Honda recently announced the recall of 833,000 additional vehicles to repair defective airbags that could deploy with too much force during a collision.
In its description of the defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda said that “the driver’s airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the airbag cushion material possibly causing injury or fatality to vehicle occupants.”
According to media reports, Honda has implicated the defect in 12 incidents, including 1 death.
The vehicles recalled in the latest roundup include the following models:
- 2001-02 Accord
- 2001-03 Civic
- 2002 Odyssey
- 2002-03 CR-V
- 2002-03 Acura 3.2 TL
- 2003 Acura 3.2 CL
Unlike many recalls, this month’s addition is not in response to original defects in the automobiles. Rather, defective parts were used to repair 2,430 cars that had been involved in other collisions. But Honda cannot identify the particular vehicles in which the faulty airbags have been installed and is therefore recalling all vehicles that potentially have had the airbags installed.
This recall is a continuation of the recall that began in 2008 with 4,000 2001 Honda Accords and Civics. By February 2010, the recall had grown to 822,000 vehicles. With the recent addition, Honda will have recalled over 1.6 million vehicles due to defective airbags.