Letter to Rick Schostek, Vice President of Honda - Klobuchar Presses Honda about the Status of Recalled Vehicles Still on the Road with Defective Takata Airbags

Letter

Dear Mr. Schostek,

Defective Takata airbag inflators in certain Honda vehicles continue to pose a significant safety risk to drivers. I write to inquire about the status of recalled vehicles in Minnesota and across the U.S. and what steps are being taken to address this problem as quickly as possible.

While all defective Takata airbag inflators are dangerous, some inflators malfunction and cause injury or death at higher rates than others. Takata airbag inflators known as "alphas" installed in certain 2001, 2002 and 2003 Honda and Acura models have been shown to pose a 50 percent risk of rupture when the airbags deploy. To be clear, consumers with these inflators in their vehicle face a one in two chance of experiencing a life-threatening explosion any time the airbag deploys. According to Honda, more than 60,000 vehicles still contain alpha inflators. Given the significant public safety threat caused by these defective parts, the removal of all alpha inflators from America's roads must be an immediate priority.

It is important that Honda fully understands the scope of the problem and the immediacy of the need to identify the remaining 60,000 vehicles. To that end, I ask that you respond to the following questions:

* Does Honda have the necessary information to be able to determine when 100 percent of the remaining alpha inflators in its vehicles have been replaced?

* What percentage of these vehicles remain in Minnesota?

* Based on your current progress, do you have a sense of when Honda will achieve its goal of handling all remaining alpha inflators?

* In addition to Honda's door-to-door campaign, what is being done to contact owners of used vehicles?

I look forward to your timely response to these questions. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

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