American Honda Motor Co. has issued a recall on over 300,000 vehicles due to safety concerns about the front seat belt.
Honda is recalling over 300,000 model year 2023-2024 Accords and HR-V vehicles due to a missing rivet on the front seat belt pre-tensioners, which tighten seat belts in place upon impact in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“The front seat belt pre-tensioners may be missing the rivet that secures the quick connector and wire plate,” Honda explained in the November recall.
According to Honda, if an impacted Accord or HR-V gets into a car crash, the front occupants of the vehicle will not be “properly restrained” by the seatbelt, leading to an increased “risk of injury during a crash.”
As such, Honda says these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, “Occupant Crash Protection,” 209, “Seat Belt Assembles,” and 210, “Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages.”
The total number of potentially affected Honda units is 303,700, according to the NHTSA recall.
Honda owners can take their vehicles to their local dealerships for a free inspection. If an affected vehicle is found to be missing the identified safety component, the dealership will replace the seat belt pre-tensioner assemblies as necessary.
Honda is expected to notify impacted owners via mail no later than January 8, 2024. Owners can contact Honda’s customer service at 1-888-234-2138, visit www.nhtsa.gov, or call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) to ask additional questions.
Honda’s numbers for this recall are MG7 and NG5. The NHTSA Campaign Number is 23V782000.
