Approximately 1.6 million Honda and Acura cars are being recalled to replace potentially deadly Takata front passenger airbag inflators.
On Friday, Honda announced its fifth and final phase of planned recalls, which it says is six months ahead of the schedule set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Honda is announcing this recall to encourage each owner of an affected vehicle to schedule repair at an authorized dealer as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement Friday. “Replacement parts are available, all from alternate suppliers, to begin free recall repairs immediately, and a free rental car is available to the vehicle owner for the day of the recall repair or longer if a replacement part is temporarily unavailable.”
The recall includes many Honda and Acura models from 2003 through 2015. All received replacement inflators made by Takata before February of 2017 and were scheduled to be recalled a second time to replace those with inflators made by another company.
The Takata airbag recall has affected virtually all major automakers and forced the Japanese company into bankruptcy in July 2017.
The airbags were made with the chemical ammonium nitrate and were prone to exploding upon deployment, potentially hurling fiery shrapnel into passengers. Twenty-four people have been killed and hundreds injured by the inflators worldwide.
When the latest recall is done, Honda says it will have recalled or accounted for 22.6 million inflators in about 12.9 million vehicles.
Affected Honda models include the 2001-2012 Accord, the 2010-2015 Crosstour, the 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, the 2011-2015 CR-Z, the 2003-2011 Element, the 2007-2014 Fit, the 2010-2014 Insight, the 2002-2004 Odyssey, the 2003-2015 Pilot and the 2006-2014 Ridgeline. Acura models include the 2003 3.2CL, the 2013 ILX, the 2003-2006 MDX, the 2015 RDX, the 2005-2012 RL, the 2002-2003 3.2TL, the 2009-2014 TL, the 2009-2014 TSX, and the 2010-2013 ZDX.
Owners of the recalled vehicles are expected to receive mailed notification starting in mid-August 2019.
Car owners can check whether their vehicles are affected in the recall now at www.recalls.acura.com and www.recalls.honda.com or by calling 888-234-2138.
All Honda Gold Wing motorcycles equipped with defective inflators were included in earlier recalls and remain eligible for repair, Honda said in the statement. Motorcycle customers can check recall status at www.powersports.honda.com/recalls or by calling 866-784-1870.
