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The recall will affect Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and inflate airbags in a collision. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to high temperatures and humidity and blow apart a metal canister, spewing out shrapnel.
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 will be notified by letters starting in mid-August, and Honda is urging people to schedule repairs as soon as possible.
Millions of Hondas were outfitted with the faulty airbags, forcing Honda to recall approximately 12.9 million vehicles to replace 22.6 million inflators at the order of the NHTSA. The final recall is six months ahead of the required schedule to replace the Takata airbags.
Honda stated that the company “has made ‘significant progress with existing recall repairs,’ with an 83 percent completion rate.” The company has enough replacement parts, all from alternative suppliers, to repair affected Acura and Honda models, the carmaker noted.
At least 23 people have been killed by the company’s inflators and hundreds more injured. Since 2014, when the recall of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags began, millions of vehicles have been subject to recall.
Long-term exposure to high heat and humidity can cause the bags to explode, and have caused injuries and death, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
According to the NHTSA, approximately 37 million vehicles equipped with more than 50 million defective Takata airbags are subject to recall. Consumer Report said that vehicles made by 19 different automakers have been recalled as part of the “largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history.”
Takata has since filed for bankruptcy.
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