New recall announced today: 2003-2006 MDX

[hondacuraplanet]

DATE: December 11, 2012



TO: All Acura Sales, Service & Parts Managers and Personnel



FROM: Acura Parts & Service Division, Campaign Administration



RE: Stop Sale/Safety Recall: 2003-2006 MDX Shift Interlock



On December 10, 2012, Acura notified NHTSA of a Stop Sale order and Safety Recall for some 2003-2006 MDX units. Any used units in dealer stock must be repaired per S/B 12-044 prior to sale. Refer to VIN inquiry to determine which units in your inventory are affected. Acura expects to begin client notification in early February 2013.



Note: Affected vehicles should not be sold until the repair has been performed. Should an unrepaired vehicle cause any injury or damage because of the required recall repair, the dealership will be solely responsible to the damaged party, and will be required to defend and indemnify Acura for any resulting claims.



Basic Problem

Under certain conditions, the interlock lever of the ignition switch may unexpectedly deform. The interlock

ensures the transmission is in Park before the ignition key can be removed. Interlock failure may allow the

ignition key to be removed when the shift lever is not in Park. If the driver fails to engage the parking brake, the vehicle could roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.



Campaign Information

Affected vehicles will be subject to an inspection. If the key can be removed when the shift lever is not in Park, the ignition switch will be replaced, and an improved shift interlock lever will be installed. In cases where the shift interlock functions normally, the improved shift interlock lever will be installed. Acura expects that roughly 80% of the affected vehicles will require only the improved shift interlock lever, while the remaining 20% will also require replacement of the ignition switch.



The repair for this recall is currently being evaluated by Acura Service Engineering, and special tools to perform the repair are in development. An iN message will be issued and S/B 12-044 updated once these components are in place, expected to be in late January 2013. In the interim, unsold affected units can be sold only if the ignition switch is replaced with a new switch from current parts stock.



Parts Information

Parts information will be available in the updated version of S/B 12-044. Additional information regarding parts handling will be issued via iN message when available. Ignition switch replacements for unsold vehicles can be claimed through goodwill; please contact your DPSM for additional details.



Warranty and Repair Information

Warranty and repair information will be detailed in the preliminary updated version of S/B 12-044, which is expected to post to ISIS in late-January 2013.



Client Information

Clients who are concerned about the safety of their vehicle should be advised that the vehicle can be safely operated if the shift lever is set to Park and the parking brake is firmly set before the key is removed from the ignition.

See the .pdf attached for more details.....

[phins2rt]

Thanks Tim!

[bolt]

Originally Posted by phins2rt

Thanks Tim!

[SuperTech]

Just to make it clear for the tl;dr crowd...

Folks don't go rush down to your dealer or start making phone calls tomorrow. We don't have any parts, published procedures, or anything in place yet to deal with this recall. There's nothing we can do about this yet.

[boston]

Any sign of this affecting Pilots, Ody's etc?

[rabit]

Originally Posted by boston

Any sign of this affecting Pilots, Ody's etc?

based on this report yes:

Honda recalls 52,000 Canadian SUVs, minivans - Business - CBC News

[nsxtasy]

Here's the article that has information for those affected in the United States:

Honda to recall 871,000 vehicles for roll-away problem

It says, "Honda said the recall affects 318,000 Odyssey minivans and 259,000 Pilot crossovers from model years 2003-2004, and 230,000 Acura MDX crossovers from model years 2003-2006. The recall also includes 64,000 Honda vehicles outside the United States."

(The MDX is a "crossover"?)

[PsychoKnight]

Pretty scary.

Followed the instructions to test affected vehicles, and what do you know, my MDX rolled right down the driveway into the middle of the street (made sure no cars on the road, of course).

Took a slight jiggle, but I was able to remove the ignition key in Reverse. Didn't use parking brake, but released the brake pedal as I would getting out of the car and forgetting to set the parking brake. The car rolled freely.

There's two strategies prognosticated based on the test result: Can't remove key - they swap out only the ignition lever in the ignition switch (Acura hasn't make the tools to dissassemble the ignition module, or part for that yet). Can remove key - swap out the entire ignition switch assembly for a current unit, they have these.

As my car will require replacement of a currently produced part, I figure I shouldn't have to wait for anything. I'll talk to the service manager tomorrow and see what he can arrange.

You should try for yourself: Brake pedal on, like you are starting the car, Engine off but turn key to the running position, once you move your tranny into any position outside of park, you should not be be able to get the key out. Try pushing the key gently in and out as you to remove it.

ps SuperTech: just trying to get ahead of the 1/4milion customers out there, especially if they have the part and especially if its a routine ignition switch replacement.

[SeventyGTX]

Just tried it in my wife's 05, and it is fine. Good thing since we are about 75 miles from the nearest Acura or Honda dealer. I will keep testing it periodically though. We both ALWAYS use the e-brake anyway even in the garage, a habit from learning to drive in the late 60's with manual transmissions where you never trusted the transmission to hold you.

[SuperTech]

Originally Posted by PsychoKnight

Pretty scary.
As my car will require replacement of a currently produced part, I figure I shouldn't have to wait for anything. I'll talk to the service manager tomorrow and see what he can arrange.


ps SuperTech: just trying to get ahead of the 1/4milion customers out there, especially if they have the part and especially if its a routine ignition switch replacement.

Do you know that the part that needs replacement isn't going to be superseded by a countermeasured part?

Until everything is in place to do these inspection and repairs, you're jumping the gun.

[crmsnidol]

Thanks Tim. We'll wait for the notification from Acura.

[richkuan]

Tim,

Thanks for the info. I will be careful when parking my X.

[crmsnidol]

Though I haven't received the notification from Acura yet, I did receive a notice from my local Acura dealer yesterday about scheduling the service to correct the issue. Hopefully it isn't a lengthy repair.

[nsxtasy]

Originally Posted by crmsnidol

Though I haven't received the notification from Acura yet, I did receive a notice from my local Acura dealer yesterday about scheduling the service to correct the issue.

Sounds like that IS the notification, that they're having the local dealers do the notifying.

Did you receive it in the mail through the post office, or by e-mail?

[richkuan]

The formal notification can only come from the corporate. NHTSA won't let the dealers do it.

It's probably just a courtesy letter from the dealer after they got informed the campaign is on the way and they would like to get their customers in the line.