Honda has confirmed during an inspection with the Royal Malaysia Police that the Takata single stage (SDI) driver’s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2004 Honda City on January 1, 2018 in Selangor state. The crash resulted in the tragic death of the driver. No official cause of death has been determined.
The vehicle involved in this crash was included in a Malaysian Product Recall announced on May 21, 2015, requiring replacement of the SDI inflator of the Takata driver’s front airbag. Several notification letters related to the recall were sent out to the then owners of the vehicle based on the information in the company’s database, yet the letters were not sent to the current owner due to the change of ownership. Records indicate that the recall replacement was never completed.
The vehicle involved in this crash has also been included in the Takata passenger’s front airbag inflator recall issued on the same day, May 21, 2015. Honda has confirmed that the passenger airbag inflator did not rupture while it deployed and functioned in a proper manner in this crash.
Honda Malaysia has enforced its notification activities on Takata front airbag inflator recalls via press releases, advertisements, inclusion in roadshows, personal calls and SMS, as well as direct mails, to keep customers informed and urge affected customers to do the replacements.
As at January 25, 2018, the company has completed more than 221,000 units of Takata driver front airbag inflator which translates to 84% completion ratio. The total number of Takata driver and passenger front airbag inflator replacements completed is at more than 427,000 units or 76% completion ratio.
