American Honda Motor Co. has recalled 3,933 model-year 2026 Pilot and Passport SUVs after rear subframe bolts were not tightened to specification during assembly, a defect that federal safety regulators say could reduce vehicle stability and, in severe cases, allow the subframe to partially or completely detach.
What went wrong at the Alabama plant
According to the report Honda submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall condition stems from a change in the assembly process at the Honda Alabama Plant, where a new rear subframe pallet was introduced on the production line but the bolt-tightening equipment settings were not adjusted to match.
Honda also cited inadequate grease application, improper gearbox adjustment of the tightening equipment, and an improperly adjusted subframe pallet clamp as compounding factors.
NHTSA campaign 26V424 covers 3,933 vehicles: 2,134 Honda Pilot units built between April 27 and May 15, 2026, and 1,799 Honda Passport units assembled between May 4 and 15. The estimated defect rate is 98.3 percent, essentially the entire production batch.
Honda states the rear subframe bolts may have been insufficiently tightened during assembly and, as a result, may loosen when the vehicle experiences an impact or driving loads. That could lead to abnormal noise, reduced vehicle stability, and, in severe cases, partial or complete detachment of the rear subframe.
No injuries reported; Honda caught the problem internally
Honda caught the issue on May 15 during a line sampling check and decided on June 25 to move forward with the recall. Up to that point, there had been zero warranty claims, injuries, or fatalities linked to the defect in the United States.
The underlying assembly error was corrected in production on May 15, 2026, by reverting to the old rear subframe pallet. VINs for the affected vehicles became searchable on NHTSA’s recall portal on July 10, 2026, according to Honda’s official recall notice published on Honda Newsroom.
What the dealer repair involves
Dealers will check all four rear subframe bolts to the 105 Nm torque specification, mark those that pass, and replace only the bolts that fall short, with a wheel alignment check following any replacement. All inspections and replacements will be carried out free of charge.
Per the service bulletin, the inspection alone takes 0.3 labor-hours, while replacing bolts with a wheel realignment runs 0.9 labor-hours. Customer notification letters are due to be mailed on August 24, 2026.
Owners who want to confirm their vehicle’s status before then can enter their 17-character VIN at NHTSA.gov or at Honda’s website.
Context for Honda in 2026
The Pilot, Passport, Ridgeline, and Acura MDX are core models for American Honda, and those four lines combined for 117,225 U.S. sales in the first five months of 2026 alone.
Honda stepped away from multiple planned EV projects earlier in 2026 following weak demand and financial losses, particularly after the federal tax credit for fully electric models was removed in 2025. Its sole EV in the U.S., the Prologue, saw sales plunge by 74 percent after this incentive fell away. Momentum faded sharply in 2026, with first-half sales dropping roughly 49 percent year over year to 8,407 vehicles.
GCN previously reported that Honda will end Prologue sales after the 2026 model year, making the gas-powered Pilot and Passport even more central to the brand’s near-term U.S. revenue.
The Pilot and Passport bolt recall is the latest in a string of Honda safety actions this year. A separate recall filed June 4, 2026, not related to this campaign, covered 880,514 older Pilot, Passport, Ridgeline, and Acura MDX models over rear subframe corrosion caused by road salt, a pattern that mirrors broader industry scrutiny of structural components.
The volume and pace of recent NHTSA activity has drawn wider attention. Kia’s 462,869-vehicle Telluride recall filed the same month is among several major actions in 2026 as the agency intensifies its oversight of both legacy and newer safety issues.
Owners of affected 2026 Pilot and Passport models may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138, or reach NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
