Statement by American Honda Regarding Seat Belt Stitching Recall: 2009-2011 Honda Pilot

Honda will voluntarily recall 310,773 Pilot vehicles from the 2009 through 2011 model years in the U.S. to inspect and potentially replace the driver’s and/or front passenger’s seat belt.

Honda initiated this voluntary recall due to a manufacturing error on a small number of front seat belts, where the stitching connecting the lap section of the belt to the outboard anchor webbing may be incomplete or missing. In a crash, affected seat belts may become disconnected from the anchor webbing, increasing the risk of injury. No injuries or deaths have been reported related to this condition.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage all owners of affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. The only way to concretely determine whether the seat belts in an affected vehicle were properly completed is through a specific inspection process conducted by an authorized dealer; the inspection (and any necessary seat belt replacement) will be conducted for free. Written notification to customers will begin in early October 2011.

When Honda identifies concerns of this nature, nothing is more important to the company than fulfilling its obligation and responsibility to alert customers. To this end, in addition to contacting customers by mail, after early October, owners of these vehicles will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009, and selecting option 4.