Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-largest automaker, for a second time expanded a U.S. recall for air bags that can deploy with too much pressure, adding 378,758 vehicles, and scheduled an announcement on the matter in Japan.
The expansion affects some 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic cars, Odyssey minivans and CR-V sport-utility vehicles and 2002 Acura TL cars, Honda said in a statement late yesterday. The initial U.S. recall was 4,600 Accords and Civics in November 2008, with 440,000 more of those cars and certain Acura TLs added in July.
Honda knows of one death and 12 incidents related to the defect, John Mendel, the Tokyo-based company's U.S. executive vice president, said in a conference call today. "The air bag produces excessive internal pressure, and there's a risk some of metal shards coming through. That could cause injury."
The recall heightens safety scrutiny of Japan's largest automakers. Honda's chief competitor, Toyota Motor Corp., is working to reassure its customers after recalling about 8 million vehicles worldwide to fix problems linked to unintended acceleration.
The air bags were made by Takata Corp., Honda said.
Mendel said some vehicles in Canada and other markets would also be affected by the action, without elaborating. The company plans to give details of a domestic recall today, company spokeswoman Natsuno Asanuma said by phone.
The timing of Honda's announcement has to do with when it alerted regulators in the U.S. and Japan, Mendel said.
The company's U.S. operations are based in Torrance, California. Honda fell 15 yen, or 0.49 percent, to 3,045 yen in at 9:21 a.m. in Tokyo trading.
