Honda Accord in India may be part of company’s global recall

Safety related accidents have now become the stuff of daily nightmares for automakers world over. The most famous case being General Motors, but on Monday, seven major automakers disclosed that they, combined, would recall millions of vehicles equipped with air bags that could explode. Honda Motors is one of them.

Though Honda has announced a recall for the Honda Accord V6 (2001-2002), it is suspected that Honda India will be recalling the Accord sold in the first half of the last decade here. The car was discontiued last year in India. The other cars which they might recall are the Honda Accord (2007), the Acura, Civic (2001-2005), CR-V (2002-2006), Odyssey, Pilot and the Ridgeline.

It is the Takata airbags which has been identified as the root of the problem. Tokyo-based Takata is one of three major manufacturers of air bags and supplies similar components to automakers around the world. That strategy allows carmakers to save money on parts through economies of scale, but heightens the risk of large-scale recalls. The propellant used in the devices has caused some front passenger airbags to rupture resulting in explosions of the airbags. In eight cases - two in Japan, six in the US - those explosions sent shrapnel flying through the cars. Two deaths have been linked to the problem. 

Other carmakers like Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler Group have also issued a product recall due to faulty airbags. BMW Group is also analysing the situation as they have also used Takata airbags in their products. Toyota, in June, had issued a global recall for 2.27 million vehicles over an airbag system defect that could cause fires. The announcement covered 20 models, including the Corolla sedan, Yaris subcompact and Noah minivan.

Honda India executives are still waiting for word from the parent company to see which of their cars sold in India have been affected. 

Source: ET