New test data on some defective Takata air bag inflators in model-year 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles show a much higher risk of ruptures during air bag deployment, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in an effort to find the vehicles so they can be fixed before they cause further injuries or fatalities.
“With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately,” said 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.”
The higher-risk inflators are in these 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles:
- 2001-2002 Honda Civic
- 2001-2002 Honda Accord
- 2002-2003 Acura TL
- 2002 Honda CR-V
- 2002 Honda Odyssey
- 2003 Acura CL
- 2003 Honda Pilot
The air bag inflators in these vehicles have a manufacturing defect that greatly increases the chance of a dangerous rupture when a crash causes the air bag to inflate. Ruptures are far more likely in vehicles that have spent long periods of time in areas of high humidity – especially Florida, Texas, other parts of the Gulf Coast, and Southern California.
The vehicles were recalled between 2008 and 2011. Honda reports that more than 70 percent of this higher-risk group has already been repaired, but about 313,000 vehicles haven’t.
The risk is grave, and it’s critical they be repaired now to avoid more deaths and serious injuries, the agency said.
Drivers of these vehicles should immediately visit SaferCar.gov to check whether their vehicle has any outstanding safety recalls. Those that do should contact their nearest dealer to schedule a repair immediately.
Though the vehicles are already under recall, NHTSA ordered Takata to perform additional testing following recent reports of ruptures. Eight of the 10 confirmed U.S. fatalities due to Takata ruptures – including the most recent in Fort Bend County, Texas – were in this group of vehicles.
Nearly 70 million Takata air bag inflators are or will be under recall by 2019, in the largest and most complex auto safety recall in U.S. history.
A combination of time, environmental moisture, and fluctuating high temperatures contributes to the degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators. The degradation can cause the propellant to burn too quickly, rupturing the inflator module and sending shrapnel through the air bag and into the vehicle occupants.
