2001 Honda Accord recalls and problems

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been n…

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity co…

In a Consent Order executed on December 29, 2014, American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) admitted that it violated the Safety Act by failing to report certain death and injury incidents that were required to be reported to NHTSA under 49 C.F.R. ? 579.21(b), and by failing to report certain customer satisfaction campaigns, special warranty extensions, and warranty claims that involved goodwill, third-party vehicle service contracts, or Honda-certified, pre-owned vehicles, as required by 49 C.F.R. ? 579.21(c).As part of the Consent Order, NHTSA assessed a total civil penalty of $70 million against Honda for its violations of the TREAD Act and associated regulations. Honda timely paid the civil penalty in full on January 20, 2015. Honda also agreed to develop written procedures for comprehensive early warning reporting in compliance with 49 C.F.R. Part 579, Subpart C; to train appropriate personnel on its early warning reporting requirements and written procedures; and to complete two third-party audits of its TREAD Act reporting.NHTSA opened this audit query (AQ) investigation in order to investigate the extent and scope of Honda's failure to report early warning information pursuant to the TREAD Act, as well as the reason(s) for such failures and the steps being taken by Honda to assure full compliance with TREAD reporting requirements.Based on the Consent Order, Honda's admissions that it violated the law, and the completion of its performance obligations, this audit query, AQ14-00…

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolu…

This RQ investigation was opened to collect and analyze additional information to better evaluate the scope and timeliness of Honda's two safety recalls addressing rupturing of the driver's side air bag inflators (08V-593 and 09V-259).In an earlier response to RMD's request for information, Honda indicated that the second recall (09V-259), essentially an expansion of the first (08V-593), was necessary since later information informed that the source of the defect was different than originally postulated, and so the scope of the vehicles affected changed. Honda indicated that it had relied on its supplier of the air bag inflators, Takata, Inc. (Takata), in studying the possible sources of the inflator ruptures and identifying the recall populations.Accordingly, RMD issued a request forinformation to Takata on November 20, 2009, and Takata provided a partial response on December 23, 2009.Takata then provided its complete response on February 19, 2010.Takata informed ODI that, after analysis of several ruptured inflators, Takata and Honda initially attributed the defect to handling of the propellant during inflator assembly that could have yielded increased moisture levels that, when coupled with thermal cycling in automobiles over time, could lead to reduced propellant density and overly aggressive combustion during air bag deployment.However, it discovered upon review of inflators returned from the 08V-593 recall campaign, some of which fell outside the manufacturing range whe…

THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE DESIGNED WITH AN OCCUPANT POSITION DETECTION SYSTEM (OPDS) FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT TO SUPPRESS THE SIDE AIRBAG IN THE EVENT OF AN OUT-OF-POSITION OCCUPANT.ON SOME VEHICLES, THE OPDS UNIT AND SENSOR GRID MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT AND/OR TO SPORADIC ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE ILLUMINATION OF THE SRS READINESS INDICATOR.IN THIS CONDITION, OPDS SUPPRESSION WILL NOT FUNCTION, BUT THE SIDE AIRBAG WILL STILL DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A SIDE CRASH. HONDA ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN IN APRIL 2004 TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM PERSISTS EVEN AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD EXPIRES.AS A RESULT, SOME OWNERS MAY NOT BE OBTAINING THE NECESSARY REMEDIAL SERVICE WORK.CONTINUED ILLUMINATION OF THE SRS INDICATOR CAN MASK THE DETECTION OF OTHER AIRBAG COMPONENT FAULTS IF THEY OCCUR. IN MARCH 2006, HONDA ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN (06-009) TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON SRS ILLUMINATION AND OPDS ISSUES TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES (WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST).HONDA WILL SEND NOTIFICATION LETTERS TO OWNERS OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND WILL PROVIDE A NO COST REPLACEMENT OF THE OPDS UNIT AS NEEDED.IN ADDITION, OTHER MY 1999-04 HONDA AND ACURA VEHICLES ARE ALSO COVERED BY THE BULLETIN.THIS ACTION TAKEN BY THE MANUFACTURER IS SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FUR…

THE ABOVE FAILURE REPORT COUNTS ARE FOR MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999 - 2001 HONDA ACCORD MODELS THAT WERE NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF A RELATED HONDA RECALL ACTION (NHTSA 03V423); THESE VEHICLES WERE INVESTIGATED BY ODI UNDER DEFECT PETITION (DP) 04-006.COMPLAINT INFORMATION FOR OTHER MODELS AND MODEL YEARS WAS NOT OBTAINED BY ODI.THE NOTED POPULATION INDICATES THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES (INCLUDING THE MY 2002 ACCORD PLUS THE PRELUDE AND TL MODELS) THAT ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HONDA?S NEW RECALL (NHTSA 05V-025, HONDA P68, P69); 402,525 OF THESE WERE INVESTIGATED IN DP04-006.SEEPART 573 DOCUMENTS RELATED TO 05V-025 FOR FURTHER DETAIL ON OTHER MODELS AND MYS.ODI NOTES THAT, ACCORDING TO HONDA?S ANALYSIS, INTERLOCK SYSTEM WARRANTY RATES FOR THE TL AND PRELUDE MODELS INVOLVED IN 05V-025 ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF THE ACCORD MODELS.INFORMATION PROVIDED BY HONDA DURING DP04-006 INDICATES THAT CERTAIN VEHICLES CONTAINING INTERLOCK SYSTEMS MADE BY ITS JAPANESE LOCK MANUFACTURING FACILITY MAY CONTAIN DEFECTIVE INTERNAL COMPONENTS.IN COMBINATION WITH CERTAIN WEAR AND USAGE FACTORS, THIS MAY LEAD TO A CONDITION THAT PREVENTS THE SYSTEM FROM BLOCKING REMOVAL OF THE IGNITION KEY WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NOT IN PARK.IF THE DRIVER LEAVES THE TRANSMISSION IN A NON-PARK POSITION AND FAILS TO SET THE HAND BRAKE WHEN PARKING, THE VEHICLE MAY ROLL AWAY AND CRASH.INTERLOCK SYSTEMS MANUFACTURED BY HONDA?S U.S. LOCK MANUFACTURER DO NOT APPEAR TO CONTAIN THIS DEFECT AND ARE THEREFORE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ACTION. IN A…

THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) PRODUCED AN INFORMATION REQUEST (IR) LETTER DATED OCTOBER 14, 2004 WHICH DEFINED THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AS MODEL YEAR 1999 - 2001 HONDA ACCORD VEHICLES WHICH WERE NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF PRIOR RECALL ACTION (03V423) HONDA CONDUCTED TO RESOLVE AN INTERLOCK DEFECT.HONDA SUBMITTED RESPONSES ON NOVEMBER 29 AND DECEMBER 21, 2004.THE FAILURE REPORTS NOTED ABOVE HAVE BEEN DETERMINED FROM ODI'S ANALYSIS OF NHTSA'S COMPLAINT DATABASE AND AN INITIAL ANALYSIS OF THE MANUFACTURER'S IR RESPONSE DATA (FURTHER ANALYSIS REQUIRED).SOME OF THE HONDA REPORTS ARE DUPLICATIVE OF ODI.TAKING INTO ACCOUNT A SHORTER SERVICE LIFE, THE FAILURE INCIDENCE OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES IS SIMILAR TO THAT DETERMINED WHEN ODI CONDUCTED PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE) 03-013, WHICH INVOLVED INTERLOCK FAILURES ON OLDER ACCORDS SUBSEQUENTLY RECALLED UNDER THE 03V423 ACTION.ACCORDINGLY, THE PETITON IS GRANTED AND ODI HAS OPENED PE05-002 TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE MATTER.

SIX OF THE ODI COMPLAINTS ARE DUPLICATIVE OF HONDA COMPLAINTS, AS WELL AS FOUR OF THE CRASHES.THE ONE INJURY OCCURRED WHEN A ROLLAWAY VEHICLE STRUCK THE EXITING OPERATOR WHO HAD INADVERTENTLY PARKED THE VEHICLE IN AN UNSECURED STATE (NOT IN PARK, BRAKE NOT ENGAGED).HONDA IDENTIFIED THE WARRANTY CLAIMS FROM COMPLAINT DESCRIPTIONS THAT CONTENDED THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM FAILED TO OPERATE PROPERLY.HONDA PRESENTED THE RESULTS OF THEIR INVESTIGATION INTO INTERLOCK SYSTEM FAILURES AT AN OCTOBER 16, 2003 MEETING WITH ODI IN WHICH HONDA IDENTIFIED A SUPPLIER AND AN ENGINEERING SPECIFICATION CHANGE FOR THE IGNITION CYLINDER BODY (CB), A SUBCOMPONENT OF THE IGNITION LOCK ASSEMBLY.RESULTS FROM HONDA?S ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN THE PRODUCTION DATE RANGE OF VEHICLES THAT EXPERIENCED HIGHER INTERLOCK WARRANTY CLAIM RATES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION DATES OF THE CHANGES.AN ENGINEERING SPECIFICATION FOR A SURFACE TREATMENT PROCESS FOR THE CB WAS ELIMINATED AT THE BEGINNING OF MY 1998.THE SUPPLIER OF THE CB WAS CHANGED IN FEBRUARY 1999.VEHICLES BUILT WITHIN THIS TIME PERIOD CONTAIN A CB WITH POOR SURFACE HARDNESS THAT CAN WEAR PREMATURELY.AS THE WEAR PROGRESSES, THE INTERLOCK SYSTEM BECOMES INCAPABLE OF PREVENTING KEY REMOVAL WHEN THE SHIFTER IS IN A NON-PARK POSITION.INTERLOCK FAILURE INCREASES THE RISK OF A VEHICLE ROLLAWAY AND SUBSEQUENT CRASH OR INJURY WHEN VEHICLES ARE PARKED UNSECURED.HONDA ACCORD VEHICLES SUBJECT TO THIS CHANGE INCLUDE MY 1998 AND MY 1999 THROUGH FEBRUA…

THIS PE WAS OPENED BASED ON 10 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS IN THE ODI DATABASE ALLEGING THAT THE POWER ASSISTED SEATS WERE FAILING IN CERTAIN 1998-2002 HONDA ACCORD VEHICLES.FAILURES ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE 1998-99 MODEL YEAR VEHICLES.THE BRACKET THAT ATTACHES THE SEAT BOTTOM TO THE SEAT BASE IS FRACTURING DUE TO: 1-THE WELD CONDITION OF BRACKET, 2-THE DRIVERS WEIGHT, AND 3-THE IMPACT ON THE SEAT WHEN THE DRIVER ENTERS THE VEHICLE AND SITS DOWN.OVER TIME THE BRACKET THAT ATTACHES THE SEAT MAY FAIL AT THE LEFT FRONT CORNER OF THE SEAT BOTTOM.THE OTHER 3 POINTS OF ATTACHMENT OF THE SEAT BOTTOM TO THE SEAT BASE STAY ATTACHED AND THE SEAT MOVEMENT IS LIMITED.THE ATTACHMENT OF THE SEAT BOTTOM TO THE SEAT BACK DOES NOT FAIL.THE CONDITION IS MOST APPARENT DURING RAPID ACCELERATION CAUSING THE SEAT TO TILT REARWARD.ALTHOUGH A FEW COMPLAINTS REPORT CONCERN OVER LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, NO LOSS OF CONTROL INCIDENTS, CRASHES OR INJURIES ARE REPORTED.IN RESPONSE TO CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS, HONDA WILL PROVIDE OWNERS OF 1998 AND SOME 1999 ACCORDS A NO-COST REINFORCEMENT FOR THE SEAT AT THE LEFT FRONT CORNER.A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.