Junji Kurokawa/AP/Press Association Images

Honda is recalling CR-V vehicles from the 2002 to 2006 model years, due to an electrical switch in the driver's side door that could melt and cause a fire.

The Japanese car manufacturer is recalling about 489,000 vehicles in the U.S., Europe and Africa, including more than 77,000 in Britain that were made at the Wiltshire plant.

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The fault applies to the second series CR-V. Honda said under severe weather conditions, rain or other liquids could enter through a driver's open window and damage the master power switch on the door. If this happens repeatedly over time, the switch could overheat and melt, causing a fire.

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While no injuries or crashes have been reported related to the problem, five fires have been reported – four in the US and one in England.


Drivers informed
Honda said there are 77,205 affected CR-V's in the UK and its customer department is currently gathering information to issue a technical bulletin and contact owners by post.

Drivers will be asked to take the car to an authorised dealer for the repair to be carried out. Honda said it will install a cover plate over the switch to prevent any liquid ingress.

The vehicle manufacturer, the third largest in Japan, did not give estimated costs for the enormous recall.

Safety risk
CR-V owners have been advised to park cars outside and away from structures as a safety precaution, as a fire could start even when the ignition is off.

However the automaker has emphasised to media that a switch is unlikely to catch fire unless someone spilled liquid on it or let a large amount of rain into the vehicle through an open driver's window.

Recall week
The development comes on the heels of two other Honda recalls. Earlier this week, the company recalled 820,000 Civic compact and Pilot SUVs from the 2002-2004 model years due to headlights failures. CR-Vs were recalled earlier this spring for the same issue.

Honda also recalled 600,000 Accord cars in America earlier this week, because a faulty power steering hose can leak and cause a fire. That recall affects Accords with V6 engines from the 2003 to 2007 model years.

Cars likely to be off the road most



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