Honda recalled nearly 20 million vehicles over seven years due to problems with air bags supplied by Takata. Now, Honda recalls 4.5 million vehicles worldwide due to faulty airbags supplied by Takata.
A Honda spokesman said “Like other carmakers, we are investigating vehicles on the market in connection with this issue, and we found that some inflators have uneven gas density, which we worry could do some harm. It is a preventive measure and unlike other normal recalls we are not waiting for the full results of the research.”
What is the fault in airbags supplied by Takata that Honda recalls millions of cars?
The fault is considered to be related to a chemical propellant that helps to inflate the airbags and can cause them to deploy with explosive force, sending metal shrapnel hurtling toward drivers and passengers. Around Eight people have been killed and nearly 100 injured by the faulty airbags supplied by Takata. The latest victim was a woman in LA who was killed last year after the faulty inflator in a 2001 Honda Civic ruptured, firing metal shards at her.
Tokyo based Takata has been accused that it knew about the problem, but concealed the dangers. The US safety regulators started fining Takata $14,000 a day in February to pressurize it to supply documentation on internal probes into faulty airbag issues dating back more than ten years ago.
Takahiro Hachigo, Honda Chief Executive told reporters that the company will continue to work as a business partner with Takata while investigating the issue with them, and it does not plan to provide monetary aid to them.
Honda recalls 4.5 million vehicles worldwide due to faulty airbags supplied by Takata and 1.63 million cars that Honda recalls are from Japan and the models include CR-V, Stream and Fit. The issue has persisted for more than ten years and impacts eleven car makers, including Honda, BMW and Toyota.