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2012 Acura Tsx

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Tsx years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Acura Tsx are substantially higher than the model-year median of 50.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

106 reports with mileage · 27 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Steering. Review the 100 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports

Steering complaints

100 reports
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98,000 miles · Aug 5, 2018
Steering

I DROVE MY CAR TO THE STORE WITH NO PROBLEM BUT WHEN I LEFT THE STORE AND STARTED MY CAR AND IT HAD A POWER STEERING FAILURE WARNING. I HAD TO DRIVE HOME WITHOUT POWER STEERING MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO TURN. UPON SEARCHING THIS ISSUE THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR THE EXACT SAME THING.

NHTSA ODI #11115814

53,300 miles · Aug 3, 2018
Steering

I WAS DRIVING MY TSX AND ROUNDED A CORNER AS THE EPS LIGHT CAME ON AND THE POWER STEERING WAS NO LONGER WORKING. I WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL AT THIS POINT. LUCKILY, I WAS CLOSE TO MY HOUSE AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD NEAR MY DRIVEWAY. MY BOYFRIEND LATER WENT OUT AND STARTED THE CAR AND THE…

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I WAS DRIVING MY TSX AND ROUNDED A CORNER AS THE EPS LIGHT CAME ON AND THE POWER STEERING WAS NO LONGER WORKING. I WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL AT THIS POINT. LUCKILY, I WAS CLOSE TO MY HOUSE AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD NEAR MY DRIVEWAY. MY BOYFRIEND LATER WENT OUT AND STARTED THE CAR AND THE WARNING SIGN HAD DISAPPEARED AND THE CAR SEEMED TO FUNCTION AT THAT TIME. THREE DAYS LATER MY BOYFRIEND WAS DRIVING THE CAR WHEN THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON, THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND HE NEARLY LOST CONTROL AS WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN ON THE ROAD. WE FELT VERY FORTUNATE THAT NO OTHER CARS WERE NEAR AT THE TIME. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND I AM UTTERLY SHOCKED THAT ACURA HAS NOT RECALLED THIS PART. MY CAR IS A 2012 WITH ONLY 53K MILES ON IT. I BUY ACURA VEHICLES BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RELIABLE AND SAFE. THIS IS JUST VERY SHOCKING THAT ACURA DOES NOT SEEM THIS TO BE A SAFETY HAZARD AND CORRECT THE ISSUE FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED.

NHTSA ODI #11115619

57,995 miles · Jul 25, 2018
Steering

TURNING LEFT INTO MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WAS DASH WARNING MESSAGE FOR COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE. IT TOOK A MASSIVE EFFORT, ON MY PART, TO TURN THE WHEEL AND COMPLETE THE TURN IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC. AS I WAS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I WAS NURSING THE VEHICLE BACK TO MY RESIDENCE. ABOUT TWO MINUTES LATER, AFTER THE EVENT, THE WA…

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TURNING LEFT INTO MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WAS DASH WARNING MESSAGE FOR COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE. IT TOOK A MASSIVE EFFORT, ON MY PART, TO TURN THE WHEEL AND COMPLETE THE TURN IN FRONT OF TRAFFIC. AS I WAS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I WAS NURSING THE VEHICLE BACK TO MY RESIDENCE. ABOUT TWO MINUTES LATER, AFTER THE EVENT, THE WARNING LIGHT WENT OFF, AND THE POWER STEERING STARTED TO WORK AGAIN.

NHTSA ODI #11113689

72,553 miles · Jul 24, 2018
Steering

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. WHILE STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE EPS MODULE AND POWER STEERING RACK ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE LOCAL DEA…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 ACURA TSX. WHILE STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE EPS MODULE AND POWER STEERING RACK ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,553.

NHTSA ODI #11113429

100,000 miles · Jul 24, 2018
Electrical SystemSteering

I HAVE A 2012 ACURA TSX THAT HAS HAD NO PRIOR ISSUES BEFORE THIS ONE. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND THE MESSAGE CHECK POWER STEERING CAME ACROSS THE DASH. THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING MODULE FAILED CAUSING MY STEERING WHEEL TO LOCK UP. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS AS I NO LONGER HAD CONTROL OF THE CAR …

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I HAVE A 2012 ACURA TSX THAT HAS HAD NO PRIOR ISSUES BEFORE THIS ONE. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND THE MESSAGE CHECK POWER STEERING CAME ACROSS THE DASH. THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING MODULE FAILED CAUSING MY STEERING WHEEL TO LOCK UP. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS AS I NO LONGER HAD CONTROL OF THE CAR AND WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL. I HAVE SEEN AT LEAST 100 COMPLAINTS OF THIS ISSUE HAPPENING TO OTHER OWNERS WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, IN BUSY INTERSECTIONS, AND WHILE DRIVING. I LIVE IN THE UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THERE IS MAJOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION GOING ON. THIS MEAN NO EMERGENCIES LANES, ONLY TWO LANE AND CONCRETE DIVIDERS SO THERE IS NO WAY TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. THEREFORE THIS IS A FATAL ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. THIS DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE CHECKED OUT FOR A RECALL SO THAT NO ONE LOSES THERE LIFE BECAUSE ACURA WOULD RATHER KEEP CHARGING PEOPLE $1,500.00 TO FIX IT INSTEAD OF REPORTING A RECALL FOR A FAULTY PART.

NHTSA ODI #11113399

85,000 miles · Jul 23, 2018
Steering

STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. COULD NOT DRIVE AS A RESULT OF BEING UNABLE TO MOVE THE WHEEL. THE POWERING STEERING WARNING INDICATOR CAME ON.

NHTSA ODI #11113076

81,800 miles · Jul 22, 2018
Steering

STEERING WHEEL COMPLETELY LOCKED UP WHILE, LUCKILY, STATIONARY IN A PARKING LOT. THIS HAPPENED AT MIDNIGHT AFTER ATTENDING AN EVENT. AS A SINGLE WOMAN, IT WAS DANGEROUS FOR ME TO WAIT FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE IN AN UNLIT PARKING LOT FOR AN HOUR.

NHTSA ODI #11112897

77,000 miles · Jul 17, 2018
Electrical SystemSteering

I WAS DRIVING ON A SIDE STREET, ROUGHLY 25MPH WHEN MY POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE'S STEERING LOCKED UP. I PULLED OVER AND QUICKLY READ THE MANUAL, WHICH SAID TO RESTART THE CAR AND IF THE LIGHT GOES OFF, THE CAR IS OK. AFTER DOING SO, THE CAR WAS STEERING AS EXPECTED AND I WAS ABLE TO RETURN HOME SAFELY. THE CAR…

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I WAS DRIVING ON A SIDE STREET, ROUGHLY 25MPH WHEN MY POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE'S STEERING LOCKED UP. I PULLED OVER AND QUICKLY READ THE MANUAL, WHICH SAID TO RESTART THE CAR AND IF THE LIGHT GOES OFF, THE CAR IS OK. AFTER DOING SO, THE CAR WAS STEERING AS EXPECTED AND I WAS ABLE TO RETURN HOME SAFELY. THE CAR WAS FINE FOR 2 DAYS. THE THIRD MORNING, I AM LEAVING FOR WORK AND DRIVING ON A SIDE STREET AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED - THE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE VEHICLE'S STEERING SEIZED, EXCEPT THIS TIME RESTARTING DID NOT HELP. I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE SUCCUMBING TO THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT GOING TO HELP. I HAD TO LEAVE MY CAR IN THE STREET AND UBER TO WORK, WORK WITH AAA AND THE LOCAL ACURA DEALERSHIP TO GET MY CAR IN FOR REPAIR. IT WAS THE ESP THAT HAD FAILED. WITH PARTS AND LABOR THE BILL WAS $1,600. THE CAR HAS 77K MILES ON IT. THIS PART SHOULD LAST AT LEAST TO 100K, IF NOT THE LIFE TIME OF THE VEHICLE. LUCKILY FOR ME I WAS NOT ON THE HIGHWAY, OPERATING A VEHICLE WITH NO STEERING IS VERY SCARY AND VERY DANGEROUS. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE RECALLED BY ACURA BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED. I BOUGHT AN ACURA BECAUSE I TRUST THEM, THEIR CARS AND THEIR BRAND AND I AM INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED IN THEIR LACK OF CARE AND SAFETY OF THEIR CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ODI #11111936

Mileage unknown · Jul 10, 2018
Steering

WHILE DRIVING STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND THEN AGAIN WHEN I TURNED IT ON TO GO TO WORK WHICH I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE THE CAR. THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT MOVE RIGHT NOR LEFT

NHTSA ODI #11110411

178,000 miles · Jul 9, 2018
Steering

DROVE MY CAR AROUND TOWN TO SEVERAL STORES. STEERING WAS FINE. STOPPED AT A FRIENDS HOUSE BRIEFLY, RESTARTED MY CAR, UNABLE TO TURN STEERING WHEEL WITH EPS LIGHT BEEPING AND BLINKING ON THE DASH. LUCKILY, NOT IN MOTION WHEN THE STEERING MECHANISM FAILED. HAD LOCAL MECHANIC DIAGNOSE, EPS MODULE FAILURE. CLOSET ACURA DEALER APPRO…

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DROVE MY CAR AROUND TOWN TO SEVERAL STORES. STEERING WAS FINE. STOPPED AT A FRIENDS HOUSE BRIEFLY, RESTARTED MY CAR, UNABLE TO TURN STEERING WHEEL WITH EPS LIGHT BEEPING AND BLINKING ON THE DASH. LUCKILY, NOT IN MOTION WHEN THE STEERING MECHANISM FAILED. HAD LOCAL MECHANIC DIAGNOSE, EPS MODULE FAILURE. CLOSET ACURA DEALER APPROXIMATELY 1.5 HOURS AWAY AND PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE OF $1400. IN REVIEW OF THESE COMPLAINTS, 45 OUT OF 64 RELATED TO STEERING. >70% STEERING COMPLAINTS. A RECALL SHOULD BE MADE.

NHTSA ODI #11110384

Official recalls

6

19V502000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jun 27, 2019

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2014 TSX Sport Wagon, 2010-2013 ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic and Civic Hybrid, 2008-2010 Civic GX NGV, 2012-2015 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2014 Fit EV, 2010-2014 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are F5F and Q5E.

19V378000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

May 16, 2019

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2013 TSX Sport Wagon, and 2010-2012 ZDX and 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, 2012-2014 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2013 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrectly installed air bag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal air bag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M4O, P4R, T4Q, and W4P.

18V661000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Sep 27, 2018

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014 Honda Insight and Acura TSX and TSX Wagon, 2014-2015 Honda Crosstour and Pilot vehicles nationwide, as well as certain 2014 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, California, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Honda is also recalling certain 2011-2013 Acura TSX, TSX Wagon and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Insight, Fit and Pilot vehicles, 2011-2012 Honda Accord and 2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Lastly, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX and ZDX, Honda Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot, 2011-2013 TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord and 2010-2011 Honda Civic NGV, Civic, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M2J and S2K.

18V042000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jan 9, 2018

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX, ZDX, Honda Accord Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot vehicles, 2011-13 Acura TSX Sportswagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord,, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles and 2013 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Honda is recalling certain 2010-2012 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Accord Crosstour, Fit and Pilot, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V, and 2010 Acura ZDX and Honda Insight vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Unless included in Zones A or B above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Fit, and Pilot vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to higher absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are B0K and L0J.

17V545000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Aug 31, 2017

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 Accord, 2010-2012 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2012 Fit and Pilot, 2010-2012 Insight, and 2009-2012 Acura TSX vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators. One dealership may have incorrectly installed the replacement air bag inflators.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal air bag inflator may deploy the air bag improperly, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are O07, Y0A, N06, G05, M04, Y01, and O09.

17V030000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Jan 10, 2017

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Acura TSX, 2011-2012 Acura TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Acura ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2012 Honda Accord Crosstour and Honda Insight, 2009-2012 Honda Fit, 2009-2012 Pilot, 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2012 Honda FCX Clarity and 2006-2011 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic NGV vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Fit and Pilot, 2008-2009 Honda Accord, 2006-2009 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, and 2007-2009 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2008 Honda Accord, 2006-2008 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV and 2007-2008 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KE1 and KE2.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

EA19001 · Electrical Overstress

Opened Apr 19, 2019 · Closed Sep 19, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags: Air Bag/restraint Control Module

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU.  In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment.  FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle.  Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW.  These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes.  An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time.   In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU.  This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners.  Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation.  The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage.  There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation.  The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU.  If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC.  Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC.  All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled.  In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024.  With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.