Side/window Air Bag problems of the 2003 Honda Accord - part 2

My wife was driving approximately 40 mph on a two-lane road when she made a minor swerve to avoid an object in the road. The passenger-side curtain airbags (front and rear) deployed for no reason. There are no marks indicating anything struck the vehicle. At the time of the incident, our 7-month-old daughter was in the back seat, on the driver side. We are gratefule that our 4-year-old son was not in his seat on the passenger side. We immediately contacted the dealer, martin Honda, who advised to bring the car in immediately. Dealer also advised us to contact american Honda in California to report.

Consumer was driving at approximately 40 mph and the side curtain air bags dropped down, but did not inflate. Also, the seat belt on the passenger's side did not retract. The headliner was ripped 6 to 8 inches toward the center of the vehicle. The plastic housing that retracts the seat belts did not operate either. Consumer contacted the manufacturer and told the story, but the manufacturer will not stand by its product.

Complaint received via e-mail. My car was hit on the driver's side by a car that ran a red light. The impact was about 25 to 30 mph. My concern is that my side curtain air bag did not function as advertised and failed to deploy. The air bag in the other car deployed, and the driver was uninjured. I suffered a blow to the head which should have been prevented or at least minimized had my air bag functioned. The consumer stated that the speed of the other vehicle was 30-35 miles per hour at the time of impact.

The side air bag inadvertently deployed without the vehicle being in an accident. The manufacture is claiming the vehicle was in an accident. The vehicle was inspected by an insurance rep,. And a collision company both indicated that the vehicle wasn't in an accident. Please provide the additional information.

Vehicle's passenger side air bag deployed inadvertently and the seat belt retracted.

While driving 65 mph, the front passenger side air bag inadvertently deployed. Also the front seat seat belt retracted. Upon inspection, the engineers believed that the consumer struck something based on a small scratch in the undercoating on the bottom of the vehicle. The consumer stated that the vehicle did not strike antyhing.

Incident: on June 16th, around 10 am, we were traveling from fort wayne indiana, to the cincinnati area for a visit with our daughter. Driving along I-75 in ohio, at about 65 mph, the right side or passenger airbags deployed and the right front seat (occupied) belt retracted. Upon arrival at our destination I called performance Honda in fairfield ohio, the dealer nearest our destination, and relayed what had happened. I was instructed to bring the car in the next morning, Thursday June 17, so the dealership could inspect the car and attempt to determine why the side air bags and seat belt deployed while driving straight down the road. By Tuesday, June 22 we were told we would know what Honda would do and we could come in and pick up the car. When we arrived at the dealership we were advised that Honda engineers believed we had struck something, based on a very small scratch in the undercoating on the bottom of the car, and that caused the deployment of the airbags. We picked up the car and returned home to fort wayne on Wednesday. Thursday morning , June 24 we spoke in person with the general manager of don ayres Honda where we had purchased the vehicle. We expressed our position that the airbags and seat belt should not have deployed and Honda should make all repairs under warranty. Complaint: side air bags should not deploy in a vehicle traveling in a straight line at 65 mph. From the owner's manual page 47 and again on page 48: "in a moderate to severe side impact, the sensors will detect rapid deceleration and signal the control unit to instantly inflate either the driver's or the passenger's side airbag. Only one airbag will deploy during a side impact. If the impact is on the passenger's side, the passenger's side airbag will deploy even if there is no passenger. " there was no impact, side or otherwise and certainly none that could be considered "moderate to severe"!.

2003 Honda Accord passenger air bag inadvertently deployed. The passenger side air bag inadvertently deployed while driving over a small bump on the highway. The service department told the consumer that there was nothing they could do about fixing the air bags and the part was not covered under warranty.

While driving at 35 mph and with out warning driver side air bag deployed prematurely. Consumer claimed that the vehicle did not hit anything on the road.

My daughter, tiphani gresham and her friend, malgorzata sweigot was driving down joe pombo pkwy about 35 miles per hour in tracy, California when she heard a loud bang and instantly her friend's(the passenger) head was on her shoulder. The side passenger air bag and seat bag had deployed without cause which caused considerable damage to the car and personal injury to the passengers. Normally a three year old rides with tiphani, which is her daughter. (hailey) this time hailey was not there, for which we are grateful! tiphani is now very scared to drive that car. What could have happened? obviously there is a defect and we want this investigated. Her car is a 2003 Honda, Accord. Please let us know what your findings are. Right now it is at the Honda dealership where it was purchased. Stockton Honda in stockton, California.

Driving home from work on paved 2 lane road at 45 miles per hour. Driver's side curtain airbag and side airbag activated/inflated without warning or apparent cause. Regained control of the car, barely avoiding a head-on collision. Doctor's visit 4/28/04 resulted in a diagonsis of post traumatic stress related issues (foggy head, unable to focus, headache, etc. . . ). Car dealer (service dept) phone call 4/28/04 stated that incident is not covered under warranty, as the air bag sensor was tripped by something that struck the car from underneath. Car dealer (service dept) also stated that a sudden decrease in speed would have also been needed to cause the airbags to release. The cost of repair is approx. $3000 - insurance estimators are to evaluate today. The car's owner's manual as well as supplemental literature supplied at the time of purchase state that the side air bags offer protection during "moderate to severe side impact".

Driving down a smooth main street, the side impact airbags deployed (seat and window) this happened for no apparent reason. Honda denies that this has anything to do with the design of the car. It cost my insurance company several thousand dollars to replace. This is a very dangerous defect.

Without warning passenger's side air bag deployed when the driver hit a bump in the road going 35 mph.

Passenger's side side-impact airbag deployed without any contact to vehicle body. Admit a possibility that debris struck inside edge of right front wheel. Should not have resulted in srs deployment. Vehicle speed was approximately 50 mph on freshly paved surface road. No alignment problem detected. Manufacturer admits no improper operation, refuses to repair / correct problem under warranty. 1504 miles on new vehicle at time of incident. Safety equipment malfunction= unacceptable.

The abs system seemed to "over reacted" during a panic stop situation, causing me to hit the car in front of me. It felt like the braking pressure was being significantly reduced even though I had my foot to the floor on the brake pedal. I feel that if the abs system had not engaged and backed off the brakes, I would have stopped in time. Also, only the passenger side airbag went off, even though I hit the car in front of me at less than 5 mph. It should not have gone off, but if it "thought" that it was a severe crash, why didn't my airbag go off? I would like for you to check the abs system to insure that this does not happen to anyone else. Please contact me ASAP to let me know if this is possible. Thank you.

The consumer ran over a rock, the size of an orange and the rock became lodged into the undercarriage of the vehicle coming in contact with the side air bag sensor. As a result,the passenger side air bag and the side curtain air bag inadvertently deployed.

July 17, 2003 1847 hillmont way roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786-6696 dear agency, a potentially lethal defect may exist on the redesigned 2003 Honda Accord, and Honda motors is attempting to sweep it under the carpet. Without your immediate involvement, they might get away with it. On July 1, 2003 my wife was driving our 2003 Honda Accord, with 17000 miles, with a passenger. The driving conditions were excellent, skies were clear, roads were dry and temperatures were moderate. While traveling at about 55 mph, two of the side airbags deployed apparently without provocation. Two sensors activated two separate airbags: the side-curtain airbag and the seat-cushion airbag. Fortunately, neither occupant was hurt but my wife immediately pulled off onto a side street. They surveyed the area and noticed that there were no potholes or rocks in the road and apparently there was nothing else that they could have collided with. They also looked for damage to the car. There was none. Coincidentally, I was calling my wife as she was pulling the car onto the side street. She asked what she should do. I said that I would make some phone calls and get back to her. After several calls to both auto west Honda and Honda motors, I was informed that an airbag deployment was not considered a warrantee problem and therefore towing would be our responsibility. In fact, I was advised that Honda had never had an airbag deploy without being in a collision. The dealer?s representative, john davis, advised me that, with the exception of having no airbag restraints, the car was safe to drive. We elected to have my wife drive it in to auto west. On July 3rd Honda had not been able to determine if the deployment was caused by a collision. I personally visited auto west and talked with the service manager, joe tabarracci, and was advised that as far as he and his service technicians could tell, there were no visible signs of a collision.

While traveling about 55 mph on the highway and without prior warning the side air bag deployed without physical contact with a vehicle. The curtain and seat air bags had blown on the passenger side. Honda refused to repair the vehicle under warranty. There were no previous accidents.

I was the driver in a front end car accident and my driver side airbag did not open. The passenger side airbag did open with no passenger. I sustained injuries because of the failure of the airbag to open. I contacted the dealer, muller's highland park Honda, who informed me that they knew of other cases of airbags not opening. The dealer said to contact the customer service at Honda north America. A representative from h. N. A. Looked at the car and stated the computer said the driver side airbag was functioning properly and should have opened. Next they had an engineer call who did not look at the car herself and said the car functioned properly. I will never feel safe in this car again. I will never know if the airbag would open if there was another accident. Honda north America now refuses to admit there is a problem and I feel this should be investigated before someone dies.

Vehicle was struck from behind at about 40 mph. Vehicle was pushed into another vehicle and the vehicle spun around and landed on top of the car from the side. Neither the front airbags or the side airbags came out. Thank god no injuries; just sore the next day; but I'm very puzzled as to why the air bags didn't come out.

New 2003 Honda Accord ex, with only 900 miles on it, hit at between 40 and 45 miles per hour on passenger side door. Neither front or side airbags were deployed. Neck injuries were the result of my head hitting the driver side window. I also had a 2002 Honda Accord ex, hit on driver's side passenger door at 35 miles per hour while parked and no airbags deployed either. Luckily I was not in the car when the 2002 Accord was hit.

The consumer's wife hit a stone in the road which went under the vehicle striking the chassis. This caused the passenger side impact and the curtain air bag to deploy. The consumer requested that Honda should cover the expenses.