In fact, Honda expanded its Takata recall on Wednesday to include 2.2 million newer Honda and Acura vehicles in the U.S.
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Honda, meanwhile, said it would recall roughly 341,000 2008-2010 Accord sedans in the U.S.to replace an electronic-control unit susceptible to moisture that can lead to corrosion and eventual malfunction, causing an air bag to fail to deploy.
“We are working closely with all potentially impacted vehicle manufacturers on this issue”, Continental spokeswoman Mary Arraf said.
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.
We expect to find out more in the coming days, and we’ll keep you posted once we obtain further information.
The NHTSA said tens of millions of other vehicles with Takata airbags will likely need to be recalled eventually.
Until recently, Honda was Takata’s biggest client, and as a result, the automaker has been hit especially hard by the long, drawn-out Takata airbag recall.
Repairs on affected vehicles will start this summer. How much of that could be ascribed to Honda was not revealed, but it is highly probable the auto maker would be the most affected. Both Honda and Acura vehicles have been included in the recall. This is different from Takata’s recent recall, in which faulty inflators could possibly send shrapnel into the cabin.
Honda said it has received 1,575 warranty claims, 83 field reports and two confirmed injuries related to the defect. Until the vehicles are identified, customers won’t be able to use Honda’s and NHTSA’s online databases to check their vehicle identification numbers for the recall. Parts are expected to be available in Fall 2016. Honda’s number for this recall is JW9.
US Senator Bill Nelson, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, denounced what he called “the never-ending flow of piecemeal recall announcements for Takata air bags”, which he said “needs to end”.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of new airbag inflator ruptures as yet, but faulty Takata airbags are known to have caused several deaths worldwide.
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Perhaps the biggest problem posed by the Continental recall is it puts more stress on the supply of replacement airbags for Takata, said Brauer.
