TORRANCE, Calif. -

American Honda’s newest recall announcement covers more than 800,000 minivans and SUVs.

The automaker said on Wednesday that the recall stems from the need to address a potential malfunction of the ignition interlock feature of these vehicles. The recall covers:

—Approximately 318,000 Honda Odyssey and 259,000 Honda Pilot vehicles from the 2003-2004 model years

—Approximately 230,000 Acura MDX vehicles from the 2003-2006 model years.

Honda said it has received several complaints about such malfunctions in these vehicles and is aware of a small number of related incidents, including two that allegedly resulted in minor injuries.

OEM officials explained that the ignition interlock mechanism can be damaged or worn during use. If this happens, the automaker acknowledged it may become possible to remove the ignition key when the automatic transmission shift lever is not in park.

If the transmission is not in park and the parking brake is not set, the vehicle could roll away, and a crash could occur.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized franchised dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from the company.

Officials indicated mailed notification to customers will be sent in early February.

In addition to contacting customers by mail, owners of vehicles from the affected model years will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going online to www.recalls.honda.com and www.recalls.acura.com or by calling (800) 999-1009 for Honda owners or (800) 382-2238 for Acura owners, and selecting option No. 4.