Honda Again Expands Airbag Recall
Federal regulators say a faulty airbag inflator appears to have caused the death of a young driver, the ninth fatality so far linked to a system provided by Japanese supplier Takata. The announcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) came as Honda announced the latest in a series of recalls involving vehicles equipped with Takata airbags. So far, close to 20 million vehicles sold in the U.S. have been targeted for safety repairs due to the use of suspect airbag inflators.
All eight of the Takata airbag deaths identified as occurring in the U.S. involved Honda vehicles. Another death was reported outside the States.
According to NHTSA, the incident occurred on July 22 near Pittsburgh. A young driver was involved in a crash while behind the wheel of a 2001 Honda Accord. The teenager was hospitalized but died several days later. A spokesman for the safety agency said the death was "likely" the result of the airbag improperly inflating.
While a specific cause has yet to be determined, older vehicles equipped with Takata inflators have experienced an unusually high number of malfunctions in which the bags inflated over-aggressively. That, in turn, can send plastic and metal shrapnel flying into the passenger compartment. Initially, the defect was thought linked to use in areas with high humidity. But several of the fatal incidents, including the Pittsburgh crash, occurred in areas with lower humidity.
An industry consortium has been working with NHTSA and Takata to try to understand the source of the problem, but many believe it is the result of using volatile ammonium nitrate in the inflator. Takata has agreed to switch to a more stabled chemical in the future.
NHTSA has so far ordered the recall of around twenty million older vehicles using frontal airbags powered by Takata inflators. The latest announcement by Honda involves 78,000 CR-V crossover-utility vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model-years. Repairs will be made at no charge to consumers.
In a statement, the company said it "...continues to urge owners of Honda and Acura vehicles affected by the Takata airbag inflator recalls to get their vehicles repaired at authorized dealers as soon as possible. Vehicle owners can check their vehicles’ recall status."