U.S. Says 313,000 Honda Vehicles Have High-Risk Takata Air Bags

(RTTNews) - The U.S.' the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advised owners of 313,000 recalled Honda and Acura vehicles to replace their Takata Corp.-made air bags immediately after testing showed there's as high as a 50 percent chance of rupture in a crash.

These vehicles, from the 2001 to 2003 model years, have a manufacturing defect that greatly increases the risk of rupture, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. Eight of the 10 U.S. deaths caused by Takata air bags -- where the inflator breaks apart and sprays metal and plastic shards at vehicle occupants -- occurred in these models, the regulator said. The high-risk models are part of about 1.1 million vehicles Honda recalled from 2008 to 2011.

"With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge."

The higher-risk inflators are in certain 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles: 2001-2002 Honda Civic; 2001-2002 Honda Accord; 2002-2003 Acura TL; 2002 Honda CR-V; 2002 Honda Odyssey; 2003 Acura CL; 2003 Honda Pilot.

The vehicles in question were recalled between 2008 and 2011. Honda has reported that more than 70 percent of this higher-risk population of vehicles has already been repaired, but about 313,000 vehicles with this very dangerous defect remain unrepaired. The risk posed by the airbag inflators in these vehicles is grave, and it is critical they be repaired now to avoid more deaths and serious injuries.