Honda will recall 2,430 of about 833,000 vehicles sold in the United States after inspecting a potential problem with driver’s airbags that can cause injury or fatality when they rupture due to excessive pressure. Honda said the measure covers six models, including certain 2001 and 2002 model year Accord and Civic, its main models, 2002 Odyssey minivans, and 2002 and 2003 CR-V sport-utility vehicles. Of the total, the recall is necessary only for the 2,430 vehicles whose parts have been replaced with defective ones for repairs stemming from accidents and other reasons, but the automaker is taking steps to notify all owners of the six models because it cannot pinpoint the vehicles that have defective replacement parts.
The replacement driver’s airbag inflators in affected vehicles may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality. Honda recalled a total of 950,000 vehicles in markets including the United States, Canada and Japan by February 2010 for a similar problem.