Honda, Acura dangerous airbags being fixed

Classic Motors customer service manager Joel Penco, second from left, together with local and foreign staff check an airbag inflator on Saturday in Chagaunas. PHOTO BY MARVIN HAMILTON
Classic Motors customer service manager Joel Penco, second from left, together with local and foreign staff check an airbag inflator on Saturday in Chagaunas. PHOTO BY MARVIN HAMILTON

CLASSIC Motors is asking all Honda and Acura owners with vehicle models from 2001 to 2016 to visit the dealership or one of its special recall events as soon as possible to replace a potentially fatal defect with the airbag inflation system.

The local agent for Honda and Acura has partnered with Honda America to execute a nationwide recall for the Takata airbag system. This exercise is part of an ongoing global Honda recall underway since 2015 to repair the airbag inflators. Honda has recalled millions of vehicles worldwide since then.

Replacing a defective airbag takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Customer service manager Joel Penco, who spoke to Newsday at the Honda Charlieville, Chaguanas, service centre on Saturday, said the company has set out to check and replace all defective airbags. “Airbags can save lives and we have set about to check and replace defective airbags in this country at our Honda centres,” he said. He was on hand to supervise the replacement of the airbags. The defect is related to the airbag inflator, which is supposed to be sealed to prevent moisture entering the compartment. It was found that defective inflators could, under high pressure in conditions with high heat and humidity, expand and explode, causing injury or death to drivers and passengers from shrapnel coming through the dashboard or steering wheel column. Takata was a major Japanese airbag manufacturer that produced airbags for some of the biggest automotive manufacturers, not just Honda. After the recall, the biggest in automotive history, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Since the recall, prompted after a woman in the US driving a 2001 Honda Accord died from injuries caused by the defect in 2009, nearly 40 million vehicles, from makers including Honda, Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Acura, have had to be upgraded with replacement airbag inflators. At least 20 people around the world have died as a result of the defect.

Fortunately, Penco said, there have been no reported injuries or deaths in TT, but the company isn’t taking any chances. Every Honda owner in TT can go into Classic Motors, even if they didn’t purchase their vehicles through the dealership.

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