There’s a new airbag-related recall in the U.S. government’s system, but it isn’t a one—which , despite . This new recall, instead, is for the 2019 Honda CR-V, which could potentially pop an airbag open on its driver at any moment.
You’re just driving along in your new Honda crossover-SUV thing—it’s definitely one of the two—which you didn’t intend to buy as a statement, but, unbeknownst to you, actually lets everyone around know you’ve accepted ride height and blending in with every other car as your new standard.
All you can think about is how much of a hurry you’re in to return home after spending too much money on a new outfit for your cat, and how you’re going to take 112 photos of them for Instagram. (They won’t turn out as you’re hoping, because all your cat will do is give a death glare in response to the new tutu.)
Then, out of no where, there’s a loud noise. Someone, somehow—God, maybe?—has just smacked you in the face with a pillow. Perhaps the cat outfit wasn’t part of His plan, you think.
But, no, it was just your airbag deploying at a bad time (though generally people facing an airbag deployment aren’t having a good time, are they?), which is why Honda’s recalling 118,598 CR-Vs from the 2019 model year for the issue.
The problem, according to recent filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, includes both the potential for airbags in the steering wheels to randomly deploy and the potential for them to be disabled altogether. An investigation into the problem began in January and found this, via the recall documents:
The metal core of the steering wheel assembled on affected vehicles may contain burrs. These burrs can damage the cable reel sub-harness and cause a short-circuit, potentially resulting in inoperative steering wheel-mounted control buttons (including the horn), illumination of the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) warning indicator, and/or an uncommanded deployment of the driver’s airbag. [...]
If the vehicle is involved in a crash, the SRS may not function as intended, increasing the risk of injury. An uncommanded deployment of the driver’s airbag also increases the risk of crash and injury.
As of earlier in May, Honda’s received 41 warranty claims, 20 field reports, three reports of injuries and no reports of crashes resulting from the problem. No fatalities were mentioned in , nor were details on the extent of the injuries.
The recall documents say dealer notification was scheduled for Wednesday, and that the plan is to notify owners around July 8. Dealers, as usual, will do the fix free of charge when the vehicles are brought in.
But even if you’re not a CR-V owner, it’s always a good time to whether your car has an outstanding recall on it as well. Your cat won’t thank you for it because they want payback for the tutu, but at least you won’t catastrophically harm yourself on the way home to feed them.