Honda recalling 303,904 older Accords for side airbag problem

(October 30, 2015) TORRANCE, Calif. — Honda said in a statement Thursday that it will voluntarily recall 303,904 model-year 2008-2009 Accord vehicles in the United States to update the side Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) software, free of charge.

The SRS threshold setting for the side impact sensor is such that with the vehicle ignition on, if there is a strong, non-vehicular collision impact to the lower body of the vehicle or if a door is shut with extreme force, the SRS control unit may interpret the input as a crash and command the side seat airbag and/or side curtain airbag to deploy.

Airbags that unexpectedly deploy may increase the risk of injury. Honda has received 19 injury claims related to this issue.

Honda is announcing this recall to encourage each owner of an affected vehicle to take it to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. Mailed notification to customers will begin in mid-December. Additionally, owners of these vehicles can now determine if their vehicles will require repair by going to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (888) 234-2138.