Recall doesn't mean cars unsafe - Honda

Honda NZ CEO Graeme Seymour. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Honda New Zealand will know by Monday how many of its vehicles are part of a global recall of 2.49 million cars due to a software problem.

Honda Motors said software in some of its cars, small SUVs and minivans, including the popular Honda Accord sedan, could have a problem that could damage the automatic transmission.

Honda New Zealand chief executive Graeme Seymour said today the company would know by Monday what vehicles and how many in New Zealand needed to be recalled. Until then, Honda owners should have no worries about safety.

The fault was "not really" a safety risk and it would be a "very unlikely event that can cause any problem".

"This is not something our customers should be concerned about."

The recall in New Zealand would be determined by the part numbers of parts fitted in New Zealand cars, and the recall was controlled "right down to the bin number" of parts put in the cars.

Honda would write to customers directly if their cars needed to be recalled.

Honda said the problems might arise if the transmission were quickly shifted between the reverse, neutral and drive positions, which could happen when a driver attempted to dislodge a vehicle in mud or snow.

The automatic transmission secondary shaft bearing could be damaged, the company said.

It would take about 30 minutes to fix the problem.

- NZPA