Honda recalls more than 85,000 minivans

DETROIT - Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is recalling 85,154 of its best-selling Odyssey minivans in the United States to fix potential problems with their frontal air bag systems, federal safety regulators said on Wednesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the problem, affecting minivans from the 2005 model year, stemmed from two external impact sensors that may have been insufficiently sealed during the manufacturing process.

If water enters the sensor corrosion can occur, possibly causing a short circuit, NHTSA said.

It added that front impact sensor failure could cause a delay in or loss of frontal air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

The Honda recall is expected to begin on Aug. 29, NHTSA said. 

On Tuesday, Honda said its U.S. vehicle sales rose nearly 15 percent in July as truck sales climbed.

The Japanese automaker sold 143,217 Honda and Acura-brand vehicles last month, up from 129,872 autos in July 2004. After adjusting for differences in the number of selling days, that's a 14.5 percent increase.

Truck sales rose 30.2 percent to 63,558 vehicles while car sales increased 4.5 percent to 79,659 units. The Pilot and CR-V sport utility vehicles both posted strong growth, along with the Odyssey minivan.

Meanwhile, Honda's best-selling vehicle, the Accord, saw its sales grow about half a percent to 36,129 cars.

By division, Honda-brand vehicle sales rose 13.5 percent to 123,308 units and Acura sales rose 21.2 percent to 19,909 autos.

So far this year, Honda's sales volume is up 3.6 percent to 835,581 units.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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