Mitsubishi, Honda to Recall Vehicles

TOKYO November 20, 2003; The AP reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are recalling about 570,000 vehicles, including about 140,000 sold overseas, for defects such as faulty power steering and ball joints, the automakers said Thursday. No injuries or accidents linked to the defects have been reported.

Mitsubishi will offer repairs of four models produced between 1996 and 2003: the Galant and Galant Aspire sedans, the Regnum station wagon and the Grandis minivan. The recall will cover 217,009 vehicles sold in Japan and 143,916 overseas, all outside North America, said company spokesman Seiichiro Maeshiro.

The first three models may have a defect in the ball joints of the front suspension, and the Grandis may have a faulty window wiper motor, according to a statement by the company, which is 37 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany.

Honda has issued a domestic recall for four models totaling 213,209 vehicles that were produced between 2000 and 2002: the Stream minivan, the CR-V sport utility vehicle, the Integra coupe and the Civic Ferio sedan, said spokesman Kazuhiro Suda.

Loose bolts may cause the power steering mechanism to fail, the automaker said.

Honda's foreign affiliates will decide whether to recall 235,916 CR-Vs, Integras and Civics made during the same period and sold outside Japan, Suda said. The Stream is not an export model, he said.

Country-by-country breakdowns of the vehicles sold overseas were not immediately available.