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Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda are recalling about 3.3 million vehicles worldwide because the passenger-side air bag could deploy with too much force, sending shards of metal into the passenger area.

Toyota's Prius has toppled the Honda Civic from its two-year reign as the bestselling vehicle in California.

The latest recall covers Honda Pilot models produced during the 2009 through 2013 model-years and Odyssey minivans from 2011 through 2013. Customers are being asked to take the vehicles to their dealers for inspection of the driver’s-side airbags and, if necessary, for repairs.It’s the latest in a series of problems Honda has had with airbags that have now resulted in the recall of several million vehicles in recent years. That includes one problem in which airbags could inflate over-aggressively, causing shrapnel to fire into the passenger compartment.

A defect could allow the vehicles to roll away, the automaker said. The recall covers the 2003-4 Pilot and Odyssey and the 2003-6 Acura MDX.

Japan’s two largest automakers appear to be locked in a race to achieve the dubious distinction of having recalled more vehicles than any other automaker during 2012 for an array of safety-related problems.

Honda wants to silence its critics when it rolls out the new Accord this week. The automaker, chastened for cheapening the Civic compact earlier this year, says that won't happen with the midsize Accord.

Ford's market analyst said U.S. auto sales are running at the strongest pace since April as vehicle inventories recover for Toyota and Honda.

Honda Motor Co. said Monday it was set to voluntarily recall 936,000 cars globally to repair problems with power windows and computer equipment. Honda said no serious injuries or fatal accidents were reported due to the problems, and the repair bill would be limited to about $17 million in Japan.

Honda is recalling 2.5 million cars and SUVs worldwide  to repair the software that controls the automatic transmission, the automaker said.

The driver’s seat cushion on the Dodge Charger kept squeaking as the car hit bumps in the road. It was starting to get annoying. Like a pesky mosquito, the problem came and went a few times during a week-long test-drive recently. Fortunately, no other obnoxious sounds disturbed the car’s quiet, comfortable interior. The only other glaring fault was its finicky Garmin navigation system.