NHTSA investigating certain Honda Odyssey airbags for ‘inadvertent’ deployment

An investigation of nearly 807,000 model year 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey vans is underway due to 10 complaints of inadvertent airbag deployment while the vehicle is in motion, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation (NHTSA ODI) notice.

The notice states that the investigation is based on 10 complaints and notes that inadvertent airbag deployment can cause injury or driver distraction, thus potentially leading to a collision.

ODI received a defect petition dated May 30, 2026 that requested an investigation of certain 2011-2017 Odyssey airbags.

“The petition contends that airbags can deploy absent a sufficiently severe event to trigger a deployment, such as an impact, rollover event, or G-force threshold breach,” ODI’s investigation notice states. “The petition further alleges that the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) conflict and inaccurate data is being recorded for the air bag system.”

The petitioner cites 10 complaints received by ODI alleging the same failure. ODI says it will evaluate the complaints to determine if they are related to the failure cited in the petition and conduct a technical review under 49 CFR Part 552.

“This Defect Petition is being opened to evaluate whether to grant or deny the Petition,” ODI states in the petition.

Honda’s North America unit, American Honda, said it was aware of the probe request and “is committed to the safety of our customers,” according to Reuters.

“Honda respects this process and will await the agency’s findings before making any additional comment,” Reuters reports Honda said.

Issuance of the notice comes after Autoblog reported last month that, in addition to Honda facing a class action lawsuit over alleged V6 Odyssey engine failure, the automaker is being sued over 2018-2022 model year Odyssey side airbags.

“Plaintiffs say the side airbags can deploy even without a collision, which raises concerns about a system designed to activate only during certain types of impacts,” the June 8 Autoblog article states. “The lawsuit follows a recent recall in the U.S. that covers about 440,000 Odyssey units.

“The main issue is that Odyssey side airbags may deploy without warning because of a fault in the airbag control unit. Honda says the problem is due to incorrect programming, which can cause the airbags to activate when driving over rough roads, potholes, or speed bumps. Honda has identified 25 injury reports and 130 warranty claims related to this issue from January 2017 to April 2026.

“While the company estimates that only about 0.1% of affected vehicles could experience the problem, plaintiffs point out that even a small percentage can have real effects for owners. The lawsuit also claims that some dealerships have declined to cover repair costs, even for vehicles still under warranty. Reported repair bills range from $3,000 to $11,000, depending on what needs to be fixed.”

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California while Honda was already working on a recall for the issue, according to Autoblog.

“Plaintiffs point out that recall notices were sent after the lawsuit was filed, which raises questions about how quickly Honda responded,” the article states.

Last week, Honda issued a press release informing consumers of a separate recall on 2018-2020 Odyssey rearview cameras. The notice states the recall population includes 325,588 of the vans. 

The release states that the recall population was identified based on manufacturing records and includes vehicles previously recalled under NHTSA Campaign No. 20V-438. It also includes 2018 vehicles equipped with Magna rearview cameras that were previously addressed through a Product Update (PUD) Campaign for the same condition.

“Both the previous recall and the PUD remedy used redesigned Magna rearview cameras, which will be replaced by Sony rearview cameras for this remedy,” the release states. “The production range encompasses all vehicles that may have been manufactured with the affected rearview camera and, therefore, could experience the condition.”

Images

Featured image: 2017 Honda Odyssey (Credit: Honda)