The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Airbags were replaced on more than 1,000 vehicles during last week’s free Honda/Acura recall, a senior executive saying yesterday: “A lot of Bahamians heeded the call.”

Rick Lowe, a director and operations manager at Nassau Motor Company (NMC), the brands’ Bahamian dealer, told Tribune Business that of the 2,553 vehicles that attended the five-day recall some 1,064 - or 41.7 percent - had airbag inflators replaced.

With both driver and front-seat passenger airbags replaced on some, Mr Lowe revealed that NMC and overseas Honda technicians ended up installing a total of 1,439 inflators - a figure just shy of their 1,600 target. Some 26 vehicles did not receive replacements as their airbags had already been deployed and used.

“We were hoping to replace some 1,600 inflators,” Mr Lowe told this newspaper. “That was the high estimate. We can’t complain at 1,439, and 1,463 cars were not affected. We’re pleased, I think the customers were pleased. Our staff and the 14 temporary people we hired came through like champions.”

The new airbag inflators were installed as a precaution to safeguard Bahamian consumers from defects that have claimed 23 lives worldwide. Takata, manufacturer of the potentially faulty airbag inflators installed in Honda and Acura models, has discovered that the chemical that triggered their expansion had been exposed to moisture.

This had ground down the pellets inside the inflators into powder, making it “so powerful that it ruptures the inflator and turns it into shrapnel”. The worldwide airbag inflator recall and replacement was impacting all Honda and Acura makes, including both left and right-hand drives and US and Japanese-produced autos. Some 19 different manufacturers have been affected to-date, with the replacement effort starting in 2009.

“It’s a real safety issue and Honda is taking it very seriously,” Mr Lowe told Tribune Business. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. A lot of Bahamians heeded the call. It’s a potential problem; it’s not necessarily that every one has to be replaced and they will explode, but the potential exists for that. We’re really pleased with what took place.”

The airbag inflator replacement for Honda and Acura-manufactured vehicles dated between 2001 and 2016 took place at the former City Markets location on the Wulff and Village Road junction. Some 16 technicians came in from the US to assist their local counterparts.