[geotracks]

I visited the local Honda dealership and they said that Honda will start contacting customers post Oct. 26, 2015.

I also asked them what was the recall for. I was told, only for the driver's side airbag Honda was replacing a 'small part'. The passenger side airbag, no changes.

[coolvenk]

My 2008 Honda Civic seems to require both the driver and passenger side airbag inflator replacement. I saw the news of this recall in India only a couple of days ago.

I think these recalls are part of the recalls due to faulty airbag inflators from Takata, which is one of the largest OEM suppliers of airbags in the world. These recalls were in the news in the US last year and affect a number of carmakers including BMW, Ford, Toyota and Honda to name a few.

See http://blog.caranddriver.com/massive...cted-vehicles/
for a comprehensive summary.

Also, see http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/au...or-recall.html for a similar recall in the US last year.

According to the above article:

A defective inflator could explode in a crash, sending shards of its metal casing into the passenger compartment. The inflator was made by Takata Corporation, which has said the propellant inside the inflator was not properly prepared and was too powerful. Last month, Takata recommended that customers including Toyota, Ford and Chrysler recall vehicles in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, saying that high humidity appeared to make the problem more likely to happen.

In order to have this done for my Civic, I called the GM of Brigade Honda - the new Honda dealership in Yelahanka, Bangalore - to enquire if they are equipped to fix this. He had no idea that these recalls were happening and told me that Honda hasn't contacted them about it.

Have any of you used the service center of Brigade Honda? Are they good? I need to specify a preferred dealership to carry out the replacement. Brigade Honda is very close to my place, but I want this to be done properly as well.

[sumeethaldankar]

Had a word with my HASS advisor at linkway Honda and he said parts still not have reached the workshop.

[adimicra]

My car is also in the list for driver air bag inflator replacement.
The dealership doesn't have a clue yet.

If anyone gets a call from their dealership, please update here.

[nug1]

My car needs driver side airbag inflator replacement. The car is also due for servicing, and I was looking to club this fix with visit for servicing, so called up for appointment. The lady on the call at Crystal Honda Pune had no clue of the recall.

I think it will take more time before things start to move - possibly only once festive season rush is over.

[coolvenk]

A couple more recent articles in the New York Times on the Takata airbag recall saga.

The first article talks about studies that Takata and Honda secretly funded to look into this issue. Turned out that one of them pointed at ammonium nitrate, which is the explosive compound being used in the airbag inflaters. They then funded other studies that cast doubt on that claim. Anyhow, new cards still come with this same compound; presumably the replacement inflators in the recall do as well.

See
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/bu...ropellant.html


The second article talks about widening the inquiry to other airbags as well, not just front and passenger ones.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/bu...ry-widens.html

In short, I don't think we have gotten to the bottom of this problem yet.

[thatsdileep]

While other manufacturers have been busy designing and launching new cars...Honda has been slightly busy recalling the cars. 😜Just the other day they initiated another recall for upgrading CVT software. On the other hand VW has been extremely busy trying to clean up their mess.

[swamyzen]

Booked an appointment with Inspire Honda,Mysore for the replacement. My 2011 Honda City required only the driver side inflator to be changed. When I called on 22nd October the person over the phone said that there was no slot available till 28th October! On inquiring how long would it take for the replacement, he did not have any idea and said I have to talk to my SA but I have no permanent SA and the most recent one one was already gone ! Asked them if they had started replacing the units since 12th October to which the answer was negative since parts had not arrived. Ended up leaving the City with my brother at Mysore for the replacement and came to Bangalore in his Innova. IMHO, Honda could have done the recall in a much better, phased manner because if all the slots at Inspire Honda were booked, it says a lot as to how many cars are coming in for the replacement ( believe me at most times Inspire Honda has max 3-4 cars for the entire day ).

[Manoj2268]

Has anyone in the forum got their vehicle's Airbags replaced? If yes, how much time did it take? I'm babysitting my cousin's Honda City and would prefer knowing the time frame so that I can take time off work to sit beside her car.

[sumeethaldankar]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3835190


Laluks sir seem to have got his Civic's air bags replaced.

[laluks]

The Recall and Product Update

Now a more interesting thing happened. My VIN number threw up an info that I am due for a product update. The recent recall issue for airbags. I was told both my driver side and passenger side airbag inflators need replacement due to the recall with an updated component. I was requested for another 45 minutes which I promptly agreed to.

Passenger side Inflator (old one)


It is manufactured by Takata


The updated passenger side inflator part number and additional details


Driver side inflator (old one)


Driver side inflator, the other side (old one)


It is manufactured by Takata


The updated driver side inflator part number and additional details


In 45 minutes the replacements were done and the car was handed over. Pretty impressive and I liked the way they went with the PUD (product update)




Some Information

Having seen that the products were from Takata, it immediately pointed me to some news article six months before. Since I had spent atleast five years of my career for Airbags S/W development and validation with an industry giant Tier 1, I kind of keep myself updated with info from the market. Probably all these are related??

Takata boosts production plans
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0YB16H20150520

Takata will drop a troublesome airbag inflator design
http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...nflator-design

Takata Testimony
http://www.autonews.com/assets/PDF/CA9982261.PDF

Takata identifies at least 400,000 faulty airbag replacement parts
http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...lacement-parts

[crisscross]

Laluks Sir,
Did you get a call for your replacement? Or did you follow up with them? Just trying to understand when my car is likely to be called for the replacement.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by crisscross

Laluks Sir,
Did you get a call for your replacement? Or did you follow up with them? Just trying to understand when my car is likely to be called for the replacement.

No.
I went for a change of my engine mount. They offered me the PUD also at the same time. They asked additional 45 minutes and did the updates.

[crisscross]

Thanks, my car is due for Service. Maybe I should take it for servicing & get this fixed also.

[saket77]

I got the SRS inflators changed under recall yesterday.

Following the experience of Lalu Sir, I called up the HASS (Basudeb Honda) at my place and inquired about the recall & subsequent replacement of the inflators. They asked me the Chassis & engine no. and checked with their records and confirmed the job needing to be done.

So, fixed up an appointment of yesterday and coupled that with a general check up/washing and service of the car. The experience was good and the people were courteous. The tech guys handling the actual job did it professionally and the good thing was that they knew what they were doing. Will give full marks to Honda for it and also for the recall; particularly in absence of a recall policy & law in India. Feels good that they care for a car sold some 7-8 years ago.

The cost of entire replacement is about 12K. Both inflators together cost about 10K (Driver's side- about 4K and Passenger's side-about 6K) and rest is labour charges. Of course, the exercise is entirely free of cost for the customers. The entire exercise takes about an hour of time and the internal name for the recall activity is 'product update' hence the reference no. starts with 'PUD'. The old inflators were made by Takata, however, failed to notice the vendor's name in the new ones, apart from the fact that they were OEM Honda, imported from Thailand.

I advise people waiting for a call from Honda should proactively talk to their service centers and get the work done. They will surely call eventually but a little pro-activeness from our side will get the job done sooner.

Some pictures of the job being done:

The Driver's side airbag removed. The horn pad houses the airbag & the inflator.



The old inflator (driver's side) being taken out and photographed by Honda.


The new inflator being fitted.


The passenger side inflator being changed. Noticed that the new inflator is a tad thinner than the older one. Has 2 adapters to fit into the place of old.


The passenger side part dashboard being dismantled. Notice the old passenger side inflator kept on the console under the stereo.

Regards,
Saket