Yet Another Recall: Millions More Vehicles Called Back for Safety Problems

As baseball great Yogi Berra would say, it’s a case of déjà vu all over again. Several models of Toyota, Chrysler and Honda cars are being recalled for a second go-around to fix a problem with the airbags that in some cases have deployed inadvertently while the car is still running.

The recall includes Acura MDX, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, the Dodge Viper, the Pontiac Vibe, and Toyota’s Avalon and Corolla models manufactured from 2002 to 2004. Automakers say the issue with the faulty airbags affects a little over two million vehicles. In some cases, owners took the car in to get the airbag fixed, only to have it pop out again. As part of this weekend’s announced recall, the automakers will fully replace the electronic control unit that deploys the airbag. It was only partially replaced in the first recall. The unit in this new recall is manufactured by a company in Michigan.  

To make matters worse for some drivers, about a million Toyota and Honda cars that are part of the new recall are also in another recall related to defective airbags made by a Japanese company. Those airbags can deploy with such force that it can cause injury or death. Several incidents reported so far have included eye injuries and burns. In one case, a Houston driver died after the airbag in his 2002 Honda Accord inflated and sent a piece of metal into his neck. That driver’s family is suing the maker of the airbag. 

A faulty airbag isn’t the only defect car owners and automakers are dealing with. Last year, General Motors recalled certain models manufactured between 2003 and 2007 over defective ignition switches that would allow the key to unintentionally move or switch to the “off” position, turning off the engine and any safety features – including airbags – while the car was still running. That recall affected several million vehicles, and some deaths were reportedly linked to it. 

In one case, a judge overturned the 2004 conviction of a woman found guilty of criminally negligent homicide for causing a crash that killed her fiancée, after it was determined that the faulty switch caused the car to turn off and failed to deploy the airbags when she veered off the road and slammed into a row of trees.