If you are an owner of one of 35 different Honda or Acura models built between 2020 and 2022 you might want to read further, as there’s a non-zero chance that your vehicle’s airbag might explode in a crash when it’s really not supposed to, and a non-zero chance the issue might partially have been affected by global warming.
It’s recall Tuesday here at The Morning Dump because there are just so many of them. In addition to Honda’s big recall, we’ve got 300,000+ trucks from GM in need of evaluation due to a tailgate that might open while driving.
The Mazda CX-90 seems like a great new vehicle and it’s just out on the market but, uh, Mazda is already recalling it. And, finally, even VinFast is getting in on the action with its own super weird recall.
Honda Issues Yet Another Airbag Recall, This Time For Airbags Going Off When They Shouldn’t
This is not the Takata airbag recall so don’t let your eyes roll back in your head out of boredom, which, for whatever reason (probably the fact that it’s been covered to death), is now the response when we talk about the Takata airbag recall.
This recall from Honda is a whole new thing involving almost every Honda or Acura model made between 2020 and 2022, though the affected years vary based on the vehicle.
Here’s a super long, but useful graphic from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with the full list:
Are we missing anything? I can’t see any vehicles we’re missing. Given the timing, it seems like this is indeed almost every Honda and Acura vehicle sold in the United States between some point in 2020 and some point in 2022, but it’s going to be one of those recalls where the specific VIN/build date of a specific vehicle is going to matter.
Why are all these cars being recalled? Quite simply, vehicles have weight sensors in seats to determine if an airbag should or should not go off in an accident. For children or small people, the impact of an airbag can be so strong that it’s more damaging than the accident itself, depending upon the crash. This weight sensor thing is a common technology that’s been in vehicles for most of the airbag era.
The issue here is a curious one, and the cause is quite interesting:
Due to a natural disaster at the manufacturing plant of a tier-2 supplier, the tier-1 supplier temporarily changed the base material in the printed circuit board of the seat weight sensor, which was not sufficiently verified for its intended use. The alternative base material could allow additional strain to the printed circuit board that can lead to a capacitor cracking and an internal short circuit.
Quick terminology check here. A Tier 1 supplier is the person who delivers the final part/manufactured good you’re getting. Your Marc Levinson radio in your Lexus is supplied by Marc Levinson, the Tier 1 supplier. But, that radio has a microchip and many other individual parts that might be made by someone else — those are Tier 2 suppliers. All the raw materials (the silicon in one of those microchips) come from Tier 3 suppliers.
In this case, the Tier 1 supplier appears to be Aisin Electronics of Illinois, which is a subsidiary of mega Japanese supplier Aisin and the one listed on the recall notice. If that’s the case, then the company swapped a printed circuit board part because it wasn’t available from its unnamed Tier 2 supplier. This part wasn’t up to snuff, which has caused this issue.
It seems like an easy fix, and Honda/Acura will soon be contacting owners to bring their cars back in to swap the sensor back to the original part.
I’ve reached out to both Honda and Aisin Electronics to determine who that Tier 2 supplier is, and I’ll update this post when I get that info, but there’s an interesting potential twist here.
What was the natural disaster? Given the timing, there’s a decent chance the supplier was a Chinese company that was impacted by the massive and historic floods of 2020, which would explain why the part was unavailable for such a long period (there were massive floods in Japan but none that seemed to be linked to long-term supply issues).
Here’s an interesting quote from The South China Morning Post that might point us in the right direction of why those floods occurred:
The subtropical high pressure system over the western North Pacific was strong this year,” said Song Lianchun, a meteorologist with the National Climate Centre. “Its intersection with cold air has led to continuous heavy rainfall in the Yangtze River basin.”
Another reason was global warming, he said.
“We cannot say a single extreme weather event is directly caused by climate change, but seeing it over the long term, global warming has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,” Song said
Of course, the floods happened simultaneously with the worst of COVID-19 in China, which certainly didn’t help. Was COVID-19 itself a natural disaster?
I might be wrong here, and it might have been an earthquake or something else, but we know that the interconnectedness of the world means a natural disaster somewhere like China can potentially lead to an airbag improperly deploying in California because of a part assembled in Illinois.
GMC/Chevy Recall 300,000 Trucks Over Tailgates
Here’s a not-so-fun, Spy Hunter-esque recall from General Motors for certain 2020-2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks with the power-unlatching taillgate.
The power unlatching tailgate is a great feature until, as in this case, the “tailgate’s electronic gate-release switch may short circuit due to water intrusion, which can result in the tailgate inadvertently unlatching while the vehicle is in park.”
You can imagine what happens next if an owner fills up their truck with loose bowling balls and then gets on the highway. Or, as described in a FAQ from GM:
If the driver does not manually close the gate before beginning a drive, cargo in the bed of the truck may exit the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash. Until the recall is completed, owners should check that the tailgate closed and latched before driving.
Yikes.
The Mazda CX-90 Is Already Being Recalled
I’m excited to borrow the new Mazda CX-90, and jealous that Thomas got to review it before I did. Though, you know, maybe I’ll wait for the fix to its latest issue.
According to NHTSA, about 43,000 vehicles need to be recalled because the power steering might fail. Specifically:
A worm gear is incorporated in the steering gear assembly, which transmits the power assist generated by the power steering motor. The worm gear friction force may be excessive which results in increased force required to turn the steering wheel.
Cars are complicated and this is a new car/platform, so, unfortunately, things like this do happen.
VinFast Has A Very Specific Recall In Vietnam For A Very Specific Reason
Stumbling Vietnamese automaker VinFast already had to recall all of its cars in the United States at launch to fix some electrical gremlins.
Those gremlins are still active in Vietnam, this time impacting its VF 5 vehicles, according to Vietnam Plus. Here’s the extremely specific reason why:
The automobile maker found that the head lights on several VF 5 Plus cars turn off inadvertently when drivers push the combination switch for the left turn signal while running at the speed of 50-55 kilometres per hour, with auto-on headlight mode on. This could reduce driver vision and visibility at night.
The problem was with a control circuit board design error from the component supplier, it said.
That’s an annoying problem because it only happens at certain speeds so you can see the issue one day and not see it the other day. I’m sure this was annoying for local VinFast dealer technicians.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I feel like I’ve been waiting for this album for roughly nine years, but I suppose I first heard The Last Dinner Party’s “Nothing Matters” about nine months ago. That’s the big single the album “Prelude to Ecstasy” has to live up to and, mostly, it does. I don’t think the album is about the Honda Prelude, but… maybe? This is my favorite track, though.
The Big Question
When was the last time you had a vehicle recalled? What was it for? Did you get it fixed? Was it an easy or difficult experience?
I’m awaiting instructions from Kia for my 2013 Soul ABS module fiery death issue now. We’ll see how it goes.
I listened to “Prelude to Ecstasy” twice on a drive from Naples to Tampa on Saturday, and then twice more on the drive back Sunday. For a debut album it comes across as self-assured almost to the point of arrogance. Fortunately it’s so damn good that the gamble pays off.
I’m wondering if they’re delaying that a bit because they’re still moshing through the backlog of anti-theft updates. Waiting for that same recall on my Santa Fe. I also made an appointment the other day to look at something in the steering column and they had a 3.5 month wait for an appointment. Yeesh. If it wasn’t under warranty, I’d be going elsewhere.
My 2013 4Runner had an airbag recall in early 2020. My 07 Volvo has one too, but I haven’t bothered to bring it in yet. Frankly, that car has so many issues I’m embarrassed to bring it to a Volvo dealer.
Last couple recalls-
Audi A3, takata airbag- had an appointment, took it in, left an hour later, no big deal.
Chevy Bolt, battery recall- since we moved to the mountains, I figured I’d use the dealership in the town where my parents live, 4 hours away. For the initial software update, they made it as difficult as possible, even yelling at me when I picked it up when I asked them if they had done another update I specifically asked them to do, so decided never to go back there. Later, for the battery pack replacement, it took chevy corporate about a month to find a dealership anywhere in the state that was willing to do the work (I actually had them ask their management if they could take the vehicle back to the factory and do the work there, the answer was no). Eventually, I managed to time a drop off with a work trip, and when I returned a few days later, the coolant wasn’t properly refilled. Took it back in, waited another hour or so, and they said it was ok, so I drove 5 hours home. By the time I got home, the warning light was back on, coolant reservoir was empty, but I managed to find a jug of the correct coolant locally, and refilled myself until I had another opportunity a few months later to drop the car off at a different, much better dealership even farther away. They finally got it all fixed, including some other stuff that I had tried to get fixed multiple times even before the battery recall. chevy corporate refused to even refund the coolant I bought, claiming that refilling the battery cooling circuit was not part of the battery replacement (???). At this point, i’m hoping to never deal with chevy or their dealerships again if possible
I lucked out on the dealership for my Bolt recall, done in about a day, got the coolant right, no issues. Just annoyed that after ALL that was finally set, then comes the seatbelt pretensioner recall. Like seriously? After all the recalls over the past 5 years for batteries and it’s finally done and now you come up with 1 more reason to bring it to the dealer?
As soon the recall hit for my 2021 Bolt, I stopped driving it and got a rental. After two months and no solutions, I started the buyback process. I was able to swap the Bolt for a Blazer in the meantime. Then the Bolt EUV was back on sale, tax credit available and then GM announced that was the last year of production, I got another one. I had a feeling GM wasn’t going to replace my battery and yeap, the did a software update only for those model years.
I haven’t had a recall on my daily (knock on wood), but my Wife has had a couple on hers (different generations of the same car, go figure). And the details will make most think I’m lying!
The Wife has had 3 Kia Souls (they’re “cute”), over 2 generations. Two recalls, one on each generation. The dealers were a breeze to work with. The appointments were scheduled with oil changes, and the appointments just took a little longer. (A lot of that good will came crashing back to reality when an alternator had to be replaced under warranty, but that’s another story.)
Typo in the first line … I think you mean 2020 and not 2000?
I sure hope you do, otherwise yikes!
It’s cool how they customize the article for each user – mine shows my daughter’s orange Honda Fit. (yes, sarcasm).
Not my last recall, but my Odyssey’s owner’s manual was once recalled for failing to include the weight of the hitch in the gross permissible vehicle weight listing.
Our Leaf was recalled for the defroster instructions in the manual being unclear.
The only recall I recall was on the 2004 Impala years ago. GM ignition switch fiasco and leaking rocker covers (fiery death!) Chose the nearest Chevy dealer, though I had never been there – I should have asked around.
Absolute clown show from start to finish. The ride I got to work from 2 guys there was worthy of a Moth Radio Hour segment – that was the funny part. The sad part was the shoddy work they did. I now know to pop the hood and check things over before leaving the dealership. I got home and found the engine cover missing. Not a huge deal since I had a parts car. Worse, they put one of the upper engine mount brackets on upside-down so that it collected water and crap. Fixed that myself
My Cruze had a recall for oil dripping onto the catalytic converter and then collecting on the underbody shield. The root cause was techs rushing oil changes and slopping oil down. The fix was to cut the shield to let the oil drain. I haven’t had it done since that shield has earned its keep driving through snow or splashed water. And I use this magical invention called a “funnel” to keep the oil going into the engine during an oil change! No drips here!
Those complicated GM tailgates are having issues? Shocking.
Maybe a half-dozen recalls on my namesake vehicle. I just made appointments at the dealer, waited two months for the appointments (I’m not exaggerating on the wait), dropped it off the night before and picked it up the next day. Easy.
On my daily Kia Rio, I have an appointment this coming Friday to have the hardened ignition cylinder installed, which is Kia’s response to the TikTok challenge. This will be the first time I’ve set foot in a Kia dealership, so I will be fascinated to learn if my local dealer conforms to the common internet description of Kia dealers.
My first impression of Prelude to Ecstasy is there’s a lot of production put into each song. Is that a good thing? I’m not sure — it’s almost like the album is dropped from an earlier era. I like it so far, and hope it stands up to repeated listens.
A few years ago I had a recall for my 2017 Accord. The issue was that some plastic part of the fuel pump would was molded incorrectly. You would think the fix would have been to replace the fuel pump. If the fuel pump wasn’t already failing, then the fix was software.
The software update was to de-tune the pump so that it wouldn’t run in higher output mode(s). Never noticed any performance hit (fuel starvation) when putting my foot into it. I asked the dealer if the pump failed later, would the recall still apply. They said no, because in theory with the sw update, the plastic impeller part should never fail.
Had two for the Focus ST and didn’t get either of them done: hatch that could open if one held the release button for several seconds while traveling faster than 13 mph (or whatever speed it was) when the electronics were supposed to prevent it. I tested it and mine didn’t do it, but I wouldn’t have bothered if it did.
Other recall was for the EGR valve that could cause the car to stall in extreme cases. Mine merely had some hesitancy and it was worth the $50 and 15 minutes or so every 75k miles to replace it myself as just driving to the dealer would have taken me twice as long and I would rather not risk another clown causing damage because he claims he can drive a manual (as if it’s so f’n hard to do!) when he can’t.
Currently, the GR86 has a recall for the indicator not working/rapid blinking sometimes when hit by direct sunlight at a particular angle. Whole tail light units need to be replaced. That I will have done. Waiting for the replacement parts.
Same car, same recalls. I’m pretty sure the hatch recall is because you can open the hatch when driving less than 5mph, which you aren’t supposed to be able to do. The EGR valve can also cause fuel tank deformation in some instances.
Yeah, I read some people had some serious issues with the EGR failing. Forgot about the fuel tank deformations. Mine was NBD, but that was luck. I just changed mine out and used the excuse to do the plugs at the same time. Besides oil changes, it was the only thing it needed. I don’t remember the speed for the hatch, but I thought it was a weird speed, like 13 mph. Could have been 5, though. Whatever it was, mine wouldn’t do it, but it’s not like I’m going to be holding the button while driving, anyway. That said, part of that being a problem was Ford locating the button in kind of a stupid spot where you could hit it while reaching for something else. (Can’t remember now—dash dimmer? Fog lights? Something that made no sense for it to be near.)
The hatch open button is next to the fog light button. Very silly placement, I can see how some people would accidentally press it.
My last Chevy Bolt recall was for the explosive seat belt pre-tensioners setting the carpet on fire, solution = foil tape so that’s re-assuring.
Also that Vinfast is awesome, do you get achievement unlocked when you do it?
The specificity of that recall feels like an engineer was tired of someone’s shit one day, and had a fit of malicious compliance or something!
Someday I will write my memoir and name it, “A Fit of Malicious Compliance.”
Any proper recalls for my 2012 Prius v were done before I got it (I’m the 4th owner).
At one point one weekend years ago, I got a CEL and the engine went on constantly–wasn’t using the HV battery.
Turned out to be some kind of inverter problem, but it was covered by a Toyota Technical Service Bulletin.
When it wouldn’t start when I tried to take it to the dealership the next day, I had AAA tow it there, the dealership fixed it, and then a friend dropped me off to pick it back up.
Just a year or two ago I saw a class-action lawsuit about it, but I couldn’t even join it since I literally lost no money on the event. (Time, sure, but no money directly.)
Meanwhile, my sibling is infuriated with GM on the airbag recall for his mid-teens Chevy Traverse. Their family calls it “the grenade” and it’s barely been driven (just a few miles a week) for over 6 months now. The dealerships still say “no part and no ETA” and of course there’s no ethical way for him to sell it.
This is the case with every Takata recall over the last decade. Interestingly, GM was one of the lesser effected manufactures as they use other suppliers. So, sorry about their luck.
As a practical matter. The airbags only kill you if they go off. So, much like a Tesla on Autopilot, if they stay alert and in control of their car it probably won’t kill them.
I refuse to comment on articles that ask only for anecdotal individual experiences of the community to drive engagement.
— a commenter
(with respect. I get what you’re saying but I think a lot of car data ultimately comes down to “anecdotes”)
Oh, but you did comment my friend. You did!
I’m not sure how serious you are, but my main point with The Big Question is to not just talk at you but with you and hear what the community cares about, their experiences. It’s good to know to help guide future articles.
ha! I was just throwing out a Trivial Tantrum Tuesday funsie 🙂 That’s what happens when I listen to Alanis Morissette when making a comment about my own standards of what isn’t comment worthy.
p.s. Am I the only one surprised that spell check will correct Alanis Morissette’s name? That’s like 5 levels of status cooler than being a Jeopardy question. Anyway…
I took my 1-series in for 2 recalls, the first was the airbag (since been recalled again, lol) the second was the PCV valve heater. The first time the dealership (BMW Cincinnati North for both recalls) gave me a certificate for breakfast on them at First Watch which I walked across the street for, I was happy and ordered French toast and coffee and a side of millionaires bacon and then got the bill and found out that the certificate they gave me only covered half, which sucked, but whatever. The second time they gave me a loaner X3 through Enterprise which I then took and drove to my grandfather (on my mom’s side) funeral, which also not a happy experience.
Now my Camaro has an open recall for a potential tearing of the seatbelt cover, which is only to be repaired if the damage is noticed (per the letter).
“[C]argo in the bed of the truck may exit the vehicle and become a road hazard.”
Just want to point out that this is wonderful corporate-speak for “shit will fall out of your truck bed and probably cause an accident.” As if the cargo is sentient, and the cargo is at fault for whatever happens next. Not your shitty, broken tailgate.
I also found this to be quite amusing!
“Our trucks don’t kill people, cinder blocks falling out of our trucks kill people.”
Are you implying there are tailgates out there that don’t randomly pop open with the slightest bed twist?
My Tesla Model 3 was recalled for something or other. One day when I went to start the car there were release notes on the screen describing what had been fixed via an over-the-air update, and I had to click the little “X” in the corner of the window to close it.
Serious, the industry needs to stop calling fixes via automatic over-the-air updates “recalls”. The difference between clicking a window and driving my Subaru to the dealer and dealing with the gross service department and tedious waiting is the difference between night and watermelons. I know that technically the NHTSA called both fixes “recalls”., but there really needs to be another term. Perhaps we Autopian readers can chose one.
Much as I hate to give Musk credit for just about anything, I’ll agree with him on that one.
Re: the recent one with a warning’s font size too small: should the font size have been correct from the factory? Absolutely! Someone didn’t read the rules and regulations. But I feel like that kind of fix would hardly be more than a rounding error.
So it deserves to be noted, sure, but not a “recall”.
That reminds me of my one Subaru recall. They had to swap/reprogram a component behind the cluster to fix the ‘Distance to Empty’ calculations. That seems excessive today in the era of OTA updates/recalls.
Hey, I had to move my thumb 2 inches and couldn’t use my car for 15 minutes! I’m triggered! I have to go to my safe space now…
One time there was an actual “we need to physically do something” recall they came to me. The other time was when the FSD computer was upgraded. My 3 has been way more reliable than my F-150.
My Magnum and Mustang both had the Takata recall. I took the Magnum in to the dealer for the recall – twice, because the DS airbag and the PS airbag were recalled at different times.
I got the recall notice for the Mustang ages ago, and dutifully called the number to get the recall scheduled, only to be told ‘parts not available yet, check back later’. I checked periodically, but the parts for the fix were evidently not available for *years* after the initial recall notice, to the point that I gave up on dealing with it.
Fast forward to 2019 or so, and I had since moved halfway across the country from where I bought the car. A local car dealership somehow tracked my vin to my current address and called me with the offer to have the airbag recall performed for free, in-situ, wherever the car happened to be. I agreed, and one day a man in a van showed up at my door, fixed the Mustang as it sat parked at the curb, and left. I guess they finally got the parts in…
My Pontiac Vibe was subject to the “unintended acceleration” recall that was really just accelerator pedals getting stuck on floor mats. I just duct taped the corner of the mat smooth to the floor, like any idiot 20-something would.
Personally, I love the little tabs in my 2012 Prius v. Nice to not have the carpet shuffling around with use.
That’s a Toyota thing. Almost every Toyota has those and almost every non-Toyota doesn’t. I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue with floormat movement without them.
In a weird way, I wish the long, narrow one across the back row had something similar. The factory carpet and even my WeatherTech replacements slide a bit depending on the weather and angle of your steps.
My ’97 Econoline conversion van could’ve used the tabs, but then, it could’ve used custom mats that actually fit since the engine cover carpet meant that ones designed to fit stuck out over the steps a little bit.
I have a couple recalls open on my truck, one of which I want to get done now that there are finally parts available (foggy backup camera, a big deal in a CCLB). The other of which I will never willingly do, as it weakens my vehicle for dubious benefits to others (headlights and DRLs come on at the same time).
On balance I’m pro recall, because when FCA recalled my Viper years ago to check for casting debris in the oil (very bad) not only did they not find any, they gave me a 10 year 100k powertrain warranty for my trouble. No small thing on an exotic hand built engine.
As somebody who drives commercial trucks, I think it’s funny that you think a crew cab long bed is too hard to back up with a foggy backup camera.
How often are you parking a semi in a normal-sized parking space?
Additionally, I don’t expect the average person to be as competent at what I do for a living as I am. You can laugh at my supposed inability to back up my truck in a tight space as long as I can laugh at you not being able to perform complex engineering calculations in your head like I do. Fair is fair right?
Well I mostly drive straight trucks, not semis, but I do plenty of very tight maneuvering with big ol straight trucks. It’s more about using a backup camera at all rather than the size of the vehicle though. I never use backup cameras, in my opinion they’re a worse(because they have to get recalled because they’re foggy) bandaid solution for insufficient mirrors or poorly designed sightlines. Which if you drive a newer crew cab long bed, it’s a perfect example of poorly designed sightlines.
oh oh, this is fun. I can do both. What do I win?
My 06 Tucson had a recall for the driver side airbag. I brought it in a few days after the recall notice went out, I sat in the service area and waited for an hour or two and then got it back. Easy breezy lemon squeezy.
We had our F150 Lightning in for a Customer Satisfaction Program (recall lite) last week. It has a potentially bad sensor on the small 12V battery. This was the first time going to the Ford dealer. Our local Ford dealer is anit-EV and refused to work on it, but I was delighted to learn that the next closest dealer has a pickup/dropoff service and even threw in a free charge and carwash! It was all done in a couple hours.
Personally I’d rather have a car with no airbags and a 5+ point safety harness than a car whose safety is reliant on air bags of questionable condition that very well may either go off when they shouldn’t, go off and send shrapnel out like a improvised claymore, or don’t go off at all when I need them to go off.
Do you also want to wear a Hans device and helmet while driving everywhere?
Nope. Do you think a helmet and hans device with a 5+ point safety harness is no better than a 3 point seat belt and air bags?
For every day general safety? Yes, I’ll take airbags and three point safety belts all day.
So why don’t rally cars just stick with air bags, a 3 point seatbelt, and just wear a helmet and hans device?
Because those are NOT designed to be daily driven.
They are stripped down to be as light as possible and then the safety systems in rally cars and race cars are regularly inspected and must be replaced when out of date/damaged. Getting in and out is a pain in the ass. Shit even reaching across the car can be impossible without undoing the harnesses, because when secured properly in your seat you can’t move.
So considering the lower speeds and better road conditions for daily drivers when compared to rally cars (generally) would you not think a multipoint safety harness would be as safe as a car with just a 3 point seatbelt and airbags?
No.
What about a car with 3 point seatbelts and no airbags?
Every modern car is designed to have the 3 point seatbelts working in conjunction with the air bags. It is a complete system.
And how do you know whether your airbags will work or not? What about 25 years from now? 50 years from now?….
https://www.theautopian.com/why-a-natural-disaster-caused-honda-and-acura-to-recall-750000-cars/comment-page-1/#comment-301579
I want a better looking steering wheel with (hopefully) better feel. Need to also ditch the damned EPS, too. It’s gotten to the point where I almost don’t care about safety at all and just don’t want something that annoys me constantly, causes worries, and feels like it’s got the shelf life of broccoli. In the UK, they now have speed limit reminders that pop up constantly to go along with all the other worthless nanny alerts. I’m sure they’re coming to the US soon to go with all the other stupid BS.
I rather agree. The constant airbag-related recalls are proving that putting an explosive device directly in front of the driver is exactly as dangerous as it sounds.
The Takata airbag recall alone included one in six drivers side airbags ever sold in the US. One in six! And that’s just that one recall! The ARC airbag recall that NHTSA is trying to do would cover another 15% of drivers side airbags ever sold.
History is proving that airbags are just not a particularly consistently safe idea. Whereas, like you said, a good seat and 4/5 point harness is very consistently safe.
Also how well do the explosives age? Like my Ranger is 24 years old, will it be a dud if God forbid it’s ever activated? Maybe a question for junkyard scrappers how they deal with 20-30 year old airbags and if they see them go off during crushing.
YUP! And what happens when your airbags expire and replacements are no longer being made?
I was actually really curious about this and found this:
As proof of the lifetime durability of GM airbags, Knowlden pointed to a 1992 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study, where a rusty 1972 Chevrolet Impala was crash-tested and both the driver’s airbag and passenger airbag successfully deployed. That Impala was one of the first 1,000 airbag-equipped cars made by GM.
And similarly, “airbags from 1990s vehicles are operating correctly in today’s accidents,” says Campbell.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/do-car-airbags-expire.html
My Niro was recently subject to a recall notice while I already had it in for work…and they couldn’t address the recall yet. I need to get it in to get it taken care of now that they’ve come up with the fix, but the last time they worked on it was awful and took several visits, some of which involved them breaking things that weren’t broken before they worked on it. I don’t really want to see how much they screw up addressing this recall.