In China, Honda’s two joint ventures — Dongfeng Honda and GAC Honda — have announced a large-scale recall of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. The campaign has been filed under defective-product regulations as well as separate rules for “environmental” recalls, underscoring a dual issue: safety on the road and the integrity of emissions-monitoring data.

The scope spans several models and production windows. At Dongfeng Honda, the recall covers 2,638 Inspire PHEV units built from April 27, 2023 to March 26, 2025, and 1,784 electric S7 vehicles produced from January 21 to April 25, 2025. At GAC Honda, it includes 16,329 Accord PHEV cars manufactured from November 25, 2022 to August 25, 2025, plus 1,945 electric P7 vehicles assembled from January 22 to July 31, 2025.

The cause is described in concrete terms and is typical for today’s software-defined cars. Due to powertrain software settings, electrical noise at the power-chip level can be misinterpreted as a fault under extreme conditions. The control unit may then reboot, dashboard warnings appear, and the vehicle can momentarily lose drive torque — a direct safety risk. There is also an “environmental” angle for PHEVs: during a reboot, onboard diagnostics (OBD) data may be cleared, leaving the vehicle out of compliance with emissions-monitoring rules and creating a risk of what the regulator terms “unjustified emissions.” It’s a textbook example of how a fleeting software edge case in the power electronics can ripple into real-world drivability and compliance.

The remedy is the same across the board: a free software update at the dealer. As a temporary measure, braking and steering remain available if a fault occurs, and stopping and restarting the vehicle can restore normal operation. Even so, booking the update promptly is the sensible move, as a quick dealer flash should eliminate the underlying glitch.