AAA urges drivers to check for recalls after Honda ‘Do Not Drive’ notice

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Northeast AAA is reminding drivers to check their vehicles for any recalls after Honda has issued a “Do Not Drive” warning for thousands of vehicles still on the road with unrepaired Takata Alpha air bag inflators.

“Ignoring Takata air bag recall notices can have fatal consequences,” Northeast AAA said in a news release. “Last June, a 2006 Ford Ranger owner in Florida was killed in a minor crash when an unrepaired Takata air bag inflator exploded. That vehicle was subject to a ‘Do Not Drive’ warning at the time of the crash and Ford Motor Company said that more than 100 recall notices were mailed to the owner and a representative visited the owner in person.”

In early February, Honda said that more than 8,200 Honda and Acura vehicles manufactured before 2001 and 2003 are still on the road with defective Takata airbag inflators. These airbags have a 50% chance of failure and can cause deadly injuries. Honda has replaced nearly 99% of vehicles with recalled inflators, but thousands of the following vehicles are still without repair:

• 2001-2002 Honda Accord
• 2001-2002 Honda Civic
• 2002 Honda CR-V
• 2002 Honda Odyssey
• 2003 Honda Pilot
• 2002-2003 Acura 3.2 TL
• 2003 Acura 3.2CL

If you drive one of these vehicles and have not addressed the recall alert, you are asked to get it repaired as soon as possible. Replacements will be put in free of charge. You can check to see if your vehicle has a recall by visiting NHSTA.gov/recalls.

As of January 2021, roughly 67 million inflators were under recall for risk of explosion and 19 vehicle manufacturers were affected. More than 400 people have been injured and 24 people has died from the defective inflators.

Other recalls to be aware of

AAA is urging drivers of other recalls that should be repaired right away.

Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y: 363,000 vehicles equipped with “Full Self Driving” Beta software have been recalled due to safety concerns of the software. allowing vehicles to act unsafe near intersections with turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution. Vehicles may also not respond to changes in speed limits posted.

Subaru Ascent vehicles from Model Year 2019-2022: 271,694 vehicles are being recalled for an increase risk of fire due to wiring of a heating system component.

Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks from model years 2019-2022: 1.2 million trucks are recalled for tailgates that may fail to latch properly due to misaligned tailgate strikers, causing the tailgates to open while driving.