Day 2: Tweet Tweet

I contacted Honda Customer Service via twitter this morning @HondaCustSvc and had the following conversation (VIN is redacted):

@HondaCustSvc JHMGE8 36,800 miles. Airbag site sez no recalls, but generic 2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall.

2h

2 hours ago

Sent

Hello and thank you for reaching out to us. Can you please provide the VIN so that we may verify any recalls associated with your vehicle? Thank you. ^RB

2h

2 hours ago

We apologize for the previous message. After review, we have found that the VIN provided (JHMGE8) does not have safety recalls at this time. Feel free to check your recalls at any time by visiting http://recalls.owners.honda.com/service-mainte …. We hope this helps. ^RB

2h

2 hours ago

2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall. Are you saying my car will NOT be recalled for this issue?

45m

44 minutes ago

Sent

2012 FIT recalls: Passenger Airbag Inflator

Takata Driver Airbag Inflator

VSA NON-COMPLIANCE UPDATE

40m

39 minutes ago

Sent

We have confirmed that your passenger airbag has not been affected by the Takata Airbag recall. You may visit the previous link provided to confirm this information. ^RR

38m

37 minutes ago

Again, your previous link sez Passenger Airbag Inflator for 2012 FIT. I have a 2012 Fit.

35m

34 minutes ago

Sent

31m

30 minutes ago

Sent

Recalls are VIN specific and do not apply to every vehicle within that year and model. The link we provided you will show if your specific vehicle has been affected. ^RR

25m

24 minutes ago

until mine shows up on the list cuz every car of the model year eventually does. In the meantime, you're saying if I have a passenger and the airbag unexpectedly deploys, oops, our bad. Sorry. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

8m

7 minutes ago

Sent

Please contact our Recalls Department at 1-800-999-1009 option #4 if you have any other questions. ^RR

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I'm sure the lawyers have some formula for this, and maybe they're just trying to not get their dealer's service centers overwhelmed like what happened last year, but to pass it off as "your car isn't listed so don't worry about it" is just plain wrong. I get it, the chances are infinitesimal that my passenger airbag is going to blow unexpectedly, but there is a chance, and being put in this limbo is not inspiring my confidence in the Honda brand or its management.

Day 1: Deja Vu all over again, or Here we go again--aw crap!

February 27, 2017

Seeing as how the 2009 and 2010 have had their passenger front airbags recalled, I figured it was only a matter of time before my 2012 Fit would also get in on that action. And here it is:

Recall Result

Year: 2012

Make: Honda

Model: Fit

Last Updated: Feb 27, 2017

Number of Open Recalls: 3

Passenger Airbag Inflator

NHTSA RECALL NUMBER: 17V-030

MFR CAMPAIGN ID: KE1

CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION: Passenger Airbag Inflator

RECALL DATE: 12/20/2016

RECALL STATUS: 17 Character VIN Required

SUMMARY:

AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. (HONDA) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2012 ACCORD, 2010-2012 ACCORD CROSSTOUR, 2006-2011 CIVIC, 2006-2011 CIVIC HYBRID, 2006-2011 CIVIC NGV, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2012 FCX CLARITY, 2009-2012 FIT, 2010-2012 INSIGHT, AND 2009-2012 PILOT VEHICLES. THE PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG INFLATOR IN YOUR VEHICLE MAY RUPTURE WHEN DEPLOYING DURING A CRASH. THE POTENTIAL FOR SUCH RUPTURES MAY OCCUR IN SOME OF THE SUBJECT AIRBAG INFLATORS AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF EXPOSURE TO PERSISTENT CONDITIONS OF HIGH ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY. HONDA SUGGESTS THAT YOU AVOID HAVING A PASSENGER SIT IN THE FRONT PASSENGER'S SEAT UNTIL THE RECALL REPAIR HAS BEEN PERFORMED.

SAFETY RISK:

IN THE EVENT OF A PASSENGER FRONTAL AIRBAG INFLATOR RUPTURE, METAL FRAGMENTS COULD PASS THROUGH THE AIRBAG CUSHION MATERIAL, POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN INJURY TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS. THE RISK OF SUCH AN OCCURRENCE INCREASES OVER TIME. IT IS IMPERATIVE YOU SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH AN AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER NOW TO AVOID THIS CONDITION IN THE FUTURE.

REMEDY:

PLEASE CALL ANY AUTHORIZED HONDA DEALER AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE REPAIRED. YOUR DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PASSENGER'S FRONT AIRBAG INFLATOR WITH AN INFLATOR OF A DIFFERENT DESIGN, FREE OF CHARGE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING A HONDA DEALER, PLEASE VISIT WWW.RECALLS.HONDA.COM OR CONTACT HONDA AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-888-234-2138. HONDA'S CAMPAIGN NUMBER FOR THIS RECALL IS KE1.

The super crappy (and by super crappy I mean massively messed up) part of this oh-so-fun bag of hurt handed to me by Honda is that when I enter my car's VIN, it doesn't come up yet, so I'm not sure if that means they won't deal with the car cuz it's VIN isn't listed, making me drive around a car that in one place says is unsafe, and in another, says that I'm all good, nothing to see here folks.

Interestingly (or not) is that the 2013 Fit's passenger airbag is not up for recall yet. Oh, just you wait.

I'm trying to make an appointment now even though officially my VIN isn't up yet. Grrrrrrrr. That Chevy Bolt is looking mighty attractive about now.

And then for my own entertainment I had a conversation with a Honda ChatBot, Dave. Yes, I understand Dave said recalls are VIN specific, but this is just ridiculous.

Last thought: because one does not NEED to have a passenger in the front seat in order to drive the car, there's no loaner's for this recall. Looks like I get extra elbow room til this is resolved, and the internet gets to see my scribblings again. Hooray.