This potential safety issue isn’t a recall *yet*, but Honda Pilot and Odyssey owners will want to keep an eye on this one.
When family-oriented buyers out there choose something like a Honda Pilot SUV or Odyssey minivan, uppermost in their minds is the safety of their kids. That’s what brings this latest investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into sharp focus, with the agency investigating the scale of a potential safety issue concerning each of these vehicles
Specifically, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is looking into the 2023-2024 Honda Pilot and 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey for issues related to seatbelt warnings and airbags, respectively. In total, safety regulators are probing 583,000 vehicles to determine whether widespread recalls are necessary, after receiving multiple complaints. At this point, however, no official recall concerning the issues detailed below have been issued for either vehicle just yet.
For the 2023-2024 Honda Pilot, complaints to the ODI allege second- and third-row seatbelts are giving erroneous messages on whether occupants (children, namely) are actually buckled up. The buckle status system could give of false information, with the worst case showing that passengers are buckled up when they’re actually not. The reliance on this information creates a safety issue in that drivers may not be able to visually confirm whether everyone is buckled, particularly while on the move, presenting a major safety concern if an accident occurs in the event the system is not displaying correct statuses.
So far, six owners have complained to the ODI, but that is enough to get the agency to look deeper into as many as 142,572 Pilots to determine whether there’s a broader safety concern that warrants a recall.
The Honda Odyssey’s airbags could inadvertently trigger in some non-accident conditions.
As for Honda’s minivan, the ODI has received no fewer than 18 complaints — including two injuries — for inadvertent deployment of the airbags while the vehicle is in motion. These deployments aren’t from an accident, according to some allegations, but jarring bumps through potholes or other roadway features.
Owners allege there is no warning prior to the inadvertent airbag deployment, and such an incident happening while the vehicle is moving can injure passengers or distract drivers, resulting in a collision.
Again, at the moment, the ODI is conducting a preliminary investigation to determine the scale of potential safety-related issues yet. This probe concerns 441,002 Odysseys, though we will have to wait and see whether the agency (or the automaker) instigate a full-scale recall of that many vehicles.
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