Here is the Honda spokesman's release:

 

Thanks for the update, Rod.

 

yea i just saw this on msnbc and i called my local acura dealer and they have no info on it as yet neither does www.recalls.acura.com so ill wait a little bit more to see or contact them. here is the article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39796095/ns/politics/

 

madtube
October 22, 2010 4:07 PM
Moderate |Flag for review


This has been coming for some time. As an Acura tech, I saw it often. We replaced many master cylinders on RL models. The reason for the delay is the legal standings. It takes roughly 2 years between identification of a problem to the actual recall because of the lawyer paperwork.

 

I experienced the master cylinder leakage problem, but only used Honda brake fluid. Luckily it was caught early and was taken care of under warranty without any safety issues.

 

o....so im safe...since my is a 08

 

I called on this yesterday, after it popped up in my AcuraCare page. The phone rep said she didn't see any recalls listed for my VIN. I'm not sure whether that means this only affects particular builds or that it just hasn't made it over to customer service computers. Either way, Acura would also send us a card in the mail.

 

I still don't understand why the general public knows before the dealer does or are they just denying until the legal proceedings are done?...

 

I also called acura client services to check on when the recall notices are going out. The rep said over the next 2 weeks. According to the rep my 2006 is not affected, or it would be in the "system." The recall is VIN specific, not all 05-07 are affected according to the rep. Too bad, I guess I will end up paying for the brake fluid change out of pocket.

 

anybody get a recall letter yet?

 

Negative.

 

Called Acura in Toreance CA. The rep doesn't seem to know anything . Does anyone have any updates?

 

Statement by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Regarding Brake Master Cylinder Seal Recall: Selected 2005 to 2007 Acura RL and 2005 to early 2007 Honda Odyssey Vehicles

TORRANCE, Calif. – Oct. 22, 2010 – American Honda Motor Co., Inc., today announced a voluntary safety recall of 471,820 model year 2005 to 2007 Acura RL and model year 2005 to early 2007 Honda Odyssey vehicles to replace a seal in the brake master cylinder.

Honda made this decision to prevent the unlikely failure of a seal in the brake master cylinder. It is possible for the seal to fail if the Honda Genuine DOT 3 brake fluid installed at the factory is replaced with certain aftermarket brake fluids with reduced lubrication properties, followed by a manual brake bleed with full and rapid stroke of the brake pedal. This could cause the seal to become twisted within its retention groove. The twisted seal could then leak a small amount of brake fluid when the vehicle is used. A brake fluid leak due to this would cause the low brake fluid warning lamp to illuminate until repaired. Failure to repair the master cylinder seal would eventually result in a soft brake pedal and the possible loss of one of the two hydraulic braking circuits.

Drivers of affected vehicles should be aware that this condition will always cause the low brake fluid light to illuminate. If any of the vehicle’s malfunction indicators are illuminated, owners should take their vehicle to a dealer for repair immediately.

American Honda will begin to notify owners of affected vehicles within the next two months. Acura and Honda dealers will repair affected vehicles free of charge using a revised design of the brake master cylinder seal.

Owners are encouraged to contact their dealers for an appointment once notification is received by mail; owners of these vehicles can also periodically check for updates for Acura vehicles at www.recalls.acura.com or for Honda vehicles at www.recalls.honda.com. Acura owners can call (800) 382-2238; Honda owners can call (800) 999-1009 and select option number 4.

 

Called the Acura client services again, and it seems my car is part of the recall, but letters have not been sent out yet. Also Acura dealers have not been given the repair procedure yet. The Client service rep did not know if replacing the brake fluid will be part of the recall service repair. He said to expect a recall letter by the end of dec. Interestingly, I put my vin into a carfax search and it came back with an open recall for the master cylinder.

 

any updates on this? I just gave my mom the RL and if she needs this repair than I want to make sure she gets it done

 

i called Acura, my RL is affected. and told me i will recieve the notice in the mail. i then went on to call my local acura dealer to see if i could bring it in. sure enough i'll be dropping it off on monday the 13th. service consultant said it might be two days cause they might have to "order" parts. i requested the TL as my loaner, but of course they dont reserve certain cars for you. i cause i could live with a tsx for a few days.

 

we asked about it a week ago and were told that when the letters go out Acura ships a repair package to the dealer who then swaps out the parts, further that until the letters and replacement kits go out nothing can be done from the dealer end as to the recall.

 

I called my dealer and they told me to bring in the car. It will take 2 days to complete, and give me a ZDX to drive.

 

Today, Acura Customer Care says that the letters will start to go out toward the end of the month. They are still packaging parts and distributing them to the dealers. They want to have the parts at the dealer before they send the letter out.

 

made appointment for my MDX, and service advisor noted that they have had communications with Acura regarding RL. Told to wait for letter, so that can ensure parts are available. Repair involves replacing master cylinder, o ring a fluid flush, about 2 hours.

 

Thanks for everyone posting about stuff like this. Just another great example of why I love this website. Called my acura dealer today, because I had no knowledge of this porblem, and my car was affected. They said if nothing goes wrong it is a 2 hour job. Thanks everyone, have a Merry Christmas

 

I've got my Letter today (0ctober 2007). Master cylnder to be replaced by new one. Car has been serviced just less than month ago, including brake fluid change, nothing wrong was noticed then.

 

They booked me in for next week in our local Honda, mentioning it is 3-4 hours operation.

 

do u have to sign up to myacura in order to receive a letter? my dealer is aware of this too.

 

I'm in UK, here is no Acura, just Honda. But, no, I didn't do anything special to receive it. Car was purchased from official Honda dealer, therefore me & my babe on their data base.

p.s. Just looked at this again. It says actually, that repair will take 2-3 hours.

 

got my RL back yesterday, took two days, only replaced the seal and bleed the brakes. the master cylinder was fine and not leaking. they gave me a 2010 tsx w/ tech package. great car fun to drive... of course pushed it around a few times in sport mode.

 

So they don't replace the master cylinder regardless?

 

My understanding is that master cylinder to be replaced only if it is damaged by leak. Otherwise it is just sealing to be changed.

 

If your car has any mileage on it why not "request" that the master cylinder be replaced since it is covered under the recall. If it goes bad in the future you are out of luck since it won't be covered under warranty.

 

I assume dealers have clear instructions from Honda what to do.

 

from my undrestanding , correct only if it is leaking, if not just a new seal. im sure if i asked for it to be replaced i would have got a big fat "NO"..... ohwell

 

Do they drain and refill the brake lines after this job?

 

Just a seal? What kind of seal?

 

Is it only particular cars out of the various model years, ie different cars have different master cylinders in them?

 

yes. mine was done

 

just a seal if the master cylinder is not leaking.

kind of seal i dont know....

 

from what i can tell, if the brake fluid had been replaced with non Honda brand then there is a risk of corrosion between the master cylinder and brake line. this can lead to a gradual leak and possible loss in brake pressure, which would trigger the brake warning light .
See post #13 for a complete explanation

 

Have my one done today. Left car with them in the morning. Collected at lunch time. Seal replaced, cylinder is ok. Old seal was also ok, as I understood.

 

Was thinking about this recall and the one for the power steering hose, both of which are the only ones for the RL. They both strike me as odd recalls given that there isn't a single complaint about them on this board or the site below, which tracks complaints. More common are things like headlight flicker, AFS, AC, door handles, etc. Wondering how these recalls are determined? Granted this board is probably a small subset of owners, but it does seem odd that nobody has noted a problem about these recalls.

My guess is that these recalls reflect problems that can potentially hamper the ability to drive the car or cause injury, but IMO if problems are common, manufacturers should step up and fix them.

http://www.mycarstats.com/reports/ac...omplaints.aspx

 

I got the recall letter yesterday. Called Acura dealership here in MD and got an appointment for tomorrow. My RL is 2006. Will report back when it is all done.

Thanks!