Dive Brief:
- American Honda Motor Co. has recalled nearly 441,000 Odyssey minivans due to a software defect that may cause the second- and third-row side and side curtain airbags to unexpectedly deploy while driving over rough road surfaces, increasing the risk of injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall involves certain 2018-2022 Odyssey minivans built between January 2017 and June 2022. Approximately 0.1% of the recall population is estimated to have the defect.
- Dealers will reprogram the supplemental restraint system electronic control unit and replace it if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed May 25.
Dive Insight:
The vehicle’s supplemental restraint system electronic control unit uses various sensors to detect the severity of collisions and trigger airbag deployment. The unit’s control logic parameters are designed to differentiate between a crash and minor impact events, such as driving over rough road surfaces, potholes or speed bumps.
In the recall population, these parameters may be overly sensitive, interpreting road impacts as crashes that necessitate deployment of the second- and third-row side and side curtain airbags.
The SRS modules were sourced from Tier 1 supplier Denso and manufactured at its Maryville, Tennessee facility.
Honda received the first notification of an unexpected airbag deployment on Nov. 15, 2017, and subsequently began to investigate the issue. The probe, which included analysis of vehicle records and returned parts, continued over several years through February 2021.
In July 2021, Honda’s investigation determined that impacts from poor road conditions may fall within the deployment threshold of the second- and third-row side and side curtain airbags. However, on Oct. 27, 2021, Honda concluded that the issue did not pose a serious safety risk and no action was taken.
Still, improved deployment parameters within the SRS control modules were introduced into Denso’s production process on June 3, 2022.
The issue resurfaced on Oct. 28, 2025, when Honda received a preliminary evaluation request from NHTSA after the agency received 18 consumer complaints regarding unexpected airbag deployments in model year 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey minivans, including two reports of injuries.
Honda continued to investigate the problem and the risk of injury and responded to NHTSA’s request on Jan. 22.
In March, Honda conducted additional market data analysis of the issue and determined that a safety-related defect existed, leading the automaker to approve the recall on April 2.
As of April 2, Honda had received 130 warranty claims and 25 injury reports related to the defect, the first of which was received in January 2017.
The recall remedy involves programming the airbag module with the updated parameters that were introduced into production by Denso in June 2022 and installed in model year 2023 and newer Odyssey minivans.
The recall is Honda’s third in 2026 and follows a March recall of more than 65,000 Prologue and Acura ZDX vehicles over software issues involving the instrument cluster display.
