Honda recalls 4.9 mil cars over faulty Takata airbags

Following the recall made by Toyota and Nissan just a day ago, Honda looks set to pile on the figures as the Japanese carmaker has issued another round of recall for a total of 4.89 million vehicles globally – with the exception of cars made for the US market. According to Honda, no airbags with same design involved in the latest recall were installed in US-spec models.

Factoring in the previous efforts made by Toyota, Nissan, Honda and several others, the total amount of vehicles affected by faulty Takata airbags now stand at more than 35 million – 19.6 million from Honda alone. Of the 4.89 million Honda models being recalled around the globe, 1.72 million Japanese units are affected.

The latest recall campaign will include Honda models such as the CR-V, Civic, Accord and Fit (Jazz), made between 2002 to 2008. A total of 1.67 million units are said to possess faulty airbag inflators on the driver’s side airbag while a further 3.22 million affects the front passenger’s side airbag.

Honda has said it will replace the driver-side inflators made by Takata with inflators made by Autoliv and Daicel, while the Takata inflators on the passenger-side will be swapped for ones from Daicel and Takata. Earlier, Toyota had said that the driver-side airbag inflator in its affected vehicles will be replaced by one from Daicel, while the replacement for the passenger-side airbag inflator will continue to be supplied by Takata.

At least six deaths linked to the improper deployment of Takata’s airbags have been confirmed, with one case happening in Malaysia. The parts manufacturer and Honda are now being sued in the US after the victim, Law Suk Leh, 42, died when a piece of shrapnel pierced her neck. The victim was pregnant when her 2003 Honda City (model pictured below) was hit by another car – her daughter died three days after being delivered following Law’s death.

Further investigations have, reportedly, reveal the cause for the improper deployment – the airbag inflators are believed to have absorbed high amounts of moisture, causing propellant tablets inside to fragment over time. Experts have also hinted that the issue was further aggravated by the use of ammonium nitrate, a key chemical compound employed in the construction of said airbag inflators.

On the local front, Toyota has recently announced a special service campaign for customers to bring in models such as the Camry, Corolla Altis, Vios, Yaris and RAV4 made between 2001 to 2007. Said campaign aims to rectify the possibility of an improperly manufactured Takata airbag inflator and, if need be, replace the assembly completely free of charge.

In November 2014, Honda Malaysia recalled a total of 15,734 vehicles – comprised of 15,612 units of the Honda City and an additional 122 units of the fully-imported Honda Jazz. Earlier on in June 2014, a separate recall required the 2001-2003 Honda Stream, 2002-2003 Honda Jazz, 2003 Honda City and 2003 Honda Accord models to be brought in over potential passenger airbag defects.

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