Airbag problem forces recall of 374,000 Honda, Acura vehicles

Honda will recall 374,000 Odyssey minivans and Acura MDX sport-utilities in the U.S. to fix a problem that can cause the airbags to deploy without warning.

The airbag system in such vehicles can trigger due to electrical interference, the company said. To prevent the malfunction, Honda plans to install an electrical noise filter adjacent to the system’s control unit.

Honda said it has logged 23 cases of inadvertent airbag deployment in such vehicles in the U.S. and has seen an increasing number of complaints in recent months.

The vehicles contain a TRW computer chip similar to those used in airbag system control units installed in Jeep and Toyota vehicles that have been recalled for the same problem.

When the problem cropped up in Jeeps, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent out a warning to other manufacturers, telling them to watch for inadvertent airbag deployments in any of their cars that used the same or similar computer chips.

No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue, the company said.

The recall includes 318,000 Odysseys from the 2003-2004 model years and 56,000 MDXs from the 2003 model year.

Honda said it want owners of all affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer to get the repair as soon as they receive notification of the recall, which is to be mailed out in late October.

ALSO:

Dealer group claims Tesla violates California ad laws

Datsun brand makes comeback with tiny Go hatchback

Going electric? Hybrid and electric cars set sales records in August

Follow Jerry Hirsch on Twitter (@LATimesJerry), Facebook and Google+.