Canoe

TOKYO (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it will recall 556,924 passenger cars sold in Japan for defective audio equipment that could catch fire and a flawed engine oil seal that may cause leaks.

The Japanese automaker has not yet decided whether any cars sold outside Japan also need to be recalled, Honda said.

An electronic part in the audio equipment supplied by Alpine Electronics Inc. for six models, including the Prelude, Legend and Accord, may heat up excessively and cause speakers to catch fire, Honda said.

The company said 320,710 cars manufactured from July 1991 to March 1997 are equipped with the Alpine-made equipment and are subject to the recall.

Honda will also recall 236,214 cars, including 75,291 Accord models made at its Ohio plant from July 1993 to September 1995, to repair a defective oil seal. Models with the flawed seal include the Odyssey minivan and the U.S.-made Accord.

Honda estimates that less than half the cars recalled for possibly faulty audio equipment actually needs repairing.

In August, automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. acknowledged it had been hiding defects for more than two decades. Company President Katsuhiko Kawasoe later resigned to take responsibility for the cover-up.

On Monday, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry recalled four defective helicopters, a week after Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said it was recalling two defective color TV models that have caused at least seven fires and 60 other problems.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), September 19, 2000

Answers

A recall is really rare for Honda.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), September 19, 2000.