American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced May 23 a voluntary recall of certain Honda and Acura models to replace an ignition switch which may cause the engine to stall. The recall involves about 1.3 million of certain 1997 to 2000 models of the Honda Accord, Civic, Prelude, CR-V and Odyssey. Also included in the recall are some 1999 Acura TL sedans and certain 1997 to 1999 CL coupes. According to Honda, the situation is created by electrical contacts within the ignition switch that wear prematurely causing the switch to malfunction. An affected vehicle will likely experience difficulty in starting for a period of time prior to experiencing any engine stall. Normally, the vehicle can be restarted immediately. The company said most customers will not experience problems with their ignition switch prior to repair -- less than 3/10ths of one percent of affected vehicles have experienced switch problems. Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by American Honda and asked to take their vehicle to an authorized dealer to be repaired free of charge. The repair involves the replacement of the electrical contact portion of the ignition switch while retaining the original lock and key assemblies. Owners will be notified by mail when parts are available for their model. Because of the large number of vehicles involved, it may take several months to make the replacement parts available for all vehicles. Mailings will begin in June and should be completed by September. Details regarding mailing dates and affected vehicles will be available on the Honda and Acura Web sites starting today. Owners will be able to access this information by registering at the "Owner Link" section of www.honda.com or www.acura.com and entering the 17-digit vehicle identification number found on their dash. Customers may also contact their Honda or Acura dealer with questions. According to the company, there have been no accidents or injuries reported to American Honda related to this issue.