NHTSA recall 13V092000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 13V092000 |
| Manufacturer's number | S87, S88, S89 |
| Manufacturer | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| Reported | 2013-03-14 |
| Owners notified | 2013-04-22 |
| Component | TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM; SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE |
| Units potentially affected | 183576 |
What is wrong
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005 Pilot vehicles manufactured July 29, 2004, through August 29, 2005; model year 2005-2006 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 16, 2004, through September 22, 2005; and model year 2005 Acura RL vehicles manufactured March 1, 2004, through June 29, 2005. An electrical capacitor may have been damaged during the manufacturing of the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) control module causing intermittent, automatic, minor brake application. However, if the driver applies the brakes while the VSA is malfunctioning, the vehicle may come to an abrupt stop. Additionally, due to a loose ground connection, certain model year 2005 Pilots have a VSA system that may apply partial brake force, without the illumination of the brake lights, whether or not the driver is using the brakes.
What can happen
Sudden inadvertent braking, especially without illumination of the brake lights, may increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
The remedy
Owners will be notified and instructed to take their vehicles to a dealer of their respective brand. The dealer will install a partial wiring harness containing a capacitor for the VSA modulator, free of charge. The affected model year 2005 Pilots will have their ground connection tightened. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Honda owners may contact Honda Automobile Customer Service at 1-800-999-1009, and select option 4 or go to www.recalls.honda.com; Acura owners may contact 1-800-382-2238, and select option 4, or go to www.recalls.acura.com.
Notes
Honda's recall campaign numbers are S87, S88, and S89.Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
| 2005 ACURA MDX | Built 2004-09-16 to 2005-09-16. |
|---|---|
| 2006 ACURA MDX | Built 2005-09-19 to 2005-09-22. |
| 2005 ACURA RL | Built 2004-03-01 to 2005-06-29. |
| 2005 HONDA PILOT | Built 2004-07-29 to 2005-08-29. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA13002
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA13002 | Engineering analysis, opened 2013-02-21, closed 2013-03-29. Vehicle Stability Assist Malfunction. ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL. |
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From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| A13-026 | 2017-05-22. Service bulletin. "SERVICE BULLETIN - THERE ARE TWO POTENTIAL ISSUES THAT MAY CAUSE THE VSA BRAKING SYSTEM TO APPLY BRAKING FORCE EVEN IF THE DRIVER HAS NOT PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL. IF THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED UNEXPECTEDLY, IT MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. • DAMAGE TO AN INTERNAL VSA MODULATOR-CONTROL UNIT COMPONENT COULD CAUSE THE VSA SYSTEM TO MISINTERPRET THE SIGNAL AND MAY CAUSE THE VSA BRAKING SYSTEM TO UNEXPECTEDLY APPLY BRAKING FORCE. • FOR VEHICLES WITH VINS BEGINNING WITH 5FN, A GROUND BOLT MAY BE LOOSE. INCREASED RESISTANCE CAUSED BY THIS LOOSE GROUND BOLT MAY CAUSE THE VSA BRAKING SYSTEM TO UNEXPECTEDLY APPLY BRAKING FORCE." |
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A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.