Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. is recalling 182,756 Civics, the automaker's second-best selling U.S. model, to fix a wheel-bearing seal that may leak and cause the wheel to fall off.

The recall, covering 2006 and 2007 model-year Civic sedans and coupes, was reported on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web site. The affected models were made from March 24, 2005, through Feb. 8, 2007, Honda said.

Water may be able to seep past an O-ring seal on the wheel bearing, damaging the bearing, Tokyo-based Honda said in a letter on the NHTSA Web site. ``This could cause a wheel to fall off of the vehicle, possibly resulting in a crash,'' Honda said.

Honda, No. 5 in U.S. sales this year, said it will notify owners by mail starting Sept. 17 and replace any damaged parts for free. No injuries or accidents have been reported, said Honda spokesman David Iida, who is based in Detroit.

The automaker also is recalling 19,904 2006 model-year Civic sedans and hybrids to repair a brake-light switch that may fail, according to a letter on the NHTSA site. Honda said it will notify owners beginning Sept. 27.

Grease can build up on the steering column and allow oil to drip onto the switch, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and ``potentially resulting in a crash,'' Honda said. The extra grease may also prevent drivers from shifting gears out of the ``Park'' position, Honda said.

The two recalls don't overlap because the models affected were built in different places, said Iida, who declined to say what the recalls would cost. No accidents or injuries have been linked to the brake-light switch, Iida said.

Honda's American depositary receipts rose 43 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $33.32 at 4:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The ADRs have fallen 16 percent this year. Honda's U.S. headquarters is in Torrance, California.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 14, 2007 16:11 EDT