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Honda, Acura Recall More Than 750,000 Vehicles Over Airbag Issue

By 02/06/2024 8:42am
2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid

Honda and its Acura luxury marque have recalled more than 750,000 vehicles because their front passenger airbags can inflate when they’re not supposed to.

The recall covers much of both brands’ lineups, including:

Front-Seat Airbags Can Harm Children

Front passenger seat airbags are designed to protect adults. They can injure children – even children in child safety seats – because they are designed for adult proportions and can impact a child’s body in the wrong places.

Today’s cars have a sensor that determines whether the front passenger seat is empty, occupied by a child, or occupied by an adult.

Honda tells federal safety regulators, “A capacitor in the printed circuit board of the front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and lead to an internal short circuit from the exposure to environmental humidity.” That can trigger both the head and knee airbags on the passenger’s side of the car to deploy even with an empty seat.

Honda says the problem developed when a supplier, unbeknownst to the company, switched the material used in the circuit board “due to a natural disaster at the manufacturing plant.”

Honda says it knows of no injuries or deaths but more than 3,800 warranty claims related to the problem.

Dealers will replace the circuit board with one “built with the original, verified base material” to correct the problem.

Recall repairs are always free. But millions of us miss recall notices every year and unknowingly drive recalled vehicles. Find out if your car needs any free safety repairs at our easy recall center.