Affected Honda Accord and HR-V models may be missing an important rivet for their seatbelt pretensioners.
This week, Honda recalled 303,770 examples of its two popular models, both covering the 2023 and 2024 model years. According to what the automaker told the Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these vehicles may be missing an important rivet that secures the front seatbelt pretensioner — a critical safety feature that helps mitigate injury in an accident.
Honda did not include exactly how many units of each model are in the recall, but it did say it built impacted Accords between October 4, 2022 and October 14, 2023. As for the HR-V, it built the affected SUVs between April 26, 2022 and October 14, 2023. Basically, if you already bought a new-generation Accord or HR-V, there’s a good chance your vehicle is part of this recall campaign (designated 23V-782 by the NHTSA).
Honda says that “the front seat belt pretensioners were assembled without a rivet securing the quick connector and wire plate.” While the automaker isn’t aware of any injuries or deaths related to the problem, it does create a situation where the pretensioner may not work correctly in the event of a crash, which would increase the likelihood of harm to the cars’ front occupants.
As of November 16, 2023, Honda has had 7 warranty claims for the problem, and it first started getting market complaints around May 23. Fortunately, the fix is fairly straightforward: Dealer technicians will inspect the front seatbelt pretensioners, and replace the part(s) if they find a rivet is missing. Since all 303,000 impacted vehicles are fairly new, it is already covered under Honda’s new vehicle warranty, though the company will reimburse owners in the unlikely event they pay to fix it out of their own pocket.
Honda will notify owners about the seatbelt pretensioner problem around January 8, 2024.
