Honda Recalls 635,808 Vehicles After Steering Assist Software Can Cut Out

Honda is recalling 635,808 vehicles in the United States over an issue with the power steering assist software, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday. The recall covers certain 2021-2025 Acura TLX, 2022-2024 Acura MDX and 2023-2025 Honda Pilot vehicles.

According to NHTSA, a fault in the electronic power steering software can send the system into a failsafe mode that disables the power steering assist. The car can still be steered, but it becomes much harder to turn the wheel, increasing the risk of a crash — particularly at low speeds, where steering effort matters most.

The remedy is a software fix: dealers will reprogram the electronic power steering control unit, free of charge. Owners of affected vehicles should watch for a notification from Honda or Acura, and can check whether their vehicle is included by entering its VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls.

The recall is one of the largest of the year by unit count, and it is the latest in a run of software-driven recalls across the industry — a reminder that in modern cars, a steering problem is as likely to live in code as in hardware, and that the fix is increasingly a reflash rather than a replaced part.