Honda to recall about 300,000 Accords in US for air-bag fault

Honda Motor said it will recall 303,904 Accords in the US to fix a flaw that could lead to side-door air bags deploying even if the vehicles are not in a crash. PHOTO: HONDA

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Honda Motor said it will recall 303,904 Accords in the US to fix a flaw that could lead to side-door air bags deploying even if the vehicles are not in a crash.

Air bags in 2008 and 2009 model year Accord sedans may inadvertently deploy if the ignition is on and a door is slammed, or if there's a significant impact to the lower body of the car, Honda said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 29). The company said it's received reports of 19 injuries.

The recall, which is separate from those involving more than 20 million vehicles installed with Takata Corp-made air bags, adds to mounting quality issues for the automaker. The Takata air bags have exploded with too much force and spray metal and plastic shards at passengers, and ruptures have been linked to eight deaths in Honda cars.

Honda will upgrade software to fix the Accord air bag fault, which it said is not a hardware or supplier issue.

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