Nearly 518 Thousand Jeep and Honda Cars Pulled Due to Airbag Problems

Hundreds of thousands of Jeep cars were recalled due to airbags. (Photo: Jeep)

JAKARTA - A wave of vehicle recalls related to airbag problems occurred again in May this year. This time, the recall campaign involves 517,927 units of vehicles from the Acura, Honda, and Jeep brands that are circulating in various markets.

The largest recall covers 419,035 units of the 2022-2026 production Jeep Grand Cherokee and the 2023-2025 Grand Cherokee L. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed that the side airbags on the vehicles may not inflate optimally due to a software glitch.

According to the authorities, around 1 percent of the affected vehicles are suspected to have a passenger restraint system control module with software that can cause a temporary error when the door airbag pressure sensor remains active during the sensor's life.

As reported by Carscioops, Saturday, May 30, this condition risks causing delays in the activation of side airbags when an accident occurs, so that the vehicle does not meet applicable federal safety standards.

Jeep is known to have begun detecting indications of the problem in early 2023 after a number of warranty claims related to the door airbag pressure sensor appeared. After investigating for several years, the company finally managed to identify the source of the problem.

As a corrective measure, dealers will update the software on the passenger safety system control module. Letters of notification to vehicle owners are scheduled to begin being sent out in mid-next month.

On the other hand, Honda and Acura also announced the recall of 98,892 vehicles due to different issues that are still related to the airbag system. In some models, the front passenger seat weight sensor can crack and short-circuit, which can cause the airbag to inflate unintentionally during a collision.

The recall document states that capacitors on the printed circuit board are potentially prone to cracking and triggering internal short circuits when exposed to air moisture. As a result, the front passenger airbag can fully inflate even if the passenger seat is filled with a small child or baby in a special safety seat.

The problem is suspected to have its roots in the temporary changes to the circuit board material by the first-level supplier after the second-level supplier was affected by a natural disaster. The replacement material was judged to be insufficiently verified for the intended use, so it could put additional pressure on the circuit board and trigger cracks.

This latest recall is an expansion of a similar campaign that was carried out in 2024 and covers 750,114 vehicles. In 2025, indications that more units could be affected began to emerge so Honda and Acura opened a follow-up investigation.

Although it has received 228 warranty claims related to the problem, Honda and Acura stated that there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities. As a solution, dealers will replace the seat weight sensor with an updated component. Notifications to vehicle owners are planned to be sent starting in early July.