Honda expands airbag recall nationally

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Honda on Wednesday expanded a recall of faulty air ags to all 50 states under pressure from federal regulators.

The car maker initially issued the recall along with Mazda and Nissan in June.

The problem was with airbags manufactured by Japanese supplier Takata Corp. The airbags can rupture into fragments and injure passengers.

Only vehicles in high-humidity areas, such as the California Gulf Coast and Hawaii, were initially included in the recall. Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month called on Honda to expand the recall to all states after an airbag incident was reported in North Carolina, a state not within the recall area.

Rick Schostek, an executive vice president with Honda North America, on Wednesday told the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade that the car maker would expand the recall to all 50 states.

"Airbags save thousands of lives each year. But we recognize that even one customer who is injured or loses their life when an airbag does not perform as intended, is one too many, and is completely unacceptable," Schostek said.

He said the expansion would likely cause a parts shortage despite Takata's "efforts to increase the supply of [airbag] inflators."

"To further increase the parts supply, we have been in discussions with Takata and two other suppliers, Autoliv and Daicel, about expanding the production of replacement inflators. These talks have been encouraging and we believe will ultimately reduce the duration of any shortage," Schostek added.

Additionally, Honda announced plans to participate in a joint-industry research effort to share information and test equipment.

The Honda vehicles involved in the airbag recall includes the popular Civic and Accord models.