Electric Parking Brake Software Glitch; Honda Recalls 350K Civics

Vehicle Safety Recall: Honda Recalls 350K Civics

A software malfunction that can allegedly disable electric emergency brakes has led to the voluntary recall of 350,083 Honda Civics. The glitch, found in both 2016 two-door coupes and four-door sedans, can stop the parking brake from activating after the car has been shut down. Honda claims that the electric parking brake works as intended when the car is on and in the event that the brake does not lock an illuminated emergency warning will appear on the dashboard screen.

Honda said in a statement that this warning signal is how they discovered the issue in the first place after servicing several 2016 Civics that came in for repairs after their emergency lights went off. The 68-year old Japanese company has also made the claim that there have been no accidents or injuries linked to the malfunction to date and that the problem can be remedied by a simple software update.

Honda’s announcement comes just after Toyota’s recent recall of 340,000 Prius sedans over their own faulty parking brakes, which have allegedly led to injuries, some fatal. The two parking brake recalls in the same week are genuine cause for concern. But the software glitch is part of a new, more troubling, generation of recalls that have become more prevalent in recent years—software anomalies that can cause unsafe driving conditions.

More Bad News for Honda

Honda has recently become inundated with bad news after a sales slump and having to recall more than 10 million Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States alone over Takata’s dangerous and unstable airbag inflators. There have been more than 150 injuries and at least 15 deaths connected to the faulty airbags worldwide. Most recently, Honda announced, a Takata inflator rupture in Malaysia that led to the death of the Honda driver.

When relied upon to be the sole means of parking one’s car, the parking brake has also proved fatal when a vehicle has rolled off toward a pedestrian or the driver. Honda said that owners of affected 2016 Civics will be notified starting on November 8^th, but until then should ensure that the parking brake is applied before the ignition is turned off so that their Civics don’t roll away.

To see if your 2016 Civic is affected see: http://recalls.owners.honda.com/service-maintenance/recalls