NHTSA issues second and separate recall for defective airbags

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that a recall has been issued for more than two million Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota vehicles that have airbags that may inadvertently inflate while the car is running.

The recall includes some Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Avalon models made from 2002 to 2004.

Compounding the problem, about half of the vehicles with the inadvertent airbag deployment defect are also recalled under a Takata Corporation air bag issue, which causes passenger side airbags to deploy with too much force and potentially discharge fragments. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said one million Hondas and Toyotas involved in the new recall are also subject to the separate Takata recall due to airbags that could deploy and rupture with enough force to cause injury or death. The NHTSA says all of the vehicles covered in the recall issued Saturday, January 31, had already been under a recall for the faulty airbags. A second fix is needed for the defective air bags. The NHTSA said that people with cars under the Takata recall who haven't gotten the passenger side airbags repaired should do so immediately.

“Nine of the 40 reported inadvertent airbag deployments included ruptures of Takata airbags,” said a NHTSA spokesman in Saturday’s announcement. “Three people involved in those incidents had eye injuries, scratches and burns, but no other injuries or fatalities related to the wider recall affecting all 2.1 million vehicles have been reported.”

Honda confirmed last Friday that a Spring man was killed from a piece of shrapnel from a deployed airbag in his 2002 Honda Civic. Carlos Solis died when a piece of shrapnel struck him in the neck and caused a deadly amount of blood loss.



NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 15V043

Manufacturer : Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

> Make / Model Years : PONTIAC / 2003-2004
TOYOTA / 2003-2004

Subject : Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment



NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 15V045

Manufacturer : Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Make / Model Years : ACURA / 2003
HONDA / 2003-2004

Subject : Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment



NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 15V046

Manufacturer : Chrysler (FCA US LLC)

Make / Model Years : DODGE / 2003-2004
JEEP / 2002-2004

Subject : Inadvertent Air Bag Deployment



Carmakers originally tried to fix the defects by partially replacing the electronic control unit, made by TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. of Livonia, Mich., but that fix didn't always work. The new remedy, full replacement of the unit, will be available to all affected vehicles by the end of the year.