2008 Honda Odyssey brakes problems

What is wrong

Honda has notified the federal safety agency of a defect in certain model year 2007 and 2008 odyssey and element passenger vehicles manufactured between july 28, 2006 and august 21, 2008. Air can enter the vsa modular pump during an initial self-check process that occurs shortly after each time the engine is started. It is possible for enough air to enter the system to result in a brake pedal that feels soft or lower to the floor.

Risk

If the owner does not have any brake service or maintenance performed over a period of months or years, the system can continue to accumulate enough air to affect braking performance, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Honda will notify owner and honda dealers will repair the vsa modulator by removing any existing air in the brake system then apply sealant and caps to prevent air from entering the brake system free of charge. The safety recall began on may 3, 2010. Owners may contact honda at 1‑800‑999‑1009.

Recall number 10V098000 · Recall details

By letter dated March 15, 2010, American Honda Motor Corp. (HMC) notified the federal safety agency that it will conduct a safety recall (the federal safety agency Recall No. 10V‑098) to address a defect in approximately 412,000 model year (MY) 2007 and 2008 Honda Odyssey and Element vehicles equipped with an ABS/VSA/TCS modulator. The recalled Odyssey vehicles were built from August 2006 August 2008.The recalled Element vehicles were built from July 2006 to July 2008. According to Honda, during an initial self-check process that occurs shortly after each engine ignition cycle, the self-diagnostic software for the VSA modulator allows a vacuum condition that can exist for several hours, allowing air to enter the VSA modulator pump.Over time, and thousands of engine ignition cycles, it is possible for enough air to enter the system to result in a brake pedal that feels soft or lower to the floor.If the customer does not have any brake service or maintenance performed over a period of months or years, the system can continue to accumulate enough air to affect braking performance.To correct the safety defect, Honda dealers will remove existing air in the brake system then apply sealant and caps to the VSA modulator to prevent air from entering the brake system, free of charge. The action taken by Honda is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation. The agency will continue to monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.

EA09014

The office of defects investigation (odi) has received 69 complaints, and honda has received 613 complaints and field reports, alleging low/soft/spongy brake pedal travel in model year (my) 2006 through 2008 honda odyssey minivans.twenty-six odi complaints were also reported to honda, resulting in a total complaint count of 656.some complaints allege that the condition resulted in extended stopping distances, including some reports of rolling past stop signs or traffic lights.there are 14 alleged crashes in the subject vehicle population related to low/soft pedals. In response to odi's information request for preliminary evaluation pe09-024, honda indicated that small amounts of air may enter the brake system during initial diagnostics of the vehicle stability assist (vsa) modulator while the pump is briefly actuated for system diagnostics after the engine is started.the amount of air gradually increases with each successive engine start cycle, resulting in progressively increasing brake pedal stroke.according to honda, the condition does not present a significant risk to motor vehicle safety because the pedal stroke gradually increases, providing the driver with information that the brake pedal height is changing and requires attention.honda has further indicated that there is no deterioration of braking performance caused by the subject condition, even though the pedal height and feel are different, until pedal stroke has reached the end of travel and the driver cannot produce any additional brake line pressure.honda states that it is unaware of any vehicles that have reached such a condition and honda testing using a leaking field return modulator indicates that it would take over a year before the pedal travel would reach its limit during hard stops with 200 n (45 lbf) of pedal effort - the nominal force required to reach ABS braking mode. Odi's analysis of warranty data indicates that the my 2007-08 odyssey vehicles have experienced the alleged defect at a rate of 0.67%.the my 2006 odyssey vehicles have experienced the alleged defect at a significantly lower rate (0.04%) than the my 2007-08 odyssey.honda implemented a design change in the my 2007 vehicles to change the vsa diagnostic program. This investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-014) for the my 2007-08 odyssey vehicles to continue to investigate the scope, frequency, and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect.

PE09024