Safety Recall U8Y: 2021 Honda Pilot 20” Continental Tire

November 20, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V725000

Tire Carcass May Break Causing Sudden Air Loss

Over-cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall resulting in sudden air loss or a belt edge separation which could lead to a tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V725

Manufacturer Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Components TIRES

Potential Number of Units Affected 214

 

Summary

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain 2021 Pilot vehicles equipped with Continental CrossContact LX Sport 245/50R20 102 H tires with DOT serial number A376 D3K9 2920 and mold numbers S-421920 and S-421921. The tires may have been cured for a time beyond the specification limits.

 

Remedy

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four tires and replace the tires that have the affected DOT serial number and mold number, free of charge. The recall began January 11, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda’s number for this recall is U8Y.

 

Notes

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.

 

Check if your Honda has a Recall

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AFFECTED VEHICLES

 

 

BACKGROUND

A very limited number of 2021 model year Pilots may be equipped with one or more Continental Cross Contact LX 245/50R20 102H tires that were cured for a time beyond the specification limits. Over-cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall resulting in sudden air loss or a belt edge separation, which could lead to a tread/belt loss.

 

CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION

Owners of all identified vehicles will be sent a notification of this campaign.

Do an iN VIN status inquiry to make sure the vehicle is shown as eligible.

Some vehicles affected by this campaign may be in your new or used vehicle inventory.

Failure to repair a vehicle subject to a recall or campaign may subject your dealership to claims or lawsuits from the customer or anyone else harmed as a result of such failure. Before selling a vehicle in inventory, always check if it is affected by a safety recall by conducting a VIN status inquiry.

 

CORRECTIVE ACTION

Inspect the DOT number and mold number on all 4 tires. Then, replace the tire(s) if needed.

 

PARTS INFORMATION

NOTE: New tires must be purchased through Tire Rack when replacing a tire using this bulletin.

 

 

INSPECTION

1. Inspect the last 4 digits of the DOT number and the mold number on all 4 tires. The tire must display one of the pairs of DOT number and mold number listed below:

• DOT number 1719 with mold number 412681 or 412688
• DOT number 2719 with mold number 412689 or 408205
• DOT number 2920 with mold number S – 421920 or S – 421921
• DOT number 3119 with mold number 408204
• DOT number 3319 with mold number 412692
• DOT number 3819 with mold number 412692
• DOT number 3919 with mold number 412692

 

Do the last 4 digits of the DOT number and the mold number correspond to one of the pairs listed above? YES — Go to REPAIR PROCEDURE.

NO — This service bulletin does not apply.

 

NOTE:

• Above the DOT and mold number of each tire, mark its location on the vehicle. For example: Left Front: LF, Left Rear: LR, Right Front: RF, Right Rear: RR.
• Clear photos of the DOT, location, and mold numbers of all 4 tires must be submitted with the warranty claim.
• The number may or may not be preceded by “S -”.

 

REPAIR PROCEDURE

1. Replace any tire(s) that have the affected DOT and mold numbers.

 

2. Once the tire is removed, drill a 3/8” hole in the sidewall above the serial number.

 

3. Replaced tires are to be sent to AHM WPI for destruction. Ship tires to the address below.

American Honda – WPI
Building 500, Rollup Door #4
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501

NOTE: Clear photos of the DOT numbers, mold numbers, and location of all 4 tires must be submitted with the warranty claim.

 

END

 

 

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Description of how the vehicles being recalled differ from similar vehicles not included in the recall:

According to the tire defect notification 20T-018 filed by Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA), a total of 884 potentially affected tires with DOT serial number A376 D3K9 2920 and mold numbers S-421920 and S-421921 were applied to 2021MY Honda Pilot, 2020MY Honda Passport and Acura MDX vehicles and were released to commerce; 768 of these tires were shipped to Honda for OEM application and 116 tires were distributed throughout CTA’s retail network. The 768 tires received by Honda could have been installed on up to 10,254 U.S. market vehicles. Of the 768 tires, supplier production records identified only fourteen tires potentially subject to over-curing; however, only four of these tires actually exceeded the supplier’s cure time threshold and thus resulted in compromised tires. Based on tire serial numbers, shipping records narrowed these four tires down to two shipping trailers, with two tires per trailer. Shipping records also confirmed Honda’s two in-factory tire failures were linked to the same trailer, so the remaining two over-cured tires were isolated to a single shipping trailer.

 

The vendor responsible for wheel assembly (wheel, tire, and TPMS) maintained records for the tire serial number during receiving, and separately the DOT serial number, mold number, and TPMS ID number during assembly. These records indicate that the two over-cured tires received from the supplier were limited to three lots of wheel assemblies that were shipped to Honda.

Each wheel assembly lot is designated for 72 vehicles, so the overall scope is 216 vehicles.

Using the TPMS ID numbers, Honda determined that these wheel assemblies were installed on 216 Honda Pilot vehicles, of which 214 were U.S. market vehicles. Vendor records also indicated that only 14 of these wheel assemblies match the suspect DOT serial number and mold number, so the tire replacement remedy will be limited to these 14 wheel assemblies.

 

Defect description:

According to defect notification 20T-018 filed by CTA, certain affected tires have an over-cure condition. Affected tires may experience a carcass break in the sidewall with sudden air loss or could develop a belt edge separation that could lead to a partial or full tread/belt loss. These conditions increase the risk of a crash or injury. The tires may exhibit visible localized tread wear that may manifest as excessive vibration and/or bulging in the tread area, which could serve as a possible warning to owners.

 

Chronology:

August 12 – 21, 2020

Honda had two separate incidents at the factory where a single tire burst on a newly manufactured vehicle. Honda launched an investigation, and the tires were returned to the supplier for analysis.

 

September 2 – 11, 2020

The supplier sent the failed tires to its German laboratory for analysis and confirmed both tires were over-cured.

 

September 14, 2020

The supplier informed Honda that certain tires may have been over-cured due to errors in the curing process. Honda placed a yard hold on all vehicles at the factory that had tires installed with DOT serial number and mold numbers that matched the suspect tires.

 

September 24, 2020

The supplier notified NHTSA of a potential defect involving Honda vehicles (20T-018).

 

October 27, 2020

The supplier amended defect notification 20T-018.

 

November 6, 2020

Honda met with NHTSA to discuss defect notification 20T-018.

 

November 13, 2020

Honda determined that a defect related to motor vehicle safety existed and decided to conduct a safety recall.

 

As of November 13, 2020, Honda has not received any warranty claims, field reports, nor reports of injuries or crashes related to this issue.

 

Program for remedying the defect:

Registered owners of all affected vehicles will be contacted by mail and asked to take their vehicle to an authorized Honda dealer. The dealer will inspect all four tires and replace tires with the affected DOT serial number and mold number for free. Owners who have paid to have these repairs completed at their own expense will be eligible for reimbursement, in accord with the recall reimbursement plan on file with NHTSA.

 

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1 Affected Product

Vehicle

 

 

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11 Associated Documents

Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V725-7217.pdf 290.193KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Part 573 Defect Information Report

RMISC-20V725-6580.pdf 356.282KB

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V725-4766.PDF 215.312KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Stop Sale/Safety Recall: 2021 Pilot Continental Tires

RCMN-20V725-5000.pdf 201.599KB

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V725-1638.pdf 517.426KB

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V725-9314.pdf 50.488KB

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2021-1

RCLQRT-20V725-9861.PDF 211.15KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Media Statement

RMISC-20V725-9637.pdf 49.347KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Memo re EXPANSION-Stop Sale/Safety Recall: 2019-2020 Passport, Pilot Continental Tires

RCMN-20V725-3053.pdf 207.63KB

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V725-1982.pdf 433.91KB

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Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V725-3593.PDF 211.252KB

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V725&docType=RCL

 

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