Recall Alert: 182,800 Honda, Acura Vehicles

Honda is voluntarily recalling 182,800 vehicles due to an electronic stability system malfunction, according to a statement from the automaker. Affected vehicles are 101,000 Honda Pilot crossovers, 60,000 Acura MDX SUVs and 21,000 Acura RL sedans, all from model-year 2005; 800 model-year 2006 Acura MDX SUVs are also affected.

According to Honda, if an electrical capacitor on the system's control unit was damaged during the manufacturing process, the system could malfunction and apply a small amount of brake force for a fraction of a second outside the driver's control. If the driver applies the brakes during a system malfunction, a crash could result.

In addition to the recall, 51,000 of the affected Pilot crossovers will be inspected to ensure that an electrical ground bolt for the electronic stability system is properly tightened; a loosened ground bolt may cause a similarly short period of unintended brake activation. According to Honda, no crashes or injuries have resulted from these issues.

Honda will notify owners in mid-April, and Honda and Acura dealers will install a new electrical sub-harness for free. In the 51,000 affected Pilot vehicles, dealers will properly tighten the ground bolt for free. For more info, Honda owners can call 800-999-1009 or go to www.recalls.honda.com, and Acura owners can call 800-382-2238 or go to www.recalls.acura.com.

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Recall Alert: 807,000 Honda SUVs, minivans

Honda has issued a voluntary recall of 807,000 minivans and midsize SUVs due to a problem with the ignition interlock mechanism that could cause the vehicles to roll away while parked, according to the automaker. Honda said it already has received several complaints of such malfunctions, and two minor injuries have been reported.

The recall affects 318,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and 259,000 Honda Pilot SUVs, all from the 2003-04 model years, in addition to 230,000 model-year 2003-06 Acura MDX SUVs. The vehicles' ignition interlock mechanism can be damaged or worn during use, and it could become possible to remove the ignition key when the transmission is not in Park, Honda stated. If this happens while the parking brake is not set, the vehicle could roll away and a cause an accident.

Honda will notify owners by mail in early February and encourages owners to take their vehicles to a dealer as soon as they receive notification. Owners can determine if their vehicles require repair by calling 800-999-1009 or by going to www.recalls.honda.com. Acura owners may call 800-382-2238 and select Option 4, or go to www.recalls.acura.com.

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Recall Alert: 2012 Acura MDX and Honda Pilot

Honda is voluntarily recalling 8,700 model-year 2012 versions of the Pilot and Acura MDX SUVs due to problems with the fuel tank.

An emissions-related piece of equipment could detach from its mounting inside the tank. This could lead to an overflow of fuel or a fuel leak. Both issues increase the risk of fire, but Honda cautions that no fires have been reported.

Honda will notify owners starting in mid-March, and dealers will replace the affected fuel tank free of charge. In the meantime, owners can visit www.recalls.honda.com or www.recalls.acura.com to determine if their vehicles are part of the recall. They can also call 800-999-1009 (Honda) or 800-382-2238 (Acura) for more info.

2010 Honda Pilot On Sale Today, No Updates

The 2010 Honda Pilot went on sale nationally today. The model sees no equipment changes on any trim levels, and pricing also remains relatively unchanged. The 2010 Pilot is about $150-$300 more, depending on trim level, than the 2009 model.

You may not find 2010 models on all dealer lots today, but there are still significant inventories of 2009 models out there. We found more than 500 in Cars.com's new-car inventory in the Chicago area.  

There are currently no advertised incentives on the 2009 model, but dealers will often make deals to make way for new-model-year vehicles. Full pricing for the 2010 models is below.

Weekend Athlete: 2009 Honda Pilot

Normally, three-row crossovers like the Honda Pilot breeze through Weekend Athlete tests with such ease that I don’t always bend over backward to test them. But, with a slow week and a new 2009 Honda Pilot in the office, I gave it a shot and found a few surprises.

Honda Dials Back Odyssey, Pilot Production

Honda will scale back production of its new Pilot SUV and Odyssey minivans by 32,000 units to compensate for shifting consumer demand. The loss in family-hauler production will be made up by increasing output of the popular Accord sedan. Sales of the Accord are up 2.4% this year through September.

While increased Accord production won’t impact supply in the states — Honda will simply import fewer Japan-built Accords — fewer Pilots and Odysseys will mean a tighter supply if demand returns. Honda will also be able to keep incentive spending down for those two models.

Honda says that with this increase in Accord production, it will now be producing more than 80% of the cars it sells in the U.S. domestically.

Honda to produce more cars, fewer minivans, SUVs (Detroit Free Press)

Suburban Dad: And the Vacation Winner Is...

After more than 2,500 miles, the votes are in and tabulated. My wife and I, along with our three kids, have finished our 15 days on the road, going from Chicago to Rochester, N.Y., then Gettysburg, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; Burlington, N.C.; and home again. We made the journey in four three-row SUVs, including a Ford Flex, Dodge Journey, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot, and each was as idiosyncratic as my kids.

First, we'll take a look at the stats from our trip, which seems a lot longer on paper than it did in person:

• 2,706 miles over 15 days
• 50 hours (more or less) behind the wheel
• 145 gallons of gas
• $568.75 spent on gas
• Average gas mileage of 18.67 mpg (which, frankly, is higher than I expected)
• $3.49 a gallon was the cheapest gas price we saw (and paid) on our trip, and that was in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
• $4.39 a gallon was the highest gas price we saw (and didn't pay, though it wasn’t far from the cheapest gas around) in Washington, D.C.

Now, here’s how each of the cars fared in different categories:

2009 Honda Pilot Packing and Gas Mileage

Now that Leg 4 of the trip is complete, and we can take a look at how the Pilot fared on mileage and packing. Here’s the damage for the 2009 Honda Pilot Touring:

• 882.9 miles of driving, the longest of the four legs
• 17 hours (split over five days)
• An average of 18.56 mpg
• Roughly 48 gallons of gas consumed
• Average cost of $3.84 a gallon
• Total fuel cost: $182.72
• Highest gas price seen on this leg: $4.05 a gallon in Bolingbrook, Ill. (suburban Chicago)
• Lowest gas price: $3.53 a gallon in Wyethville, Va.

That mileage number makes the Pilot competitive with the other three cars on our vacation, although it clearly had the biggest profile of all four. Only about 80 miles were driven in city traffic, so I didn’t break that mileage out.

Little Things Add Up for Honda Pilot

There were no “wow” factors for my family in the 2009 Honda Pilot, but there were a lot of little touches that were noticed and appreciated.

First off, the third row splits 60/40. While that may not seem like a big deal compared to the 50/50 split in the other third rows we tested, it was a huge help. We returned home in a 14-hour trip over two days, and giving the kid in the third row that extra 10% of space made things much more comfortable. In addition, as my 11-year-old pointed out (and his siblings agreed with him), the Pilot had the most legroom of any of the four cars we tested. That meant a lot more peace and quiet for my wife and I up in the front row, I can tell you.

Cars.com Faceoff: 2009 Dodge Journey, 2009 Honda Pilot, 2008 Toyota Highlander

High gas prices are here at the same time almost every automaker is rolling out a highly visible crossover. While they get better fuel economy than truck-based SUVs, they’re no econobox. The editors at Cars.com took on two all-new models — the 2009 Dodge Journey and 2009 Honda Pilot — and pitted them against the 2008 Toyota Highlander, which was redesigned last year. These three models are strictly for families, and we decide which is the best and which is the best value. Check out the winner and let us know what you think of our decision in the comments below.

Cars.comparison: Kings of Suburbia