U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating reports that air bags on some older Honda Accords may not inflate in a crash.
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NHTSA said the air bag control module may prevent air bags from deploying in a crash – a malfunction causes the air bag status/readiness indicator lamp to illuminate and the air bag system remains disabled until repaired.
According to NHTSA documents, the problem with the air bag control computer model affects some model year 2008 Accords.
At least 17 million vehicles made in the United States by 10 different carmakers have been recalled, because some Takata airbag inflators have exploded, spewing metal shards that have injured or killed drivers and front seat passengers. According to NHTSA, this “raises concern about the readiness of the entire supplemental restraints system”. People filing complaints are not identified in the agency’s database. “The air bags did not deploy”. “As a result, for vehicles with a failed SRS module, some or all of the air bags may be unavailable in a crash warranting deployment”.
“At the time, my wife was pregnant and drove 100 miles roundtrip (highway) daily to work”. A dealer said the cost to replace the unit would be about $455.
“We gave it a long run, and have tried and tried and tried”, Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel told USA Today.
The investigation covers about 384,000 Accords, and the federal company will look into the scope and frequency of the alleged failure.
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Honda said it is cooperating with the investigation and will continue an internal review.
