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Government Investigates 88,000 Honda Pilots for Faulty Brakes
The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
Spurred by a complaint from an owner in Massachusetts, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into whether almost 88,000 Honda Pilots from the 2005 model year may have a defect in which the brakes are applied without warning.
The announcement of the investigation (PDF) was posted early on Friday on the agency’s Web site.
The safety agency began looking into the issue as the result of a defect petition (PDF) filed by Carrie Carvalho of Arlington, Mass.
In April Ms. Carvalho asked the agency to investigate, saying her 2005 Pilot would suddenly stop without her applying the brakes.
N.H.T.S.A. said that including the complaints made to Honda and those filed with the agency it found 185 examples of “unexpected braking of varying duration, including several allegations of rapid decelerations from highway speeds to near stop in highway travel lanes.”