NHTSA begins probe into possible airbag failure in 2008 Honda Accord

The government agency, according to Auto News, is now investigating vehicle manufacturer Honda for a series of 19 complaints, in which consumers say air bags in their 2008 Honda Accords failed to deploy during an accident.

Malfunction of the air bag control module may prevent air bags from deploying in a crash.

United States government officials have begun an investigation into Honda Motor Co. and its air bag manufacturing process following months of discussion with the automobile producer and customers.

“For vehicles with a failed SRS module, some or all of the airbags may be unavailable in a crash warranting deployment”, NHTSA’s investigation says.

Honda stated it’s cooperating with the investigation and can proceed an inner evaluation. In early July, the company recalled 4.5 million cars globally in connection with Takata Corp. air bags, expanding the industry’s largest recall ever.

The documents released by the NHTSA show that the result of this airbag controller defect is that the status indicator for the airbags in the sedan get illuminated which leads to the disabling of the entire airbag system up until it gets repaired. The agency has received at least 19 complaints alleging failure of the supplemental restraint system (SRS) module. Several people complained that the computer had to be replaced to fix the problem. “The air bags did not deploy”.

“This additionally signifies that the security of the vehicle passengers and operators are in jeopardy and probably face critical damage or demise”, one other complainant wrote. Another complaint from an owner in Illinois said, “I had to pay out of pocket close to $500 for parts and labor (which) seems silly as this is a safety-related service”.