Honda Expands Air Bag Recall After Takata Complies with U.S. Order
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co called back about 690,000 cars in Japan and the United States to replace air bag inflators made by Takata Corp after the Tokyo-based parts supplier last week agreed to comply with U.S. orders to expand some of its previous recalls, reports Reuters.
Honda, Japan's third-biggest automaker, disclosed the recall in filings in Tokyo and Washington.
Of the recalls announced on Thursday, about 350,000 are of vehicles registered in the United States and 340,000 are in Japan, Honda said.
Honda had just expanded its Takata-related recalls by nearly 5 million cars earlier this month to about 20 million vehicles worldwide since 2008. The move came after its own investigations found two new problems with inflators it had retrieved for sampling. The root cause of those defects is unknown.
In Canada, Honda did not widen previous recalls involving just over 700,000 vehicles, but will issue fresh correspondence reminding consumers of the safety issue, the company's Canadian branch said on Thursday.
Takata is at the center of a global recall of tens of millions of cars for potentially deadly air bag inflators that could deploy with too much force and spray metal fragments inside vehicles. Regulators have linked six deaths to the component so far, all on Honda's cars.
After months of resisting, Takata last week agreed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to roughly double its U.S.-based recall to 34 million vehicles spanning 11 automakers, including more models and years of production.
Honda said the latest recall in Japan includes about 80,000 cars fitted with driver-side air bag inflators that had been part of a previous recall, but which had not yet been collected.
Another 260,000 cars would be added to replace passenger-side air bag inflators in Japan, with more to follow overseas, Honda said.
The automaker will source replacement inflators for the additional recalls from Takata, as well as rivals Autoliv Inc, TRW Automotive [TRWTA.UL], and Daicel Corp, it said. Earlier this year, Michigan-based TRW was acquired by Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen.
More Industry

Kia Closes Out Summer With a Bang
Its U.S. subsidiary broke multiple records in August, in part due to a surge of demand for hybrids models.
Read More →
Indiana Dealership Changes Hands
A 30-year-old Ford dealership in Indiana has a new owner and will soon be undergoing renovations to meet manufacturer requirements.
Read More →
Texas Dealership No Longer in the Family
The Ford store, a longtime cornerstone of the Houston market, is now part of one of the fastest-growing U.S. auto groups.
Read More →
Genesis Grows California Presence
The Cardinale Automotive Group opened its third Genesis rooftop in the Golden State, Genesis of San Bruno, a stand-alone dealership serving the San Francisco Bay Area.
Read More →
August Auto Sales a Mixed Bag
An early forecast shows strong business despite consumer hurdles, and hybrids are a big piece of their affordability coping strategy.
Read More →
EV Market Humming Along
July sales show steady growth as the segment stabilizes from last year’s artificial surge following pullback of federal support.
Read More →
Auto Loan Delinquency Rates Stabilize
Auto loans are a main driver of nonmortgage consumer debt, but delinquency rates stabilized in the second quarter across all credit risk tiers.
Read More →
EV Sales Recover in Q2
The EV sales roller coaster continues as numbers show improvement, but industry experts predict a year-over-year third-quarter decline and fourth-quarter jump.
Read More →
The Cheapest Hybrids to Fuel
The powertrain is increasing in popularity, in no small part due to its fuel economy. A new report lists the most efficient hybrids on the market.
Read More →
Hybrids and SUVs Gaining Ground
The most recent Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch found that only two nonluxury brands increased in shopper consideration, buoyed by their hybrid and SUV offerings.
Read More →