Takata Airbag Recall Expands To Recent Cars

Honda Motor (HMC) has added an additional 2.23 million late model USA vehicles to the growing list of recalls over Takata airbags that could explode from production defects.

The notice said the latest recall includes “certain model year 2007-2011 HondaCR-V, 2011-2015 CR-Z, 2010-2014 FCX Clarity, and Insight, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013-2014 Fit EV, 2007-2014 Ridgeline, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid, 2007-2016 RDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, and 2010-2013 Acura ZDX vehicles”.

The unit, which was fitted to over five million vehicles over a five-year period (2006-10), is used by Fiat-Chrysler, Honda and Mercedes-Benz, among others.

The largest automotive recall in USA history is getting even worse.

Unfortunately, as with the Takata recall, Honda doesn’t have enough replacement parts to begin fixing Accords yet.

Takata Corp. told USA safety regulators two weeks ago that about 3.9 million PSDI-5 inflators sold to several different vehicle manufacturers could rupture and kill, or cause serious injury to vehicle occupants. It also wasn’t clear which recalls have already been announced by the manufacturers.

Now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 12 automakers have been notified that more recent airbags are also at risk of exploding.

Mazda was aware of Continental’s recall and investigating and VW did not know how many Chrysler-built Routan minivans are involved, according to company spokespeople.

In the U.S. Senate, Democrats Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) urged President Obama to recall every vehicle with airbags using ammonium nitrate as their propellant, and to use “every tool at his disposal” to accelerate the fix of all vehicles with potentially-lethal Takata airbags.

“I would classify this as a more traditional recall”, said Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. The company said the air bags may not inflate in a crash.

In October, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz USA unit recalled 126,000 2008-MY 2009 C-Class and 2010 Mercedes Benz GLK-Class vehicles to address the issue.

A fault has been found in computer components that control up to 5 million airbags in vehicles worldwide.

With this new market action, a total of approximately 970,000 Honda and Acura vehicles in Canada, have been or are now subject to replacement of a Takata driver and/or passenger front airbag inflator. About 24 million USA vehicles are being recalled for that problem. Its first inquiry into Takata’s product occured in 2009 after it received case reports of people who had died due to the airbag malfunction.