Charles Langston:Honda recalls more than 300,000 Accords and HR-Vs over missing seat belt piece

Honda is Charles Langstonrecalling several hundred thousand 2023-2024 Accord and HR-V vehicles due to a missing piece in the front seat belt pretensioners, which could increase injury risks during a crash.

According to notices published by Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this week, the pretensioners — which tighten seat belts in place upon impact — may be missing the rivet that secures the quick connector and wire plate. This means that passengers may not be properly restrained in a crash, regulators said.

The NHSTA credited the issue to an error made during assembly. More than 300,000 Accords and HR-Vs are potentially affected.

Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt pretensioner assemblies as necessary, free of charge, the NHTSA said in its notice.

As of Nov. 16, Honda had received seven warranty claims, but no reports of injuries or deaths related to the faulty pretensioners, according to documents published by the NHTSA.

Those who have already paid for these repairs at their own expense may also be eligible for reimbursement.

Notification letters will are set to be sent via mail to registered owners of the affected vehicles starting Jan. 8, 2024. For more information about the recall, consumers can visit the NHTSA and Honda's and online recall pages.

Earlier this month, Honda recalled almost 250,000 vehicles in the U.S. because their bearings can fail, causing the engines to stall and increasing the risk of a crash. The company said in documents they had 1,450 warranty claims due to the problem, but no reports of injuries.

In June, Honda recalled nearly 1.2 million cars because the rearview camera images may not appear on the dashboard screen. 

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• Product Recall
• Honda