In May of 2021, Honda was quick to insist that it was cooperating with an investigation that had recently been announced formally by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA opened its investigation into the safety of specific Honda models after the agency received more than 100 complaints that the 2013, 2014, and 2015 models of Honda’s top-selling “Accord” were experiencing a loss of steering control.

Although it was proper and appropriate for Honda to announce that it is cooperating with the NHTSA’s safety investigation, many crash victims are understandably wondering why Honda didn’t act sooner. If the NHTSA had received more than 100 complaints about the steering loss control issue, surely Honda’s customer service representatives had received similar complaints. This ongoing situation serves as an excellent example of how manufacturers of potentially dangerous and/or defective consumer products too often find themselves scrambling for an alibi and victims of these affected products too often find themselves scrambling to speak with experienced personal injury attorneys.

The Honda Accord Steering Control Investigation

There are approximately 1.1 million Honda Accords being driven up and down American roadways. When the NHTSA announced that it has opened a formal safety probe and engineering analysis concerning the Honda Accord, it wasn’t just 1.1 million motorists who became instantly affected by this decision. Every time that a motorist operates a vehicle anywhere near other human beings, animals, and/or property, those creatures and valuable assets that the motorist passes become instantly threatened if the motorist behaves recklessly or something goes wrong with the vehicle that is being driven. The potential for instantaneous loss of steering control in any or all of the 1.1 million Honda Accords on the road threatens every person, animal, and piece of property that those Accords pass.

Still No Recall?

No formal recall has been announced by either the NHTSA or by Honda. This is significant for a few reasons. Perhaps most broadly concerning is the idea that if a product manufacturer is aware that a potentially deadly defect may be affecting more than a million of its products and doesn’t issue a recall of its own volition, what does that say about the manufacturer’s regard for consumers and others with whom the products could come into contact? Americans take for granted, partially due to the authority of agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, that the goods they’re sold are safe. This isn’t always the case. Scenarios like the Honda Accord probe – in which a potentially deadly defect has been reported by more than 100 people and a recall still hasn’t been initiated by either the government or the manufacturer – occurs far more frequently than many consumers might be led to believe.

While the NHTSA can choose to initiate the recall process, if its safety review indicates that such action is warranted, a manufacturer can initiate a recall at any time of its own accord. Unfortunately, the “bottom line” business interests of manufacturers – and other entities in the supply chain – tend to outweigh safety concerns, at least to a point. Recalls are usually only initiated voluntarily if the recall is cheap enough that it won’t be bad for business and/or that the risk of public relations “fallout” from any recall and related publicity outweigh the costs of the physical recall. At this time, even though more than 100 motorists have reported a potentially deadly problem with their Honda Accords to the government, and even more may have reported the problem directly to Honda itself, Honda has not seen fit to initiate a recall. This reality suggests that Honda views a recall of more than 1 million affected vehicles as more costly than both the public relations fallout from this issue and any lawsuits that may stem from affected accident victims.

This kind of approach is best summed up by the potentially infuriating cliché “It isn’t personal, it’s business.” However, accidents caused by defective and/or dangerous defects to which a manufacturer has been alerted are very, very personal to those who suffer harm as a result of their occurrence.

Defective Parts Contribute to Crash Causation All the Time

Are you aware of how often dangerous and/or defective products contribute to the cause(s) of vehicle crashes? Many Americans are surprised to learn that the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration estimates that 1 out of every 50 crashes is primarily caused by a problem with one of the vehicles involved. Roughly one-third of defect-inspired crashes is caused by a problem with a vehicle’s tires.

These defects don’t always make themselves known to accident victims. While tire blow-outs and defective airbag initiations can be easy to “spot,” other defective challenges – including faulty electrical system issues – can be invisible to all but investigators and diagnostic experts. It is partially for this reason that it is so important to speak with an attorney in the wake of a crash instead of assuming that you know exactly what led to your collision. An invisible defect may have played a role and an auto manufacturer may owe you compensation as a result.

Legal Assistance Is Available

If you have been injured in a crash involving a Honda Accord (or any vehicle, really), it is important to speak with an experienced attorney about your legal options. Even if you’ve blamed the circumstances that led to your crash on yourself, it is far more likely than you’d think that a defective auto part may have played a role in the cause of your collision. If you don’t speak with an attorney in the wake of sustaining injuries, you may always wonder “What if?” you weren’t fully to blame for what happened to you.

Speaking with our experienced legal team in a risk-free, confidential, cost-free consultation setting will allow you to tell us the story of what you experienced and to be advised of your legal options in an objective, pressure-free, knowledgeable way. Once you’ve been advised of your options, you can make informed decisions about how you’d like to move forward. Please call our reputable team today. It would be our honor to advise you of your rights as an accident victim and to provide you with support during this challenging time.