Honda Extends Air-Bag Recall to 127,000 CR-Vs

American Honda has announced an expansion of its previous recall of faulty Takata air bags to include more compact SUVs that may be at risk.

The company issued the recall on 127,000 CR-Vs from model years 2003 and 2004. The vehicles, sold in the U.S., may have faulty front passenger airbag inflators. Honda said its dealerships will replace the faulty parts for free.

In a separate statement, the company announced it had been made aware of the “reported rupture” of a Takata air bag on the driver’s side of a 2001 Honda Accord in Pennsylvania in July. Honda said the crash resulted in the death of the driver, a minor, whom the company declined to identify.

The defective safety devices, manufactured by the world’s largest air-bag maker, were built into at least 19 million vehicles in the United States. Japan-based Takata was fined $70 million in November by U.S. regulators who said the company failed to properly notify automakers of the dangers its airbags posed.

The airbags are linked to seven deaths and more than 100 serious accidents, federal regulators have said.

The new recall brings to 3.4 million vehicles affected by the front-passenger airbag problem, Honda said.

Other models involved are Honda Accords from 2003 to 2007; Civics from 2001 to 2005; Elements from 2003; Odysseys from 2002 to 2003; Pilots from 2003; and Acura MDXs from 2003. The recall now includes CR-Vs from 2002 to 2004.

Honda said in making the announcement that it already has completed nearly half of the required repairs on the recalls, and has all the parts in stock to replace the rest of the faulty airbags. Owners of the affected vehicles will receive notices in the mail, the company said.

“American Honda continues to urge owners of Honda and Acura vehicles to get their vehicles repaired,” the company said.