Honda reliability remains a top priority for the automaker as its executives say the company is taking lessons from Toyota’s ongoing engine problems and changing how it handles quality control and new technology.
What Honda Learned From Toyota’s Engine Troubles
Major engine failures can follow automakers for years and seriously damage their reputations. Honda, a Japanese brand known for dependability, wants to avoid that outcome by focusing not only on preventing quality problems but also on responding quickly when they occur.
In an interview with The Drive, Honda Executive Vice President Noriya Kaihara was asked whether the company had learned anything from Toyota’s ongoing battle with V6 engine failures.
“Of course. You have to prevent quality issues from happening, but once they happen, how quickly can you recover? That’s the very important thing,” Kaihara said. “If you leave a customer with a bad-quality vehicle and, on top of that, also a delay with the countermeasure, that will cause really bad damage. Sometimes you just have to take quick action. Even when you make sure nothing is wrong and everything is okay, something can still happen, and a problem arises once it hits the market. Quick action!”
The V6 engine used in some Toyota Tundra pickups can fail because of machining debris left inside the engine during production. Toyota was forced to recall thousands of trucks and even advised mechanics to hit engines with a hammer as a quick fix.
The problem has continued to create major inconvenience for some owners, including one Tundra owner whose replacement engine failed again.
How Honda Is Changing Its Quality Control
Honda’s quality control approach is evolving as vehicle technology becomes increasingly advanced. Eiji Fujimura, CEO of American Honda Motor, said the company needs to keep pace with rapid technological development from Chinese automakers without sacrificing the quality standards associated with Honda.
“Technological changes, especially in terms of software, are happening very quickly today,” Fujimura said. “Of course, we need to compete with [our rivals] and China and India in terms of software, ADAS, etc. But in order to compete with them, we first need to think, ‘Who is Honda?’
“We have very good trust from our clients and very good customer loyalty, and we can’t sacrifice that trust for [production] speed. We will not compete with them just on speed—we need to use our traditions and our thinking.”
For Honda, adding new features or systems means examining the technology for potential flaws throughout the development process.
“You need good imagination to develop something new, but when that new system or model goes into the market, there will be risks—so we have to ask: what are the potential issues for those new systems in their environment?” Kaihara explained. “That is key. Right now, we look at the whole process, including development. We have to make sure each process ensures that the cars or components are okay from a quality point of view. This means nothing should move to the next step without confirming the previous step’s quality. That’s our quality control system.”
Honda also keeps its quality department completely separate from its other departments, according to Kaihara. “That means quality is always Honda’s number one concern. This means every single new technology always goes by this separate department.”
Honda Has Faced Engine Problems, Too
Despite its focus on quality, Honda has experienced engine-related problems of its own. The naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 used in models such as the Pilot has been the subject of an NHTSA investigation and a class action lawsuit over premature failure.
That history underscores the challenge facing established automakers as they introduce more software and advanced technology while trying to preserve the reliability customers expect.
The Challenge of Balancing Innovation and Reliability
As legacy automakers enter the software era and compete with innovative Chinese brands, maintaining their reputations for reliability is becoming more challenging. Moving too quickly with new technology can increase the risk of quality problems, while moving too slowly is not a solution either.
For automakers such as Honda and Toyota, the challenge is finding a balance between innovation and the reliability standards their customers expect. Even so, the increasing complexity of new turbocharged, hybridized vehicles and their extensive touchscreen technology may make it harder to match the mechanical simplicity and dependability associated with mid-2000s Camry and Civic models.
