would build a vehicle to go head-to-head with the Venza (pictured above) and apparently the company isn’t willing to let Toyota build up a dominating market presence, as the CrossTour (as it is reported to be called) will hit dealerships as early as October 26th. Some rumors, however, have the launch date set for early 2010. 

As expected the CrossTour will be based on the Accord platform, and will be just 2.5-inches taller that the popular sedan. It will also be 7-inches longer than the Venza, opening up the possibility that it could have a third row. Considering the Venza doesn’t however, the CrossTour will most likely stick to just to rows of seats.

The added space will allow the rear of the CrossTour to function more like a truck bed. And Honda will offer a hard plastic bed liner as an option.

Unlike the Venza the CrossTour will not be offered with a four-cylinder powerplant – just the V6. There will aso be no manual option.

Most likely the reason for the lack of a four-cylinder is due to Honda pushing up the car’s launch date. As the curb weight is certain to be a few hundred pounds over that of the Accord, the Accord’s inline-four would most likely not be up to the task. After all, the four-cylinder in the Venza is a larger and more powerful motor than in the Camry. That being said, there’s a possibility that a four-cylinder will be made available in the future. 

Both a front wheel drive an all-wheel drive model will be offered as well as options like a power liftgate.

[Source: Temple of Vtec]

Interesting times indeed. As the economy continues to lumber on, this economic shakeup is certainly changing things in the automotive industry. While in a bustling economy it may take decades for shifts to happen in an industry, it can take just a month in a recession. And so with every passing month the sales figures for the world’s automakers in the U.S. give us a glimpse at how things are changing.

The two biggest stories might just be that in the month of April Ford outsold Toyota, while Korean automaker Hyundai surpassed Nissan/Infiniti for total sales – moving just outside the top-five and in to 6th place.

Toyota managed to sell 126,540 units in the U.S. in the month of April, suffering a decline of 41.9 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Meanwhile U.S. automaker General Motors suffered only a 33.2 percent decline in sales. GM still holds the top sales position in the U.S. for the month if April, but Toyota was surpassed by Ford, which managed 133,979 units, a decline of 33 percent over the previous April.

As for Hyundai, it posted sales of 59,558 vehicles in April, topping Nissan/Infiniti at just 47,190 units. This news pushes Hyundai into sixth place for U.S. sales. The position-swap is due mostly to the fact that Hyundai managed to sustain minor losses , while Nissan struggled. Nissan’s decline from the month of April 2008 was 37.8 percent, while Hyundai only posted a loss of 14.1 percent.

It is important to point out, however, that Hyundai’s sales also include all Kia vehicles.

Other interesting stories found deep in April’s sales numbers include Chrysler’s decline of 48.1 percent, as well as news that the Honda Accord out-sold Ford’s F-Series pickups to claim the title of the best selling vehicle in the U.S.

For the second straight month, no automaker in the U.S. posted a sales increase, although on the positive side the overall sales of vehicles dropped just 34.4 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, which is the smallest decline since October.

May’s numbers are sure to be more interesting as Chrysler is certain to drop significantly, potentially moving several automakers up a position.

[Source: Automotive News]