Washington
The US auto safety regulator has opened probes into 1.72 million Honda vehicles, 230,000 Jeeps and 390,077 Ram trucks over alleged safety concerns. The action by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) comes amidst reports of loss of power for more than 1.7 million US 2018-2022 model year Honda CR-V and HR-V vehicles, reports Reuters news agency.
It is said that a few drivers lost power while speeding on the highway, while others found differential seal leaks resulting in rear differential lock-up as the cause.
Some reports allege the rear lock-up caused the driveshaft to fracture while the vehicle was in motion resulting in the vehicle being towed.
Apart from Honda, around 390,000 of Ram pickup trucks belonging to the 2017-2018 model are also under the lens of the US regulator after reports claiming intermittent or permanent loss of braking performance.
But there are reports that replacing the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) module and Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) corrected the issue.
Whereas, Jeep Compass SUV users reported loss of power while driving that was accompanied by a high coolant temperature message appearing on the vehicle dashboard. The US agency is looking to probe 230,000 2019-2020 model year.
The regulator said that it will initiate its preliminary probe before the automakers are asked to recall their vehicles.
Spokespersons of Honda and Stellantis NV, the parent company of Jeep and Ram, said they are cooperating with the investigations.
Even though several flaws were reported, there have been no cases of crashes or injuries to date.
The NHTSA has decided whether to upgrade each probe to an engineering analysis before it could demand a total recall.
(With inputs from agencies)
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