Honda said some ignition-locking devices became damaged or worn over time, allowing the key to be removed when the transmission is not in the park position. If that occurs, the vehicle could roll away and cause an accident, Honda said.

"Honda has received several complaints about such failures in these vehicles and is aware of a small number of related incidents, including one that resulted in a minor injury," the Japanese carmaker said in a statement.

The recall affects approximately 197,000 Accord and 117,000 Civic cars from the 2003 model year and roughly 69,000 Element vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years in the US.

A further 18,000 Honda Accords, 21,000 Honda Civics, 2,000 Acura 1.7ELs from the 2003 model year, and 3,000 Honda Elements from the 2003 and 2004 model years were recalled in Canada.

Honda last week recalled 585 Elements in the United States from the 2010 model year to reset the automatic transmission shift cable.

"During vehicle assembly, some shift cables were not installed correctly, and over time the ca-ble may become partially disconnected," Honda said. "As a result, a driver may move the gear-shift lever, but the transmission may not be placed in the selected gear."

Honda said it had received a small number of customer complaints related to the gear-selector mechanism, but no incidents or injuries were reported.

Moreover, Honda China assured Chinesecustomers in an e-mailed statement to the Global Times Tuesday that the models affected this time weren't imported to China, and models in China, with ignition parts made by different producers, will not be affected by the recall.