Honda recalls 2.2M cars in U.S. over airbag concerns

This is the latest massive U.S. recall related to airbag problems, after Honda issued again this week another recall linked to Takata’s inflators, adding 2.23 million more vehicles to its already massive safety campaign.

Automotive News is reporting that CAS told the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there is the potential for the electronic module to fail meaning airbags may not deploy in the event of an accident, or may inadvertently deploy. Part of the challenge is that most of the vehicles are older models that may been resold several times since first being produced. That leaves tens of millions of cars with potentially problematic inflators on the road that have not been fixed or, in some cases, have not even been recalled.

The Japanese automaker said certain Acura and Honda vehicles from model years 2005-2016 are being recalled to replace Takata PSDI-5 driver-side inflators. That number left out more than 500,000 vehicles sold by Honda’s luxury subsidiary, Acura. All airbags nationwide will eventually be recalled.

“Should an unrepaired vehicle result in any claim because of the required recall fix, the dealership will be exclusively responsible to the claimant, and will be required to defend and indemnify American Honda for any resulting claims”, Honda said in the memo. This new recall action makes a total of approximately 8.51 million Honda and Acura vehicles subject to replacement of a Takata driver and/or passenger front airbag inflator in the United States.

This is what cars made the recall list, according to a recent press release, and you should see if you have one of these models.

Shares of Takata dropped 3.9 percent to 495 yen at the close in Tokyo, before it announced earnings. Honda, Fiat Chrysler, and Mercedes have issued recall orders. Honda will install new inflators in the affected cars for free, but the automaker says parts won’t be available until summer because of how many cars are involved.

The latest Continental recall developed over years. It is possible the airbag material begins to break down as a vehicle ages. We anticipate that owners of the affected models will be able to confirm their vehicles’ recall status on these sites beginning on February 15, 2016. “It’s a problem for owners, for dealers, for the automakers”.