Honda has recalled almost 100,000 vehicles in the United States due to airbags that could deploy unintentionally, which could lead to an injury in the event of a crash. Modern airbags are designed to deploy only in certain situations, based on the size of the person in the front seat, so unintentional deployment could do more harm than good. Several Honda and Acura models are affected by this issue, which has already led to over 200 warranty claims. Here’s everything you need to know.
What’s Wrong With Honda’s Airbags?
Honda
The recall notice on the NHTSA’s website states that the front passenger frontal and knee airbags could deploy even if a child, infant in a child seat, or a person “smaller than AF5” is occupying the front seat. The “AF5” designation is for a particularly small female. In these cases, airbag deployment should be suppressed as these more vulnerable occupants are more likely to be injured.
“The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the airbags to deploy unintentionally during a crash,” says the recall notice.
Honda
The reason given for the fault is an unusual one. A natural disaster at the manufacturing plant of a tier-2 supplier resulted in a tier-1 supplier changing the base material in the circuit board of the seat weight sensor. This could put extra strain on the printed circuit board, leading to a capacitor cracking and an internal short circuit.
The following models and model years are affected:
- 2018-2021 and 2023 Acura TLX
- 2019-2024 Acura RDX
- 2017-2020 and 2022-2026 Acura MDX
- 2017-2021, 2023, and 2025 Honda Ridgeline
- 2017-2022 Honda Pilot
- 2019-2021 Honda Passport
- 2018-2026 Honda Odyssey
- 2019-2022 Honda Insight
- 2019-2021 Honda HR-V
- 2018-2020 Honda Fit
- 2020-2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid
- 2017-2022 Honda CR-V
- 2017-2018 and 2021 Honda Civic Type R
- 2017-2021 Honda Civic Hatchback
- 2016-2020 Honda Civic Coupe
- 2016-2022 Honda Civic
- 2017-2022 Honda Accord Hybrid
- 2016-2022 Honda Accord
A total of 98,892 Honda and Acura models are affected by this recall.
What Owners Should Do Now
Honda
Honda will contact owners of the relevant models via mail by July 6, 2026. They’ll have to take their vehicle to an authorized Honda or Acura dealer to replace the seat weight sensor with a non-defective part. Owners should watch out for an SRS warning light that may illuminate or a passenger airbag indicator that stays off. It’s also recommended that children, smaller adults, or infants in child seats be seated at the back, as a further precaution.
Honda’s customer service number is 1-888-234-2138, which can be called for more information. Starting on May 29, Vehicle Identification Numbers of affected models will become searchable on the NHTSA’s website, which is how owners can confirm if their model is included in the recall.
This recall is an expansion of a February 2024 recall for exactly the same issue. In that initial recall, over 750,000 Honda and Acura models were recalled, so the total is now close to 850,000 vehicles. It’s also not the first airbag-related recall of 2026 for Honda, as 440,000 Odyssey minivans were found to have side airbags that could suddenly deploy due to harsh road impacts.
While airbags have saved thousands of lives, they can be extremely dangerous if they aren’t operating as intended.
Related: 440,000 Honda Odysseys Recalled as Potholes Could Trigger Airbags
