The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into whether some Honda hybrid vehicles are prone to unintended acceleration, reported Automotive News.

The federal auto safety regulator said today it had agreed to look into a complaint stemming from a fatal July 2005 crash.

The driver of a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid said she was driving over rumble strips on the side of a freeway when she tried to apply the brakes. Instead of slowing, the driver claimed, the car sped up uncontrollably and crossed into oncoming traffic. The resulting accident left the passenger dead and the driver disabled and injured the occupants of two other vehicles, NHTSA said on its Web site.

The agency will investigate the claim before launching a formal probe.

Using NHTSA's crash database, the driver listed 22 complaints from other owners or drivers about incidents involving Honda Accord and Civic hybrids that she felt were similar to her accident.

In her petition, she said the other incidents also featured inadequate braking performance while driving over uneven road surfaces.

Honda did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Congress has lambasted NHTSA for failing to do more following complaints about unintended acceleration involving Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

In the past year, Toyota has recalled 15.4 million vehicles worldwide, more than 10 million of them related to complaints about alleged unintended acceleration.

In 2005, Honda sold 16,826 Accord Hybrid and 25,864 Civic Hybrid vehicles in the United States.