Automakers to recall 5M vehicles for another air bag problem

Continental Automotive Systems is recalling 5 million potentially defective airbag control units in Honda, Fiat Chrysler and other vehicles built globally over a five-year period, according to documents made public today.

The 2014 Honda Fit EV is among 1.7 million Honda cars and trucks being recalled for faulty airbags.

There have been several cases of the airbags exploding so violently, shrapnel flies toward the passenger.

Continental says only a portion of the 5 million affected cars are in the USA, but an exact number wasn’t available.

Some 50 million vehicles worldwide were recalled past year over the problem, and major auto manufacturers like Honda and Nissan have dumped the Japanese parts supplier.

The company plans to replace the recalled inflators with new parts from an alternative supplier free of charge to Honda and Acura vehicle owners.

This week’s expansion brings the Takata recall total for Honda and Acura to around 8.5 million USA cars, the automaker said.

This video includes images from Getty Images.

Honda said the expanded recall includes 2016 models that hit the market this past autumn.

It wasn’t immediately clear how numerous vehicles are in the U.S.

Honda reported driver-side airbag inflators in these vehicles may experience “over-pressurization” due to exposure to high temperatures and high absolute humidity.

The Continental spokeswoman said the company is working closely with affected auto makers and providing them with relevant information. Honda said it has two reports of people being hurt because the air bags didn’t deploy in a crash.

Separately, Automotive News reported Wednesday that a memo Honda sent to dealers mandated a stop-sale order on affected cars, new or used.

In the interim, if a vehicle included in this recall displays the SRS indicator warning, vehicle owners are advised to visit an authorized Honda dealer for a diagnostic check as soon as possible. The company says moisture can get into an electronic control unit and cause it to malfunction.

NHTSA opened an investigation in August 2015 after a complaint of a crash in a 2008 Accord in which the air bags did not deploy.

Honda is the automaker most affected by the defective Takata air bags. Federal law prohibits dealers from selling new cars that have unrepaired recalls, but it allows dealers to sell used cars that have them.

The traffic safety administration’s decision to recommend expanding the recall came after a man died in late December when a Takata air bag in the Ford he was driving ruptured.