American Honda Recalls Portable Generators

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #11744) was formally reported on June 23, 2011. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. American Honda Motor Co. of Torrance, Calif. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 2,500 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The hazard labels attached to the batteries used on the generators are printed in Japanese instead of English. As a result, consumers handling the battery may not be able to adequately avoid risks associated with the ba… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: American Honda is contacting consumers and giving them the correct label. Consumers can either install the label themselves or contact a Honda dealer to install the label for free. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 15 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.