On Saturday, Honda announced that a potential fire hazard linked to the electrical door switch of its CR-V crossovers has prompted the company to recall as many as 489,000 CR-V crossovers - of 2002-2006 model years - in the US, Europe, and Africa.

With the possibility of the electrical switch in the driver's side door of the CR-V crossovers melting and causing a fire, Honda and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in the recall-related announcement that the move affects nearly 268,000 vehicles in the country.

Meanwhile, about the CR-V crossovers being recalled in Europe and Africa, Honda spokeswoman Akemi Ando said in a Sunday statement in Tokyo that the number of recalled vehicles in the two countries stood at 220,000 and 98 respectively.

About the issues with the door switch in the recalled CR-Vs, Honda said that the master power switch on the door can seemingly be damaged when rain or any other liquid seeps in via the open window on the driver's side. This can lead to the overheating and melting of the switch, and the possibility of a potential fire incident.

Noting that there have been five reported cases of fire in the under-recall CR-V crossovers - four cases reported in the US and one in Europe -, Ando said that there have been no reports of injuries or crashes linked to the door-switch problem.