NHTSA Complaint #11034326 — 2009 HONDA ODYSSEY

THE 2009 HONDA ODYSSEY HAS A KNOWN POWER STEERING FAILURE. AMERICAN HONDA KNOWS THAT IT IS A DESIGN FLAW AND HAS ONLY OFFERED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 7 YRS/100,000 MILES VIA A TSB, NOT A RECALL. UNFORTUNATELY MY CAR DID NOT EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM TILL A YEAR LATER AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. I HAD DIFFICULTY REVERSING MY CAR AND IT WAS HARDER TO MAKE TURNS FROM A STOP POSITION OR WHEN I WAS SLOWING DOWN. IF MY STEERING HAD COMPLETELY BROKEN DOWN, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS WITH MY KIDS IN THE VEHICLE.LUCKILY I DON'T DRIVE ON FREEWAYS A LOT, OTHERWISE HAVING TO PUT MORE EFFORT STEERING MY CAR OR HAVING IT FAIL WOULD BE BAD. WHEN I CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA, THEY REFUSED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW IT WAS A SAFETY ISSUE. WITH THE PUMP FAILING, IT CREATES A UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR NOT ONLY ME, MY KIDS, AND OTHER DRIVERS WHEN I'M STRUGGLING TO STEER MY CAR. THE COST OF THE REPAIR WAS $850 WITHOUT THE GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULDN'T FAIL AGAIN SINCE IT'S A DESIGN ISSUE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING TO OTHER ODYSSEY OWNERS. I BELIEVE THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL THAT HONDA FIXES BECAUSE IT EFFECTS NOT ONLY MY MODEL, BUT MODELS 2007 AND ON. HAVING TROUBLE STEERING A CAR IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A RECALL INSTEAD OF A TSB. SOME CARS WILL EXHIBIT THIS DANGEROUS FAILURE AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES AND WE SHOULDN'T BE PENALIZED FOR IT IF IT DOESN'T FAIL RIGHT AWAY. IT'S NOT RIGHT THAT I WAS SOLD A CAR THAT IS UNSAFE, ESP. SINCE IT'S A FAMILY CAR AND I TRANSPORT MY KIDS EVERYDAY IN IT.