My Honda CRV --- replaced by a Kia Sonata rental

My Honda CRV --- replaced by a Kia Sonata rental

The phrase on the letter from Honda was in bold print and quite jarring. My car, my beautiful little 2011 mint condition CRV whose odometer just turned 30K could kill me. In all my years on the planet, it was the most blood curdling letter I have ever received from a corporation... surpassing even those few 'pink slips' I received in my youth. While no where near as emotionally gut renching as the 'We regret to inform you' letters provided to families of friends killed in military service, the Honda letter I received feels similar to the 'Greetings' letters sent out by the Vietnam era draft boards notifying people that there lives would be interruped by a period of military conscription.

But I like my Honda CRV.... but it could kill me....

My CRV is tied up in the Takata Airbag Recall. Takata, a Japanese company, is a major supplier of airbag inflators to the automotive industry. Over 32 Million airbag inflators are currently involved spread out across most automotive brands. Possibly 280 million Takata air bag inflators are at risk according to Bloomberg news. Worldwide there have been 11 deaths associated with the inflators, which, if the deflators are defective and the bag triggers, spread shrapnel through the passenger compartment. 10 deaths have occurred in the US. 10 of the 11 deaths worldwide have been in Honda cars. Car and Driver has a running blog covering everything you need to know about this fiasco as it happens.

Honda recall letter on Takata airbag recall.

But I like my Honda CRV.... but it could kill me....

At least as it applies to my CRV, American Honda Motor Co, Inc, the official name of Honda in the United States, has addressed the matter forthrightly. While my CRV probably will not be repaired until sometime this summer, Honda has arranged, at no charge to me, a rental car to use for the duration. Yesterday I picked up a relatively brand new (<10K miles) loaded 2016 Hundai Sonata. Why Honda did not make sure I was provided with a Honda as my rental car is a bit puzzling to my friends and I. But so goes the thinking in corporate America (or Japan) sometimes.

From everything I have read about this problem, it is serious. While there is a chain of relatively low probability events that must take place for the Takata airbag defect to expose itself...for instance the car most likely is involved in an accident or other mishap which causes the bags to be inflate, there is a finite probability much greater than zero that it could occur. From NHSTA data from 2013, the odds that any individual driver would be in an accident in a year are roughly 2.7%. Now not all accidents result in airbag inflation, but the odds are high enough that if you have an impacted vehicle, you should pay attention.

To determine if you vehicle is currently impacted by the Takata Airbag Recall, or any other recall, you can check out safercars.gov for recall details.