A mix up at factory in Italy has resulted in the recall related to 406,290 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels for Honda Civic vehicles. While there have been no incident reports in the U.S., the wheels could detach, leading to risk of crash, injury and death.
“At the supplier’s factory in Italy, a separation fence used to separate finished products from unfinished products was removed during the installation of new equipment,” explained a safety recall report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “As a result, some unfinished products were mistakenly placed in the finished product storage area and shipped, skipping the seat press-fitting and final inspection process.”
Steel lug nut inserts were not installed into the nut seating surface of the aluminum wheel, the NHTSA further explained. Therefore, the seating surface may deform and cause the wheel nut to loosen and detach. These wheels were sold as accessories for 2016-2021 Honda Civic vehicles and they were produced from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31.
An investigation into this issue began after Honda received a report in the Japanese market last summer and lug nuts were found missing during a routine inspection of a customer’s vehicle. This June, Honda began to analyze the potential population of vehicles impacted in global markets. In October, it issued a safety recall.
“Dealers will inspect the wheels and replace the hubs and wheels as necessary, free of charge,” said the NHTSA regarding the remedy for this issue. “Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 8, 2025. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138.”
It also said Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall should be searchable on NHTSA.gov.