AFTER JAPANESE auto maker Toyota Motors, its Honda Motors which has again issued a massive auto recall, this time affecting about 438,000 cars on a global basis. The Honda car recall has been issued for a defect in the airbag deflator that could cause airbags to rupture and injure a driver in case of an accident.

The airbag defect as per Honda Motors, is caused by "insufficient stamping pressure", at the time the inflator propellant was produced and not due to excessive moisture intake as many had believed earlier. The airbags for these vehicles are made by Takata Corporation which stated that it wasn't aware of any such defect in airbags that it supplies to other car manufacturers.

Most of this new Honda car recall is concentrated in US, with about 379,000 cars of the total number recalled from here. The recall model vehicles are:

Honda Accord (2001 and 2002 model)
Honda Civic
Honda Odyssey
Honda CR-V
Hondal Pilot
Honda Acura Tl, Honda Acura CL (2002 model)

This airbag defect is already being called as the reason behind one death and 11 injuries in United States. This Honda car recall is expected to cost Honda Motors a global estimate of $30 million.

This is not the first time the company has issued a recall related to an airbag defect. Honda Motors filed similar recalls in November 2008 and June 2009, covering 510,000 vehicles under both of those Honda car recalls.