TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Honda Motor Co. said it would recall nearly 400,000 cars sold in the United States due to an ignition problem that could cause cars to roll away.
Honda said 197,000 model year 2003 Accord and 117,000 model year 2003 Civic vehicles were involved in the recall. In addition, Honda is recalling 69,000 Element vehicles of model year 2003 and 2004.
An interlock mechanism in the vehicles can wear down, allowing the ignition key to be extracted from the ignition switch, even if the car's automatic transmission is not put in the park position. As such, a driver could unwittingly remove the key with the car in neutral, which would allow the vehicle to roll away, the company said.
Honda said in a statement that it was "aware of a small number of related incidents, including one that resulted in minor injury". UPI
