Car manufacturer Honda has had to release a statement warning several thousands of its customers of a safety fault with its vehicles’ airbags. The issue apparently stems from an overly powerful inflator on the passenger airbag, which could cause the bag to burst in the event of an accident, potentially injuring the passenger or at best, reducing the effectiveness of the airbag in cushioning them.
“In certain vehicles, the passengers (frontal) airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture,” reads the official statement (via GulfNews).
“In the event of an inflator rupture, metal fragments could be propelled upward toward the windshield, or downward toward the front passenger’s foot, potentially causing injury to a vehicle occupant.”
Fortunately, only a few thousand vehicles are said to be affected, all of them located in the United Arab Emirates. However if you happen to live there and have one of the following models of Honda vehicle, we’d recommend you get it looked at:
- Civic ES1: 02, 03 models
- Civis ES8: 03 model
- CR-V RD5: 02, 03 model
- Jazz GD1: 02 model
- Accord CMR: 03 model
- Odyssey RL1: 03 model
- MR-V YF1: 03 model
If you are driving an affected vehicle, you qualify for a free service of the potentially problematic part. Simply contact an Al-Futtaim Honda Service Centre, or visit Honda.ae for more information.
An Al Futtaim Honda spokesperson said of this news: “The campaign would end once all the cars under recall have been checked. Al-Futtaim Honda has contacted owners of all affected vehicles where we have contact details and this is one reason why we urge customers to keep us updated with their latest contact details. In order to reach owners where we no longer have contact details, we have advertised the recall notice in four major national papers.”
It’s not clear why it’ taken over ten years to discover that this problem exists or why it only seems to be present in this particular market, but it seems like it would be worth being cautious over as a malfunctioning airbag can be terribly dangerous in the event of an accident, not least because it prevents proper protection for the driver.
About Al Futtaim Honda
Al-Futtaim Honda is part of the the vehicular division of the Al-Futtaim group and is the sole distributor of Honda vehicles and motorcycles in the UAE. It’s one of the largest providers or Honda products and support in the world, with over 10 showrooms and 11 aftersales facilities across the country – even featuring the largest Honda showroom in the world at the Honda Dubai Festical City location.
While previously named Trading Enterprises and still officially registered under that name, the ongoing working title for the group is Al-Futtain Honda.
