The problem, which affects Civics and Accords from the 2003 model years as well as some Elements from 2003 and 2004, allows the vehicle to be turned off, and the key removed, without the automatic transmission secured in the "park" position. Obviously, this could cause the vehicles to roll away after the driver has exited, leading to damage to the car and possible accidents.

Honda has announced it will start notifying customers about the recall in September. Honda has had two previous recalls, in 2003 and again in 2005, for this same problem, which also affected some Acura models.