Honda recalls more than 748,000 vehicles for faulty airbag

Honda announced Friday it’s recalling more than 748,843 Pilot and Odyssey vehicles to correct a problem with the driver’s-side airbag.

The automaker says some of the vehicles may be missing a rivet that holds the airbag’s plastic cover in place when it deploys. This could lead to the airbag inflating improperly and could cause the plastic cover to come loose and strike the driver or passengers.

The recall affects 276,153 Odyssey minivans made from 2011 to 2013 and 472,690 Pilot SUVs made from 2009 to 2013.

Owners affected will be notified by mail in February, according to Honda spokesman Chris Martin. The Odyssey and Pilots will be inspected by the dealer, and any vehicles found to be missing the rivets will have the entire airbag module replaced, Martin said.

The replacement process could take at least two days, as Honda dealers would have to order each new airbag individually.

Martin said there have been no incidents or injuries related to this recall. The problem came to Honda’s attention when an employee on the factory floor noticed the missing rivet, Martin said. The automaker then initiated a voluntary inspection.

This is the second large recall Honda has done in the last month. In December, the company recalled more than 800,000 Odyssey and Pilot models made in 2003 and 2004. The issue was a faulty ignition lock that led to several reports of vehicles rolling away and injuring owners.

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