Most public attention regarding automakers recently has focused on the recall problems facing Toyota, but Toyota is certainly not the only automaker facing such troubles. Honda's auto recall woes are burgeoning; earlier this month; its recall encompassing 443,000 vehicles was expanded to include 378,000 additional vehicles. This recall is expected to cost Honda $2.2 to $3.3 million.
In the United States, the latest round of Honda recall notices apply to 2001 and 2002 models of the Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot and 2002 Acura TL and CL vehicles.
What may prove more troubling for Honda than the total number of cars needing repair is the seriousness of the potential defect with the airbags in the vehicles. On deployment, excessive pressure can shoot metal shards through the airbag fabric, potentially injuring vehicle occupants. The Wall St. Journal reported that one person has died and 11 were injured in car accidents involving defective Honda airbags.
The irony of a device intended to increase occupant safety harming occupants who might otherwise escape injury in a collision is not one likely to set well with Honda owners.
Honda has distanced itself from responsibility for the defect underlying its airbag recalls, placing the blame on a particular parts manufacturer. Yoichi Hojo, Honda's chief financial officer, told Reuters that the U.S. unit of Japan's Takata Corp. deviated from the design approved by Honda when manufacturing the airbags. Honda is seeking financial compensation from Takata.
Because of its perceived foot-dragging in ordering recalls, Toyota is currently the subject of intense Congressional scrutiny. With Honda having issued its first round of recall notices in November 2008, its second round in July and its third in February, it too may find itself the subject of investigation.
The cost of any auto recall decreases with time; when more vehicles in the model class are retired from the road, the automaker has fewer cars to recall. As a result, delaying a recall may provide cost-savings for manufacturers.
If a manufacturer knows of defects and delays reasonable action to correct them, however, any savings could be offset by punitive damage awards rendered in product liability lawsuits. Unlike compensatory damages that compensate injury victims for harm suffered, punitive damages are awarded to punish wrongdoers and deter future similar misconduct.
In the United States, the latest round of Honda recall notices apply to 2001 and 2002 models of the Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot and 2002 Acura TL and CL vehicles.
What may prove more troubling for Honda than the total number of cars needing repair is the seriousness of the potential defect with the airbags in the vehicles. On deployment, excessive pressure can shoot metal shards through the airbag fabric, potentially injuring vehicle occupants. The Wall St. Journal reported that one person has died and 11 were injured in car accidents involving defective Honda airbags.
The irony of a device intended to increase occupant safety harming occupants who might otherwise escape injury in a collision is not one likely to set well with Honda owners.
Honda has distanced itself from responsibility for the defect underlying its airbag recalls, placing the blame on a particular parts manufacturer. Yoichi Hojo, Honda's chief financial officer, told Reuters that the U.S. unit of Japan's Takata Corp. deviated from the design approved by Honda when manufacturing the airbags. Honda is seeking financial compensation from Takata.
Because of its perceived foot-dragging in ordering recalls, Toyota is currently the subject of intense Congressional scrutiny. With Honda having issued its first round of recall notices in November 2008, its second round in July and its third in February, it too may find itself the subject of investigation.
The cost of any auto recall decreases with time; when more vehicles in the model class are retired from the road, the automaker has fewer cars to recall. As a result, delaying a recall may provide cost-savings for manufacturers.
If a manufacturer knows of defects and delays reasonable action to correct them, however, any savings could be offset by punitive damage awards rendered in product liability lawsuits. Unlike compensatory damages that compensate injury victims for harm suffered, punitive damages are awarded to punish wrongdoers and deter future similar misconduct.
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