Honda: No Takata airbags in new Civic
Chief engineer says airbags in the new Civic are safe.
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Honda has ditched its long-term airbag supplier in the wake of the Takata recall scandal.
Speaking at the launch of the new Honda Civic, chief engineer Tadashi Inazu told Drive that the brand dumped the airbag supplier before starting work on the latest small car.
Car makers have recalled around 1.2 million vehicles with Takata parts in Australia to address a growing issue that has killed and injured drivers overseas. Faulty Takata airbags with explosive ammonium nitrate inflators have the potential to rupture, sending shrapnel flying through a car's cabin.
Discussing the issue through a translator, Inazu confirmed that the Civic does not use ammonium nitrate inflators and that the company switched suppliers to ensure customers are safe.
"It is not Takata that supplies the inflator," he says.
"We decided that before the car even started development."
No company has been hit by the Takata issue as hard as Honda, which has recalled 421,351 models across the country since 2013. The Japanese firm is fixing 5000 cars per week, with around 275,000 still awaiting repair.
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