Overview
- Honda, which recognized the defect on April 2, 2026, announced a U.S. recall covering about 440,830 Odysseys from model years 2018–2022 built between January 24, 2017 and June 3, 2022.
- The supplemental restraint system’s control unit uses incorrect deployment thresholds that can mistake potholes, speed bumps, or underbody hits for side crashes and fire second- and third-row side and curtain airbags.
- Honda has logged about 130 warranty claims and 25 injuries with no deaths, and it estimates only about 0.1% of the recalled vans actually have the defect.
- Dealers will reprogram or replace the airbag control unit at no cost, with owner letters due in late May 2026 and a stop-sale order in place for unsold vehicles.
- Honda first investigated the issue in 2017 and linked it to rough-road impacts by 2021, but a recall followed only after an October 2025 NHTSA review, and the agency is now examining whether Honda met the five‑day reporting rule.