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Honda Recalls 300,000 Accord, Civic on Airbag Issue

As we reported some ten days ago, Honda Motor America is recalling Accord and Civic models in the US due to faulty airbags. We come back on the story today to give some additional info. According to Autonews, there are 300,000 2001 built Honda Accord and Civic affected by the problem, all boasting Takata Corp. made airbags. Subject to the recall are 285,000 Accord and Civic in the US and 21,000 in Canada.

On the official website of the National HIghway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the problem was defined as "the driver's airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure" and "if an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture."

This means there's a potential life-threatening fault, as metal fragments may pass through the fabric and injure the occupants when the airbag deploys. According to the source, such a event already occurred, with one driver reportedly being killed during an accident in which the airbag deployed. The news was confirmed by Honda, but the driver's cause of death is still under investigation, according to a company spokeswoman.

In addition to the Accord and Civic models to be recalled in North America, Honda announced it will do the same with some 1,500 Saber and Inspire models exported to Japan and fitted with the same airbags.

The seriousness of the problem was recognized by Honda, who is now investigating other models which have been fitted with Takata airbags. According to the Japanese supplier, the faulty airbags have not been sold to any other carmakers.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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