Honda recalling more vehicles with dangerous Takata air bags

1.2M vehicles in North and Central America from the 2001 to 2016 model years

Associated Press

DETROIT

A type of Takata air-bag inflator once thought to be safe has now come under scrutiny after a crash and explosion in Maryland injured the driver of a Honda minivan.

The incident forced Honda on Tuesday to recall about 1.2 million vehicles in North and Central America from the 2001 to 2016 model years not included in the massive string of Takata recalls for air bags with inflators that can hurl shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a collision. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to high temperatures and humidity and blow apart a metal canister.

At least 23 people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

The inflators, believed to be safe and never part of the broader recall, were even used to replace inflators under recalls that began in 2014.

But Honda and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said a crash on Jan. 19, 2018, involving a 2004 Honda Odyssey initiated the latest recall when investigators discovered the driver’s air-bag inflator ruptured. The probe determined inflators made at Takata’s Monclova, Mexico, factory were faulty due to a manufacturing defect, Honda said. The driver suffered an arm injury.

NHTSA said in a statement only Honda used this particular Takata inflator. The agency believes the problem has been isolated and is a manufacturing issue.

NHTSA said not all vehicles that received replacement air-bag inflators are affected. Parts from other manufacturers are safe, but owners are urged to check open recalls by keying in their 17-digit vehicle identification number on the NHTSA website www.nhtsa.gov/recalls .

Honda said owners will be notified by mail in early April, but replacement parts from non-Takata manufacturers are immediately available. Honda is offering free loaner cars while vehicles are being repaired.

Under the terms of an agreement with the NHTSA, Takata has until the end of the year to prove the inflators are safe or all will have to be recalled.

Takata recalls are the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history, with as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide.