Honda recalls 724K SUVs, pickups over hood issue

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say that thousands of SUVs and pickup trucks are being recalled over a safety issue with the vehicles’ hoods.

The NHTSA said in a recall notice this week that more than 724,000 Honda vehicles were affected in a recall for certain 2016-2019 Pilot and 2019 Passport SUVs, in addition to certain 2017-2020 Ridgeline pickup trucks.

“Gaps in the front seal between the hood and grill allow for air entry, potentially resulting in hood vibration at highway speeds. Over time the hood vibration could form stress fractures along the hood latch striker and separate the hood latch striker from the hood,” the American Honda Motor Co. said in a statement.

Honda said that if the hood latch striker is separated, it could allow the hood to pop open.

According to documents published by the transportation safety agency, “as of November 19, Honda has received 116 warranty claims and no reports of crashes or injuries related to this issue.”

The NHTSA said that customers would receive notification letters from Honda by Jan. 17, and that either the hood or hood latch striker would be replaced by their dealer for no fee.

The agency said in published documents that during a durability test of a prototype of the Ridgeline SUV in July 2016, officials found stress fractures on the hood latch striker. However, officials had put adhesive on the striker, which appeared to remedy the problem and no additional investigations had been conducted after that until 2017.