Honda To Recall 96,900 SUVs In China, Runs Checks On Two Models

BEIJING - Honda Motor Co. (7267.T) on Monday said it will recall 96,900 Avancier sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in China, due to a cold-climate engine problem that has already led to hundreds of thousands of its vehicles being recalled earlier this year.

The midsize Avancier is produced and sold in the world’s biggest auto market by one of Honda’s two local joint ventures. Honda said it was looking at two other models in China to see if they were facing the same problem.

The recall is linked to a problem caused by an unusual amount of un-combusted petrol collecting in the engine’s lubricant oil pan. The issue in some cases caused a strong odor of gasoline inside the car and in other cases the car’s check-engine light came on, Honda has said.

This does not affect the engine’s performance and there have been no reports of accidents because of this particular issue, the automaker added.

Earlier this year, the cold-climate engine issue prompted the Tokyo-headquartered automaker to recall 130,000 of its popular CR-V SUV models and 294,500 Civic cars in China.

The company is currently studying to see if the same issue is affecting the Honda Jade car and the UR-V crossover SUV, Honda spokesman Zhu Linjie said.

“If it is so determined that these models are also being affected by the same engine issue, Honda will announce measures to deal with it,” Zhu told Reuters.

The quality issue has led to a slump in Honda’s business in the country. Its sales fell for a sixth straight month in July, down 7.8 percent from a year earlier to 105,960 vehicles.

During the first seven months of 2018, Honda’s sales volume in China fell 6.6 percent from a year ago to 715,060 vehicles.

Reuters

Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Himani Sarkar