Honda Recalls 330,000 Vehicles for Side Mirrors That Fall Off

Photo: Honda

Every carmaker, if it could, would remove its cars’ side-view mirrors. They’re bulky, they ruin the car’s shape, and they cause enough aerodynamic drag to noticeably affect EV range. Companies have been experimenting with cameras in place of side-view mirrors for years now, but it seems Honda took a different approach to getting rid of those unsightly bumps: Building mirrors that just fall off.

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Not the whole housing, mind you, but certain Odyssey, Passport, Pilot, and Ridgeline vehicles built between 2020 and 2021 may lose the reflective glass from their side-view mirrors. Honda has figured out the cause of the problem, and has now issued a recall for 330,000 of the crossovers and pickups.

Photo: Honda

The core of the problem rests with the heating elements built into the cars’ side-view mirrors. According to Honda’s recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that element’s adhesive can fail, leaving it to fall from its backing — and take the mirror’s reflective surface glass with it. The vehicles Honda lists as affected are:

2020-2021 Honda Pilot2020-2022 Honda Passport2020-2021 Honda Ridgeline2020-2022 Honda Odyssey

Honda claims the bonding issue was addressed on July 23, 2021, when its mirror heater supplier changed its adhesives, and that current cars are safe from the issue. Owners of earlier Pilots, Passports, Ridgelines, and Odysseys will receive a notification in the mail early next month, but you can always check our guide to dealing with manufacturer recalls to see if your car’s affected before the letter goes out. You can also head to NHTSA’s recalls page and enter your car’s VIN to check if it’s affected by the plague of spontaneous and unintended mirror removal.