All told, the problem with Takata airbag inflators will have forced Honda and its Acura luxury brand to recall 8.51 million vehicles, more than any other manufacturer.
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Continental Automotive Systems said it supplied potentially defective air bag control units to 5 million vehicles used by Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and three other automakers built over a five-year period worldwide, widening an air bag safety crisis.
A United Kingdom spokesman said the models affected in Europe include; CR-V (2007-2011 MY), CR-Z (2011-2015 MY), Jazz (2009-2014 MY) and Insight (2010-2014 MY) and some could be in Britain.
That changed on Wednesday when Honda announced it will expand the recall of cars containing Takata air bags to include all cars made by 2014 and fitted with air bags that do not contain desiccant, a chemical that absorbs humidity.
The automaker said at least two injuries have been linked to the units.
Initial reports on Wednesday indicated about 1.7 million vehicles would be recalled as part of an expanding investigation into the Takata defect. Continental had known about the issue since January 2008 when Daimler in Germany sent the company a damaged module, the company said. Honda added another 2.2 million vehicles to fix the potentially lethal safety devices in an expanded recall.
Honda says it has two reports of people being hurt because the air bags didn’t deploy in a crash.
“The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture”, said the recall notice.
As a result, Honda said owners of affected vehicles will be alerted to the recall in an initial notification letter within 60 days.
Continental’s airbag problem is far less dramatic than Takata’s.
Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Corp said it was recalling 320,000 2003-2006 USA vehicles because of improper programming that could allow them to deploy when not necessary.
“I would classify this as a more traditional recall”, said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Rebecca Lindland. Their airbags are at the center of an National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall investigation.
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If you own one of the vehicles that made the list, then Honda and Acura dealers will replace the inflators with parts from an alternative supplier at no cost of the owners of the Honda or Acura vehicle.
