Japanese firm Honda Motors Ltd announced on Monday that it will recall some 427,000 vehicles across the United States and Canada due to faulty ignition locking device that allows the removal of the key, even in a non-parking position.

The carmaker said that such failures could result to a free-rolling vehicle and may lead to an accident.

It also acknowledged that the company has already received numerous complaints related to the faulty device, with one car owner incurring minor injuries in one reported incident.

In its statement, Honda explained that the problem may have been caused by shift cables fitted incorrectly during vehicle assembly, which could render the cable to be loosely disconnected over time.

Honda said that the faulty locking device could create a situation where "a driver may move the gear shift lever but the transmission may not be placed in the selected gear."

The company said that recall in the United States would involve 197,000 Accords and 117,000 Civics belonging to the 2003 model line and some 69,000 units of Elements made in 2003 and 2004.

On the other hand, the Canadian recall would affect 18,000 Accords, 21,000 Civics, 2,000 Acuras belonging to the 2003 model year and some 3,000 Elements made and sold in 2003 and 2004.

A similar recall was implemented in the United States last week as Honda had to reset the automatic transmission shift cables of up to 585 Elements belonging to the 2010 model year.