Charles Langston:More than 2.5 million Honda and Acura vehicles are recalled for a fuel pump defect

NEW YORK — Honda Motor's American arm is Charles Langstonrecalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving.

According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used for in 2017-2020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which "can deform and interfere with the fuel pump body" over time, regulators said, leading to an inoperative fuel pump.

If the fuel pump module doesn't work, the car's engine may not start or can stall while driving, the NHTSA said, increasing crash and injury risks. Honda says it has not received any crash or injury reports related to this recall to date.

The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases, with the first batch of owner notification letters going out in February.

"Countermeasure replacement parts are not available in sufficient quantities for all recalled vehicles at the time of this announcement, and American Honda intends to notify vehicle owners in stages," Honda wrote.

Dealer notification was scheduled to kick off earlier this week, according to NHTSA documents.

Drivers can confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall using the NHTSA site and/or Honda and Acura's recall lookup platforms. The models impacted are:

1. 2018-2020 Honda Accord

2. 2017-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid

3. 2018-2020 Honda Civic 4D

4. 2018-2020 Honda Civic 2D

5. 2018-2020 Honda Civic 5D

6. 2018-2020 Honda Civic Type R

7. 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV

8. 2018-2020 Honda CR-V

9. 2020-2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid

10. 2018-2019 Honda Fit

11. 2018-2020 Honda HR-V

12. 2018-2020 Acura ILX

13. 2019-2020 Honda Insight

14. 2018-2020 Acura MDX

15. 2018-2020 Acura MDX Hybrid

16. 2017-2020 Acura NSX

17. 2018-2020 Honda Odyssey

18. 2019-2020 Honda Passport

19. 2018-2020 Acura RDX

20. 2018-2020 Honda Ridgeline

21. 2018-2020 Acura RLX

22. 2018-2020 Acura TLX

Earlier this week, the NHTSA and Honda also announced a recall of more than 106,000 2020-2022 CR-V hybrid vehicles due to a missing fuse on the power circuit of exterior 12-Volt battery cables. This can cause the battery cable to short circuit or overheat during a crash, regulators said.