Nearly 67,000 Honda and Acura vehicles recalled in Canada

General view of production along the Honda CRV production line is shown during a tour of a Honda manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ont., Wednesday, Apr. 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Honda announced a recall on Tuesday affecting 66,846 vehicles in Canada due to possible issues with the front passenger airbag sensors.

The Honda recalls affect the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Fit, HR-V, Insight, Odyssey and Ridgeline, as well as the Acura MDX, RDX and TLX. Affected model years range from 2020 to 2022.

The front passenger weight sensors ensure that the front airbag only deploys if it detects the weight of an adult passenger in the front seat. However, Honda says a capacitor in the printed circuit board of the sensors in the affected vehicles could crack and lead to an internal short circuit.

Honda says this was due to a "natural disaster" affecting a manufacturing plant of a tier-2 supplier, which resulted in the tier-1 supplier changing the base material of the circuit board to one that "was not sufficiently verified for its intended use."

A short circuit means that the front passenger airbag could deploy in an accident if an infant or child is seated in the front passenger seat, increasing the risk of injury,

Honda estimates that one per cent of vehicles affected by the recall have this defect. The automaker is advising owners of the affected vehicles to monitor the passenger airbag indicator, which could remain off in the event of a short circuit, as well as the SRS warning light, which can illuminate if there's an issue with the airbags.

Honda says it notified dealers of the issue last Friday and owners of affected vehicles will be notified next month. If the SRS warning light turns on, Honda advises owners to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealership and says there are "very low quantities" of service parts. The company also says owners who paid for these repairs at their own expense may be eligible for reimbursement.

Owners can check if their vehicle is affected by visiting www.Acura.ca/recalls, www.Honda.ca/recalls or calling 1-888-946-6329.