Up to 5 million cars affected by new airbag recall

In the latest sign that automakers are still struggling to understand the scope of the Takata air bag crisis, Honda Motor said on Wednesday that it would expand its recall by more than a third in North America.

Continental Automotive Systems, a subsidiary of Continental AG of Germany, is recalling 5 million vehicles to replace airbag control units in cars built between 2007 and 2015 because the components might fail to deploy or inadvertently deploy the airbags due to corrosion.

Auto manufacturer Honda is recalling 2.2 million vehicles from their Honda and Acura lines because the Takata air bags used for the driver’s side can rupture when they deploy. Affected vehicles include those made by Chrysler, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Volkswagen.

Honda plans to replace all of the recalled inflators with new parts.

In October, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz USA unit recalled 126,000 C-class sedans from model years 2008 and 2009 and certain 2010 Mercedes GLK crossovers to address the issue.

Honda said it received 1,575 warranty claims, 83 field reports and two confirmed injuries related to this recall as of October.

That risk with Takata airbags has been at the center of a massive safety action that has led to the recall of tens of millions of vehicles worldwide and has continued to grow in recent weeks. The problem has been tied to at least nine US deaths.

Honda will start repairing the inflators in the recalled vehicles in the summer of 2016 as necessary replacement parts will only be available then.

Fiat Chrysler has reports of as many as 25 inadvertent air bag deployments.

Honda informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the recall and stop-sale order January 29, according to the memo.

Honda is the automaker most affected by all of these airbag problems.

Other automakers are expected to follow Honda and announce more recalls as well. Continental is also recalling 5 million vehicles worldwide, covering vehicles from Fiat Chrysler, Honda and others, for an issue with its airbag control units.

The ongoing saga of defective Takata airbags continues.

Brauer says he thinks a manufacturer holding a dealer more accountable for the backlash of safety recalls is simply them doing everything they can to try to handle the situation.

Note that these are late-model vehicles; until now cars recalled for Takata airbags have tended to be older vehicles.