NHTSA is Investigating 583,000 Honda SUVs and Minivans Over Safety Issues
There aren’t any full recalls issued for the Honda Pilot or Odyssey just yet, but the investigations should be a concern for families.
While safety news has been heavily aimed toward Tesla as of late, other manufacturers aren’t escaping the eyes of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Just recently, Honda has been under investigation for passenger safety issues with its Pilot SUV and Odyssey minivan, totaling 583,000 vehicles that might soon get a recall. And the news should concern families or anyone who regularly transports people in the back seats of these vehicles.
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First, the 2023 to 2024 Honda Pilot shows that its second- and third-row passengers are buckled up when they might not be, or vice versa. This can be especially troubling considering how difficult it is to see past the second-row seats and makes it nearly impossible for drivers to confirm visually that passengers are buckled. Anyone who drives young kids anywhere knows that getting them to buckle up (and stay that way) can be enough of a challenge. With the buckle status system potentially being inaccurate, the situation could keep a driver distracted by the need to constantly monitor the children. There have only been six complaints made to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), but the issue warrants a further look into the Pilots' inaccurate seatbelt warning system.
The 2018 to 2022 Honda Odyssey, meanwhile, can report accurate seatbelt usage, but its rear passengers have another worry. If the driver hits a pothole or some sort of bump hard enough, the rear curtain and side airbags can activate. Airbags going off are rather violent occurrences and injury is likely to happen when not used during a crash. Additionally, airbags create a very loud bang that can scare and distract the driver, leading to a possible collision where airbags are really needed and leading to more injuries or worse if the wreck happens when they are already deployed. The ODI has received 19 complaints, with one resulting in an early warning report related to injury or death. It doesn’t mention which occurred, so we hope it was only an injury.
Again, we must stress the fact there are no recalls on these vehicles. That said, the 142,572 owners of the 2023–24 Pilot and the 441,002 owners of the 2018–22 Odyssey should be aware of these situations. Hopefully, these potential problems will be limited to just a few vehicles or, worst case, Honda creates an expedient recall and repair.
Having experience in many forms of the automotive industry, Justin Banner has done more than just write about cars. For more than 15 years, he's had experience working as an automotive service technician—including a stint as a Virginia State Inspector—service advisor, parts sales, and aftermarket parts technical advisor (a fancy way of saying he helped you on the phone when you had trouble fitting your brakes over your aftermarket wheels and the like). Prior to his tenure as a full-time editor, Justin worked as a freelance writer and photographer for various publications and as an automotive content creator on YouTube. He’s also covered multiple forms of motorsports ranging from Formula Drift, drag racing, and time attack, to NASCAR, short course off-roading, and open desert racing. He's best known for breaking down complex technical concepts so a layperson can more easily understand why technologies, repairs, and parts should matter to them. At MotorTrend, Justin is part of the news team covering breaking news and topics while also working as a judge for MotorTrend Of the Year events and other major comparison tests.
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