Photo: Honda
To date, sub-standard Takata airbags inflators have claimed the lives of 13 people around the world. In the United States of America, eight of the 10 confirmed fatalities due to Takata-designed airbag inflator ruptures happened in a particular population of vehicles produced by Honda and luxury vehicle division Acura.
After further testing a subset of inflators in certain 2001 to 2003 Honda and Acura vehicles, the NHTSA announced an “urgent call” to have these cars repaired. The intriguing detail regarding this announcement is that the said vehicle population has been recalled in 2008 and 2011 over the same niggle.
So what in the name of all things holy prompted the peeps over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall these vehicles a third time? According to American Honda Motor Company, 313,000 vehicles with this dangerous defect remain unrepaired, accounting for roughly 30 percent of the population.
“With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous airbag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately,” explains U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.” That 50 percent change of rupture is no laughing matter, to be honest, especially if you take into account that other Takata inflators show rupture rates of at less than one percent. That's worrying, to say the least.
The high-risk inflators in question equip the 2001 - 2002 Honda Civic, 2001 - 2002 Honda Accord, 2002 - 2003 Acura TL, 2002 Honda CR-V, 2002 Honda Odyssey, 2003 Acura CL, and 2003 Honda Pilot. Owners can check if their vehicles are recalled by visiting SaferCar.gov or by contacting the nearest dealership.
As of June 17, no less than 8,867,284 Takata driver and passenger airbags have been replaced in the U.S. By 2019, the NHTSA estimates that “nearly 70 million Takata airbag inflators are or will be under recall.”
So what in the name of all things holy prompted the peeps over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall these vehicles a third time? According to American Honda Motor Company, 313,000 vehicles with this dangerous defect remain unrepaired, accounting for roughly 30 percent of the population.
“With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous airbag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately,” explains U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.” That 50 percent change of rupture is no laughing matter, to be honest, especially if you take into account that other Takata inflators show rupture rates of at less than one percent. That's worrying, to say the least.
The high-risk inflators in question equip the 2001 - 2002 Honda Civic, 2001 - 2002 Honda Accord, 2002 - 2003 Acura TL, 2002 Honda CR-V, 2002 Honda Odyssey, 2003 Acura CL, and 2003 Honda Pilot. Owners can check if their vehicles are recalled by visiting SaferCar.gov or by contacting the nearest dealership.
As of June 17, no less than 8,867,284 Takata driver and passenger airbags have been replaced in the U.S. By 2019, the NHTSA estimates that “nearly 70 million Takata airbag inflators are or will be under recall.”
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