American Honda Motor Co. has issued a recall affecting no fewer than 303,770 vehicles produced for the 2023 and 2024 model years. The front seat belt pretensioners may be missing the rivets that secure the wire plates and quick connectors. In other words, the pretensioners won't restrain the front occupants properly in the event of a crash.
The 2023 to 2024 Honda Accord opens the list, with build dates ranging from October 4, 2022 to October 14, 2023. Next up, the 2023 to 2024 Honda HR-V is listed in the attached report from April 26, 2022 to October 14, 2023. No fewer than three part numbers are provided for the left and right front pretensioner assemblies, which are manufactured in Mexico by the folks at Joyson Safety Systems.
If that name rings a bell, that's because the Auburn Hills-based supplier adopted this moniker after Key Safety Systems acquired Takata. You know, the Japanese corporation that went under in 2017 due to deadly airbag inflators. Coincidentally, said airbag inflators were manufactured in Mexico by Takata subsidiary TK Holdings Inc.
Honda became aware that something was off about the pretensioner assemblies in the Accord and HR-V on May 23. The subsequent investigation determined that a defect to motor vehicle safety does exist, and what's more, the recall condition is a noncompliance in the eyes of the federal watchdog. More specifically, pretensioners without rivets designed to secure the wire plates to the quick connectors do not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standard 208 (for occupant crash protection) and safety standard 209 (for seat belt assemblies).
At the time Honda filed this recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Japanese automaker was aware of 7 warranty claims in the United States of America. Receipt dates range from April 26, 2022 to November 16, 2023.
Photo: Honda of Americas
How did Joyson Safety Systems correct this concern in production? As expected, the supplier has improved pre-shipment inspection processes. Accord and HR-V owners will be notified of this recall by American Honda Motor Co. via first-class mail no later than January 8, 2024. Dealers have already been instructed to inspect the front seat belt pretensioner assemblies. If the oh-so-important rivet mentioned earlier is missing, the service technician will replace the whole pretensioner assembly.
Honda estimates that 1 percent of the recall population requires replacement front seat belt pretensioners. In the meantime, owners can verify whether their vehicles are indeed recalled or not by running the VIN on the NHTSA's website.
Redesigned for the 2023 model year, the Accord comes with either 1.5-liter turbo I4 muscle or a hybrid-assisted 2.0 of the naturally-aspirated variety. The 1.5er is connected to a continuously variable transmission, whereas the Atkinson-cycle 2.0 engine is joined by an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission. Prices for said engine options kick off at $27,895 and $32,545, respectively.
Available in LX, Sport, and EX-L flavors, the HR-V for North America packs a free-breathing I4 with 158 ponies on deck. All three grades can be optioned with all-wheel drive for an extra $1,500 over the $24,100, $25,650, and $27,650 base prices for MY24.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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