Honda's Civic Woes Mount

More than two months after a catastrophic earthquake sent a tsunami ripping through Japan, Honda (NYSE:HMC) said on Friday it continues to run short of its Civic models in the U.S., and will continue to until at least July.

The sour news, sent in a letter to dealers on Thursday, according to Reuters, was exasperated on Friday when the Japanese automaker announced a recall of about 1,500 Civics in North America due to a fuel leak risk that could prompt a vehicle fire.

The woes surrounding the popular Civic come just as summer sales began to ramp up and fuel-efficient cars started to drive the     U.S. market amid high oil costs. The automaker, which told dealers that the vehicle inventory will reach a low point in June before starting to pick up in July, will likely see its profit hit from the inventory gap.

Friday’s recall adds to a pullback of 377 Civic compacts in Canada on Thursday, all manufactured from April 21 to May 2. Honda will notify affected Civic owners by the end of next week to bring their cars to Honda dealerships for inspection and, if needed, new fuel feed lines free of charge.

While there are no reported fires, crashes or injuries, a Honda worker noticed a fuel smell on a new Civic at the end of April, prompting this week’s recalls.