'Do Not Drive': Deadly Airbags Prompt Recall On 2 Of NJ's Most Popular Vehicles

NEW JERSEY — Honda upgraded a recall Friday on several of its vehicles, issuing a "Do Not Drive" warning on several cars with deadly, defective airbags, including older models of two of the most popular vehicles in New Jersey.

The warning pertains to certain 2001-03 Acura and Honda vehicles with Takata airbags. The airbags prompted the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, going back to 2013, because of a malfunction that makes them explode when deployed, ejecting metal fragments toward the driver's face.

"If you own one of these vehicles and still have an open Takata air bag recall, do not drive it until this urgent, lifesaving recall has been completed," the warning says.

The warning impacts vehicles with unrepaired Takata Alpha driver-side airbag inflations, which includes the following models:

• 2001-2002 Honda Accord
• 2001-2002 Honda Civic
• 2002 Honda CR-V
• 2002 Honda Odyssey
• 2003 Honda Pilot
• 2002-2003 Acura 3.2 TL
• 2003 Acura 3.2CL

The CR-V and Civic were New Jersey's top-selling vehicles in 2021, according to Edmunds.

Longterm exposure to high heat and humidity can cause the airbags to explode when deployed and have caused injuries and deaths, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The airbags have a 50 percent failure rate. If the inflators rupture, the metal fragments ejected toward the driver's face could kill or severely injure them.

"If you have a vehicle with a recalled Takata Alpha air bag, you must get it repaired now — for free," said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson. "These inflators are two decades old now, and they pose a 50 percent chance of rupturing in even a minor crash."

Approximately 8,200 vehicles with the airbag remain on the road, according to federal transit officials.

Replacement parts are available for free. The NHTSA urges drivers to immediately check whether their vehicle has an open Takata airbag recall. If it does, owners must contact their dealership or Acura/Honda customer service for repairs as soon as possible. Free loaner and rental vehicles are available if needed.

Check if your vehicle is part of an active recall by entering its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the NHTSA's lookup took.

Find out more about the Takata recall.

Takata, a former Japanese auto-parts company, began making airbags in 1988 and held 20 percent of the market as of 2014. In 2013, several automakers began large vehicle recalls because of safety concerns about Takata's airbags. Honda stated in 2015 that it knew of 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries linked to them.

The NHTSA ordered Takata in 2014 to initiate a nationwide airbag recall — an action that came as 10 U.S. automakers recalled vehicles with potentially faulty airbags made by Takata.

In January 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice charged three Takata executives, alleging that they fabricated test data to mask the airbag defect. The corporation agreed to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing and pay $1 billion, with 16 deaths linked to the airbags at the time.

Takata filed for bankruptcy the following June. Key Safety Systems acquired the company in 2018.