Honda to recall over 2m vehicles in US, China

 Honda Motor said Friday it will recall more than two million vehicles in the United States and China to update the software that controls their automatic transmission.

Honda said in a press release on its US site that the vehicles in the voluntary recall will include Accord, CR-V and Element models.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, the statement said.

Honda China said in a statement on its website it had notified the nation's quality watchdog that from Monday, it would recall 760,515 cars to update the software that controls their automatic transmission.

The auto giant said the vehicles in the recall would include Accord, Odyssey and Spirior models, manufactured between July 2004 and November 2009.

A bearing in the automatic transmission system was not built with sufficient strength and as a result it may emit an abnormal noise or cause the engine to stall under certain gear shift operations, Honda said.

Similar Honda models are sold in Canada, Europe and other markets. Altogether, 2.49 million Honda models installed with the faulty transmission are involved, Kyodo quoted Honda officials as saying.

They said the affected Honda models are not sold in Japan.

Honda has received reports of an abnormal transmission noise and transmission malfunctions but there have been no reports of accidents, the company said.

The automaker in late July recalled about 200,000 passenger cars globally due to defective engine parts.

The move also comes after the car giant was forced to call back about two million vehicles in February and December and is the latest in a series of recalls to hit Japan's auto industry.

Japan's car giants have seen millions of recalls in the past year, but none have been more affected than Toyota, the world's biggest auto maker.

Toyota became mired in crisis when it recalled nearly nine million vehicles between late 2009 and February last year due to brake and accelerator defects linked to deadly accidents that tarnished its image of reliability.

As criticism mounted of its slow response and bureaucratic inflexibility, Toyota tightened its recall policy and has pulled around 16 million units since late 2009 over a range of issues.

Honda has now recalled more than six million vehicles since February 2010 over a range of different issues.