Honda and Acura are advising owners of certain older models not to drive their vehicles as the Takata airbag inflator recall still affects them. The automaker warns that there is a 50% chance of rupture in a collision where the airbag deploys.
The Do Not Drive warning applies to vehicles that do not already have the driver side airbag inflator recall repair. The automaker estimates the total population at around 8,200 cars. The specific models are as follows:
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NHTSA advises:
“If you own one of these vehicles and still have a pending Takata airbag recall, do not drive it until this urgent and vital recall is completed. Replacement parts are now available free of charge for this reminder.”
At about 20 years old, these unrepaired vehicles are most at risk of having an airbag inflator rupture. If this happens, metal fragments explode towards the driver’s face. It can potentially kill a person. To date, there have been 24 deaths and at least 400 injuries in the United States due to these defective parts.
If you think you may own one of the unrepaired vehicles, anyone can enter their vehicle’s VIN on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website to see if there are any open recalls. for the model. For these Takata airbags, Honda is willing to tow an affected car free of charge to complete the repair. Mobile repairs are also possible.
According to Honda, it has made about 18.3 million outreach attempts asking owners to have vehicles repaired with recalled Takata airbag components. This process has included mail notifications, emails, phone calls, and even door-to-door in some areas.
Takata’s recall doesn’t just continue to affect Honda. In November 2022, Stellantis issued a Do Not Drive warning for unrepaired examples of the Dodge Challenger, Charger, Magnum and Chrysler 300. In December 2022, a 2010 Chrysler 300 crashed and them Takata driver side airbag inflator rupture resulting in death. Volkswagen recalled 37,588 examples of the 2015-2016 Beetle in January 2023 to repair faulty components.
