Airbags Stolen From 20 Hondas Parked In Arlington Sunday

ARLINGTON, VA — Thieves broke out windows to steal airbags in about 20 Hondas parked on Arlington streets early Sunday, police said, continuing a long-running problem targeting the brand.

About 12:44 a.m. on May 21, police were dispatched to the 1300 block of North Fort Myer Drive on a report of vehicle tampering. A resident told officers she saw three men in their 20s breaking into vehicles. When she yelled out to them, they fled in a gray sedan, police said.

About 20 parked vehicles in the Radnor/Fort Myer Heights, Rosslyn and Colonial Village neighborhoods had a window shattered and an airbag stolen, investigators said.

The thefts continue a local and nationwide trend of thieves breaking into vehicles, many of which are Hondas, and stealing their airbags. Dozens of Honda air bag thefts were reported monthly in 2022 in Arlington.

The thieves could be stealing newer airbags from Hondas and then selling them to questionable repair shops or unsuspecting online customers at a price far below the $2,000 cost of replacing them, USA Today reported.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau says thieves resell the airbags online and to dishonest repair shops for $50 to $200 each. Legitimate car dealers and repair shops charge $1,000 for new air bags. The bureau says the insurance industry estimates that about 50,000 air bags are stolen each year, for an annual loss of more than $50 million.

Disreputable mechanics use stolen, previously deployed or salvaged airbags to replace a customer’s deployed airbag. Shops pay buy the used airbags and then bill insurance companies for the full price of a new one.

Anyone with information about the airbag thefts is asked to contact the Police Department's Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us, or anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).