Honda to Recall 1.35 Million Fit and Jazz Models Worldwide to Repair Headlamps

Honda said on Thursday it would recall around 1.35 million examples of its Fit / Jazz subcompact to fix a potential problem with the cars' headlamps. The recall affects approximately 143,083 model year 2007 and 2008 Fit vehicles in the U.S., 385,000 units of the Jazz in Europe and 735,000 cars in Japan.

The Japanese automaker said the problem has been traced back to the routing of the wiring harness for the headlight control switch, as the plating on the wiring harness connectors for the low-beam circuit can become worn after repeated use.

"Worn plating on the connectors could result in corrosion and cause the connector to overheat and fail, resulting in a loss of low-beam headlight functionality," said Honda in an press statement. According to the company, the high-beam headlight circuit and function are not affected by this problem, while Honda also added that no accidents or injuries have been reported in relation to this issue.

In the States, owners of model-year 2007 and 2008 Fit vehicles will receive a notification in early January to bring the vehicle to a Honda dealer for inspection. Honda said the dealers will inspect and if necessary, replace the wiring harness terminal and secure the wiring harness connector. If there are any signs of damage in the connector, Honda said dealers will replace the headlight switch as well.

Honda Restarts Production at UK's Swindon Plant

After a four-month long shutdown due to a sharp drop in demand that was caused by the economic downturn, Honda reopened its Swindon car plant in the UK this week. Following the latest job cuts, the plant employs around 3,400 workers now. At the Swindon plant, Honda produces the European, African, Australian and Middle Eastern market CR-V SUV and the three- and five-door versions of the new Civic hatchback while this autumn, the Japanese automaker is also planning to start production of the new Jazz (Fit in the U.S. and other markets).

Euro NCAP: Q5, Jazz, i20, Soul and 3008 Achieve 5-Star Rating, Suzuki Alto gets only 3-Stars

European car safety testing body Euro-NCAP has announced its latest batch of results for six new cars. Five of these models, the Audi Q5, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and Peugeot 3008 received Euro NCAP's maximum five star award while Suzuki's made-in-India Alto scored only three stars, its rating limited by its performance in adult occupant protection, child protection and safety assistance technologies. Euro NCAP made a special note on the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 as both cars managed to achieve a high score in pedestrian safety.

"We would like to commend the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 for their impressive pedestrian scores that not only meet current requirements, but also meet Euro NCAP's future requirements," Euro NCAP said in a statement.

All six vehicles were tested with Euro NCAP's new overall rating scheme that was introduced in 2009 and covers Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and a new area of assessment, Safety Assist. Under the new testing regime, vehicles are awarded a single overall score from one to five stars with the overall rating being based on the car's performance in each of the four main areas and the scores are weighted with respect to each other.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Honda Insight Hybrid Tops the Charts in Japan in April, Fit Comes in Second

Only three months after its market debut in Japan and Honda's Insight mild-hybrid managed to become the best-selling vehicle (excluding the so-called kei cars with engines under 660cc) in the country in the month of April with sales of 10,481 units. This is the first time in Japan's history that a hybrid model has topped the tables for any monthly sales period. In the previous two months, the Insight sold 4,906 and 4,088 units in February and March respectively.

The Insight took the crown from the Fit, also known as the Jazz in Europe, which was the best selling car in Japan in the month of March, its fourth consecutive month at the top since December 2008. In April, the Fit finished second behind the Insight with sales of 9,443 units. According to the automaker, this is the first time ever that Honda has occupied the top two best-selling car positions in Japan for any monthly sales period.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Honda Jazz Hybrid: More Details and New Photos Released ahead of Paris Show

Being that the 2010 edition of the Paris Auto Show is just around the corner, Honda has released a new batch of photos as well as a few more details on its new hybrid variant of the Jazz, which is called Fit in the U.S. and other markers.

The smallest member of Honda's gasoline-electric hybrid family features the same IMA parallel hybrid system found on the Insight, combining a 1.3 liter engine with a 10 KW electric motor. The system allows the car to operate with engine only, engine and motor or electric motor only at low to medium speeds.

In the Jazz Hybrid, the IMA battery pack and power control unit are stored under the boot floor, keeping the normal boot (above floor) area of 300 liters, while also allowing the car's so-called "Magic Seats" to fold in the same manner as the non-hybrid version to provide a boot space of 831 liters.

Honda said the new Jazz Hybrid returns a combined fuel consumption figure of 4.4 l/100km [53.5 mpg US] in the European cycle. That's the same as the Insight and faintly better than the European variants of the Civic Hybrid (4.6 lt/100km) and CR-Z 2+2 (5.0lt/100km).

However, the Jazz Hybrid has CO2 emissions of 104 g/km, which is slightly higher than the Insight's 101g/km. Honda claims this is due to the Jazz's "taller, more flexibility focused shape."

The Japanese automaker said the Jazz hybrid will go on sale in some European markets in the early part of 2011, with prices, homologated emissions levels and full specifications to be announced in "due course". Currently, there are no plans to offer the Jazz Hybrid in North America.