Expanded Airbag Recall Pushes Honda Into Lead for 2011 U.S. Callbacks

Honda’s recent expanded recall to fix an airbag inflator on its high-volume vehicles pushes the auto maker past Toyota in calling back the most cars and trucks for repair in the U.S. in 2011.

Year-end data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. compiled by WardsAuto reveals Honda issued 17 recalls last year affecting up to 3.9 million vehicles.

Preliminary estimates showed Toyota, which has been working for the past two years to fix accelerator-related issues on some its highest-volume vehicles, as the recall leader in 2011 with 13 campaigns affecting more than 3.5 million vehicles.

However, Honda’s expanded airbag recall to more than 1.7 million units in December pushes it past Toyota to earn the dubious title.

Honda’s callback targets ’01-’04 model-year vehicles including the Civic, Civic Hybrid, and Accord sedans; CR-V and Pilot cross/utility vehicles; Odyssey minivan; and Acura CL and TL.

According to NHTSA documents, an inflator on the driver’s-side airbag could produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture, with metal fragments possibly injuring passengers.

The airbag campaign dates back to 2008 and encompasses 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S., with some models returning a second time to fix replacement inflators.

Many of the recalled vehicles are not suspected of the defect, but Honda will bring them back anyway to verify inflator performance. The auto maker also has been recalling models sold overseas.

The airbag problem has been linked to a number of injuries and two deaths, including that of a Georgia high-school student in 2009.

The expanded recall by Honda means auto makers selling in the U.S. brought back a total of 14.7 million vehicles in 2011.

Toyota recalled the most vehicles in 2010 and 2009, as it worked to fix an issue with sticky accelerator pedals and another problem causing floor mats to trap the accelerator. Both issues were seen to cause unintended acceleration. Nearly 11.5 million Toyota and Lexus models were recalled.

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