Statewide Alert Called For Honda and Acura Vehicles With Faulty Air Bags

Attorney General Tim Fox and his Office of Consumer Protection want to alert Montanans to an urgent safety issue reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Honda concerning an air bag defect in some vehicles.

Spokeswoman Anastasia Burton said the original factory recall went out several years ago, but many have not responded to the offer of free repairs of their Takata airbags by their local dealers.

"They already issued a recall back in 2008, and it continued through 2011," Burton said. "They know that about 30 percent of the vehicles are still out there, so they're reissuing this reminder."

Burton said the defective airbags have a 50 percent of rupturing when they're deployed, and they can be repaired or replaced free of charge at their local dealerships.

The vehicles in the latest recall include:

2001-2002 Honda Civic

2001-2002 Honda Accord

2002-2003 Acura TL

2002 Honda CR-V

2002 Honda Odyssey

2003 Acura CL

2003 Honda Pilot

Burton advises owners of these vehicles to visit the website safer car.gov, enter their VIN number to see if their vehicle is affected. If so, she advises owners to bring the vehicle into the authorized dealer and have the airbag repaired free of charge.