Honda Air Bag Recall

Honda has recently expanded its air bag recall to two-million vehicles marking this as one of the biggest air bag recalls of all time. 

The problem lies in a defective inflator that could explode in a crash, sending shards of its metal casing into the passenger compartment. The inflator was made by Takata Corporation, which has said the propellant inside the inflator was not properly prepared and was too powerful. Last month, Takata recommended that customers including Toyota, Ford and Chrysler recall vehicles in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, saying that high humidity appeared to make the problem more likely to happen.

But Honda said it would recall vehicles in other areas that also have high humidity because it wanted to make sure owners would not be endangered. In addition to the states recommended by Takata, Honda had said it would recall vehicles originally sold or registered in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

Honda has since received a report of an “energetic deployment” of an air bag in California, leading to the decision to issue a recall, Chris Martin, a spokesman for the automaker, said in a telephone interview. Mr. Martin also said that the automaker was still calculating how many vehicles are being recalled because it involves tracing vehicle histories. But he estimated the total will be about 3 million in the United States.

The vehicles affected by the recall are the 4-cylinder-engine-equipped 2001-7 Honda Accord; the 2001-2 Honda Accord V6; the 2001-5 Honda Civic; the 2002-6 Honda CR-V; the 2003-11 Honda Element; the 2002-4 Honda Odyssey; the 2003-7 Honda Pilot; the 2006 Honda Ridgeline; the 2003-6 Acura MDX; and the 2002-3 Acura TL and CL.

Here is a video example of how powerful an air bag explosion can be:

Air bag explosion: http://youtu.be/oXnfySKQock

Take your Honda to your local dealership to see if you qualify for the current recall. You can also call the dealership and give them your VIN Vehicle Identification Number so they can run the number and see if you qualify for the recall.

For any other questions or concerns about the Honda recall contact Rick's Complete Automotive (707) 887-1641.