A cracked seat weight sensor can cause front passenger airbags to deploy on children or small adults who should be protected from deployment
Brandon Bell / Getty Images
Honda $HMC is recalling 98,892 vehicles in the United States after a defect in the front passenger seat weight sensor was found to cause airbags to deploy on occupants for whom deployment should be suppressed, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
When the sensor fails in this way, it can cause the vehicle to read the front passenger seat as occupied by an adult, resulting in deployment of the frontal and knee airbags during a crash even for occupants — including children, infants in child seats, or particularly small adults — who are supposed to be protected from that deployment. Mailed notices will go out to affected owners no later than July 6, 2026, directing them to bring their vehicles in so that dealers can swap out the faulty sensor free of charge, the NHTSA said.
The defect traces to a supply chain disruption. The root cause traces to a materials substitution made after a natural disaster disrupted production at a tier-2 supplier's facility, prompting a tier-1 supplier to switch to a different base material for the sensor's circuit board. The substituted material is less resilient under stress, and over time, a capacitor on the board can fracture, producing an internal short circuit, according to Autoblog. Honda said more than 200 warranty claims related to the issue have already been filed.
The recall covers a wide range of Honda and Acura models spanning multiple model years, including the Accord, Civic, CR-V, HR-V, Fit, Insight, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot, Ridgeline, and the Acura MDX, RDX, and TLX. The NHTSA's website will allow VIN lookups for this recall starting May 29, giving owners a way to verify whether their vehicle is covered. Honda's customer service line is 1-888-234-2138. Until the repair is completed, Honda recommends that children, smaller adults, and infants in child seats ride in the rear of the vehicle.
The current action is not the first time Honda has addressed this sensor defect: a February 2024 recall brought in more than 750,000 vehicles for the same underlying fault, meaning the cumulative count across both campaigns now approaches 850,000, according to Autoblog.
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