Reuters reports Honda announced that the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have determined that an incident in January that caused the death of a person in a 2002 Honda Accord was caused by a ruptured Takata airbag. The death marks the 19th death in the US related to the defective air bags and the 16th involving a Honda vehicle. About 67 million vehicles have been recalled in the US due to the inflators. The vehicle had been initially recalled in 2011, and Honda “said it made more than 100 attempts to reach owners of this vehicle including mailed notices, phone calls, emails, and in-person canvassing visits.” According to NHTSA, 50 million of the 67 million recalled vehicles have been fixed, and the agency said it is “paramount” that automakers “maximize the tools they have developed over the last five years, and identify potential new tools and opportunities for increasing repair rates.”
Additional coverage included the AP, NPR, Consumer Reports, and Car and Driver.
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
