NHTSA Orders Multi-Brand Recall to Replace Airbag Controller

Chrysler, Honda and Toyota are recalling a total of more than 2.1 million vehicles to replace an airbag controller circuit that could trigger airbags when there is no crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blames the flaw on a single circuit design supplied to all three carmakers by TRW Automotive.

The recalled vehicles include about 1 million Toyota cars (some sold outside the U.S.), 750,000 units from Chrysler and 370,000 from Honda. They are:

• 2002-2003 model year Jeep Liberty, 2002-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and 2003-2004 Dodge Viper sports cars from Chrysler
• 2003 Acura MDX crossovers and 2003-2004 Odyssey minivans and crossovers from Honda
• 2003-2004 Avalon and Corolla sedans and Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe crossovers from Toyota

Some of those vehicles also are being recalled to replace Takata Corp. airbag inflators that could explode and spray shrapnel into the passenger compartment. Because of that danger, NHTSA is urging owners of those vehicles to arrange now to have dealers make a temporary repair until replacement parts become available.

Affected vehicles were recalled in 2012-2014 to fix the same problem. But NHTSA says all three companies have since reported inadvertent airbag deployments in vehicles that were repaired.