Statement from American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Re: Confirmed Rupture of Takata Airbag Inflator in Fort Bend County, Texas
Statement date: April 7, 2016
During an inspection on Wednesday, April 6, accompanied by representatives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Sherriff’s Department of Fort Bend County, Texas, and Takata, American Honda confirmed that the Takata driver’s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2002 Honda Civic on March 31, 2016, in Fort Bend County, Texas, resulting in the tragic death of the driver. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver during this difficult time.
Honda has shared all available vehicle history information collected to date with NHTSA and will continue to cooperate with NHTSA throughout the process of investigating this crash.
Since 2011, the vehicle involved in this crash has been included in multiple recalls and a market campaign. Multiple mailed recall notices related to the driver’s Takata airbag inflator were sent over the course of several years to registered owners of the vehicle involved in the crash, including multiple notices to the current registered owner. Our records indicate that the recall repair was never completed.
Honda currently has sufficient supplies of replacement inflators to complete the required repairs under the open recall that affects this vehicle, and we continue to encourage all owners of affected vehicles to seek repair immediately.
*Note: For the purpose of clarification, while replacement parts are available for the Takata airbag inflator recalls announced prior to 2016, including those recalls affecting the above-referenced vehicle, replacement inflators for the driver airbag inflator recall announced on February 3, 2016, which are being sourced from an alternative supplier, are not yet available as of the date of this statement. Honda expects to begin receiving replacement inflators for this latest recall within the next few days, and owners of affected vehicles will receive a mailed notification inviting them to pursue repair when parts are available for each individual vehicle.
*Note two: Honda is making a strong, passionate effort to reach and take care of our customers impacted by this issue. In addition to millions of mailed recall notifications, Honda has employed a multitude of new, innovative tactics to reach and take care of our customers. For example, we doubled the size of our Customer Relations team, which has made millions of direct and automated phone calls to affected owners. We’ve also advertised, used text messaging, taken advantage of opportunities to raise awareness at live events, and more. We encourage you to review many of the actions we’ve deployed as detailed at the following link. This resource will also answer many foundational questions you may have on this issue: https://hondanews.com/en-US/releases/takata-airbag-inflator-recall-fact-sheet
[Note to the Media: Please include the following as you report this story – Thank You!]
American Honda continues to urge owners of Honda and Acura vehicles affected by the Takata airbag inflator recalls to get their vehicles repaired at authorized dealers as soon as possible. Vehicle owners can check their vehicles’ recall status at www.recalls.honda.com for Honda owners or www.recalls.acura.com for Acura owners or by calling their authorized dealer.
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