The defective airbags have been linked to at least 10 deaths. Although the company hasn’t received any reports of airbag ruptures associated with that particular inflator, clearly, Honda isn’t taking chances. It also said there have been 74 injury allegations related to airbags that did not deploy but those aren’t confirmed. So far, it has already documented 25 cases of accidental air bag deployments.
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Arraf added that between 1.5 million and 2 million vehicles covered by the recall were made in the U.S., Reuters noted.
A Mazda spokeswoman said the automaker was aware of Continental’s recall and investigating.
Under Australian law, the government must be notified of any potential recall before the manufacturer may issue a statement.
A major challenge for Honda – and other makers – is getting those vehicles repaired. The Takata airbag recall, the largest automotive recall in USA history, spans 24 million vehicles 14 automakers.
The recall is a big chunk of the 5 million additional vehicles to be repaired for Takata inflator problems that USA safety regulators announced last month.
If affected vehicles have an activated restraint system indicator light, drivers should bring the auto to their dealership for a diagnostic check, Honda said. For the moment, it is unclear whether these defective airbag control modules have led to the injury or death of people in accidents.
Continental said it built 3 million units from 2006 until the design change and 2 million after it that are covered by the recall. It’s believed the problem was finally solved with that final change, made in early 2011. If that happens, the airbags may not deploy during a collision or, perhaps worse, may deploy randomly. More than 126,000 Mercedes C-series released in 2008 and 2009 including 2010 GLK250 cars are also bound to be recalled from existing users.
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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. The company says moisture can get into an electronic control unit and cause it to malfunction. That will be followed by a second recall notice when replacement parts become available.
