Two major recalls have just been announced by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And according to the regulators, both recalls were launched over the same issue.
The first recall report involves 341,444 units of the 2008 through 2010 Honda Accord vehicles. Since these units come with air bag control units that could corrode over time, they may also fail to perform their part in ensuring the proper functioning of the safety features. If that occurs and the impacted vehicle is involved in an accident, occupants may not be protected since the air bag may not function properly.
While no accidents were tied to this particular recall, an air bag failure may lead to major if not deadly injuries.
But Honda is not the only one recalling vehicles over this potentially deadly issue. Chrysler has also announced a recall tied to defective air bag control units.
According to the official NHTSA report, recalled Chrysler vehicles include the 2009 Dodge Journey, the 2008 and 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country, and the 2009 Volkswagen Routan. The recalled Journey vehicles were produced between December 31, 2007 and August 31, 2008, the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country vehicles listed under the recall were manufactured between June 18, 2007 and August 31, 2008, and the Routan vehicles listed under the recall were produced between August 11 and 31, 2008.
In all units, the air bag control units may corrode over time, increasing the risk of injuries.
While Honda will contact consumers with the recalled vehicles on March 15, 2016, Chrysler hasn’t announced a notification date yet.
Honda will send a second notification to impacted vehicle owners once they have enough remedies available to have the recalled vehicles replaced. The repair should be carried out for free.
This is not the first time major automakers recall vehicles over air bag issues in 2016. Earlier in the year, Takata launched additional recalls along automakers to ensure that vehicles fitted with air bag inflators that may explode are fixed.
While millions of these vehicles roam the streets across America, only a few have already been fitted with functional replacement air bag inflators. Until companies are able to come across a good number of replacement inflators, vehicles recalled due to the Takata air bag issue will continue to expose consumers to major risks. So far, 10 people have died while over 100 were injured in accidents involving the exploding air bags.
If you have one of the recalled Honda or Chrysler vehicles, contact the manufacturer immediately to learn more about what you should to avoid injuries until parts are available.
