Recalls

Honda’s 1.6M vehicle recall is its last in the Takata airbag inflator imbroglio

June 28, 2019

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If anyone you know has acted aloof about taking their car in for this recall, urge them to do so, because shrapnel is not a suitable substitute for an airbag in a collision.

By Andrew Krok, Posted from MSN

The Takata airbag inflator scandal started all the way back in 2013, before I was even in this line of work. Over the years, multiple automakers have recalled millions of vehicles to replace Takata’s faulty airbag inflators. Fiat Chrysler finally finished its recalls earlier this year, and now, it’s Honda’s turn to wrap up.

Both Honda and Acura vehicles have been recalled for these issues. You can check out a full list of the affected vehicles at the bottom of this article. If you’re worried that you might have a faulty inflator in your car, Honda has a website where you can plug in your information to find out if your vehicle is subject to the recall. Owners should have also received notifications in the mail, but the notifications for this latest recall won’t be mailed out until August.

Honda said that it has completed recalls on or accounted for 83% of the parts in question. This is one of the highest rates of any automaker involved in the recall. Some of the vehicles have been recalled twice, because the replacement inflators — made by Takata, as well — were also deemed faulty. Now, the replacements are coming from other sources. Honda says that it has enough replacement parts available to fix all affected vehicles. Owners will get a free loaner car for the duration of the repair, which should take less than a day.

The whole brouhaha started thanks to a moisture-absorbing material called a desiccant. The first batch of faulty inflators that kickstarted the recall used ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbag, but they lacked desiccants. Exposure to humidity could cause the inflator to fail, sending out shrapnel instead of an inflated airbag. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been linked to the parts. In 2017, Takata filed for bankruptcy and its assets were sold to Key Safety Systems, another automaker supplier.

Here’s the full list of vehicles affected by all of Acura’s and Honda’s Takata recalls: