Honda’s newest recall isn’t about a cracked weld or a bad bolt. It’s about the oldest bug in the book: dividing by zero in the steering software.
Honda’s Part 573 filing covers 635,808 vehicles: 383,110 Honda Pilots from 2023 to 2025, 177,100 Acura MDXs from 2022 to 2024, and 75,598 Acura TLXs from 2021 to 2025. Under certain conditions, the electric power steering (EPS) software in these cars can divide by zero. That throws an internal error, and the software was set up to handle the error in the bluntest way available. It switches off power assist completely.
The bug sits in an odd spot
The bad code isn’t in the main steering-assist logic. Honda traces it to the Driver Attention Monitor’s road-condition compensation calculation. That system watches your small steering corrections to judge whether you’re getting drowsy. A road-compensation routine most likely exists so a crowned road or a crosswind doesn’t get mistaken for a tired driver. Under specific conditions, a floating-point division in that routine ends up with zero on the bottom.
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The math slip isn’t the most troubling part. The response to it is. A side calculation used by a driver-alertness feature was allowed to shut down the car’s main steering assist. Software engineers spend whole careers keeping failures in minor features from taking down critical systems. Honda’s filing says it plainly: “An improper electronic power steering (EPS) software configuration may cause the EPS system to enter failsafe mode.”
Honda says the fault only shows up while the car is going straight. The driver gets EPS warning lights and suddenly heavier steering. The supplier is Robert Bosch Automotive Steering LLC of Florence, Kentucky. All 42 affected rack part numbers are listed as “rewritable,” which means a software reflash fixes it with no new hardware.
What losing assist feels like
The rack is still mechanically connected to the steering wheel, so you can still steer. The problem is surprise. Drivers build up muscle memory for how much effort a turn takes. When the assist motor quits in the middle of a drive, that muscle memory is suddenly wrong. In a three-row SUV on wide tires, the first lane change or turn into a parking lot after the failure will take noticeably more effort than you expect. The filing warns that this “may reduce vehicle controllability.”
Five years from first report to recall
The timeline is the ugly part. Honda received its first report on November 29, 2021. Between August 2023 and August 2025, more complaints came in, but returned parts kept testing clean. The reason: a dealer or the supplier had already deleted the stored error codes. Bosch finally found the failure through analysis of returned parts on August 22, 2025. In December 2025, Honda recreated it using dashcam footage. Honda didn’t formally decide there was a safety defect until October 22, 2026.
Between May 2022 and October 2026, Honda counted 146 warranty claims and one injury report. It reported no deaths.
If an EPS warning comes on, ask the service writer to record the fault codes before clearing anything. Save any dashcam clip. In this case, cleared codes and dashcam footage were the difference between “no problem found” and a recall.
Not Honda’s first software recall on these models
These three models have needed software fixes before. In January 2025, Honda recalled 294,612 Pilots, MDX Type S and TLX Type S models under campaign 25V-031. That recall fixed fuel-injection computer software that could cause stalling. Later that year, the 2025 Acura RDX got its own EPS software recall for a calibration problem that also triggered failsafe mode.
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Cars are rolling code now, and more of their safety fixes arrive as a reflash at the dealer than as a part on a shelf.
One detail stands out. The 2025 MDX isn’t on the recall list, even though the 2025 Pilot and TLX are. The filing doesn’t say why.
What owners and buyers should do
- NHTSA’s acknowledgement letter says VINs become searchable on November 11. Check yours with the NHTSA recall lookup.
- Owner letters should arrive around December 14. Dealers will reprogram the EPS control unit for free.
- Honda customer service is at 1-866-784-1870. The internal recall codes are KQB and TQA.
- If you paid out of pocket for steering diagnosis or repairs connected to this problem, keep your receipts. The filing cites Honda’s general reimbursement plan.
- Shopping new: NHTSA’s letter reminds Honda that it can’t sell new vehicles with this defect until they’ve been fixed.
- Shopping used: No federal rule stops a used-car seller from handing over keys with this recall still open. Run the VIN yourself before you sign.
The fix is one laptop session at a dealer. Finding the bug took Honda almost five years, and cleared fault codes nearly buried it for good. Has a dealer ever wiped a warning code on your car before you could write it down?