2003–2005 Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL, 2003–2005 Honda Accord and 6 other models Recall: American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited…

The defect

American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in California, and equipped with Takata-brand air bag inflators. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

The risk

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger s frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

The fix — what to do

Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflators in all affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during August 2014. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.