Honda recalls another 438,000 cars for airbag risk
 |
By Chang-Ran Kim and Soyoung Kim
TOKYO/DETROIT (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said it would recall another 438,000 cars globally to replace an airbag deflator that could rupture and send shards towards the driver in an accident.
The move follows a separate recall of 646,000 cars less than two weeks ago for a faulty window switch that engulfed a Jazz subcompact in flames in South Africa, killing a child.
Japan's No.2 automaker had previously filed recalls for the airbag problem on two separate occasions, in November 2008 and June 2009, covering a total 510,000 vehicles.
Ongoing investigation had determined the defect was caused by insufficient stamping pressure during the production of the inflator propellant and not by excessive moisture intake by the propellant as previously believed, Honda said.
The airbags are made by the U.S. unit of Japan's Takata Corp, a Honda spokesman said. A Takata spokesman said the company was not aware of any defect in airbags it supplies to other automakers.
The expanded recall is concentrated in the United States, where nearly 379,000 cars are subject to the recall. All cars to be recalled globally are made at Honda's U.S. and Canadian plants. The latest recall applies to 2001 and 2002 model-year Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot and 2002 Acura TL and CL vehicles in the United States.
The Honda spokesman said the recall would cost the company about 24 million yen ($267,000) in Japan, or about $67 a car. He declined to disclose a global estimate, but based on the per-unit cost in Japan, the global tally would come to about $30 million.
The airbag defect has been linked to one fatality and 11 injuries in the United States. There have been no reports of accidents elsewhere, Honda said.
--
Management lies in dropping the last alphabet: manage – men. still better, drop one more alphabet: manage – me.
Samir Kumar Shah.
9830405060
