Honda India recalls 41,580 cars made in 2012

Honda Cars India has announced a recall to replace passenger front airbag inflators made by airbag supplier Takata. The recall affects 41,580 units of the Honda Jazz, the City, Civic and Accord vehicles manufactured in model year 2012, according to a company statement.

Honda will replace the affected inflators free of cost at its dealerships across the country and the activity will begin immediately. Honda India has put up a microsite in which owners will be able to find out if their car is covered under the recall programme by entering the car’s Vehicle Identification Number.

The announcement comes a fortnight after Takata agreed to pay US$ 1 billion (Rs 6,800 crore) in penalties – made up of US$ 25 million fine, US$ 125 million compensation for people injured or killed by the airbags and US$ 850 million to carmakers that used them – globally. Worldwide, at least 12 deaths and 180 injuries have been attributed to the faults. It is estimated that around 100 million cars from at least 13 manufacturers are set to be recalled.

The potential faults were first raised in 2006, when Takata officials admitted that some of its airbag inflators expanded with too much force and sprayed metal shrapnel into the cars. The airbags also had the potential to deploy inadvertently, particularly in humid conditions.

In July 2016, Honda recalled 1,90,578 cars in India to replace Takata passenger front airbag inflators. Similarly, back in 2015, Toyota issued a recall of 7,100 units of the Corolla sedan over the same issue.