HONDA - AUTOMOBILES

Albin Geo Sebastian – 040996692

Nela Mahesh – 041043286

Sakshi Luthra – 041022270

Saif Gammoh – 041014244

Shitij Sharma – 041039488

Tanisha Hibbert – 041043862

Elsa Robles - 041040335
Heckloit Marie Christine Anoma -041035858

School of Business, Algonquin College of Applied Arts & Technology

Corporate Social Responsibilities and Business Ethics – MGT1104 010

Submitted to: Claude Lloyd

Table of Content
Background
Honda was founded in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1948 and launched its first U.S. store in Los
Angeles, California in 1959. What began as a small enterprise with eight hardworking
associates, quickly expanded to incredible heights. Honda was also the first automaker to
satisfy the Clean Air Act criteria in the 1970s, then demonstrated low-emission vehicle
technology, that prompted California to embrace new, more strict emissions regulations (About
us: Honda Services & quality cars, n.d.).
While Honda has invested significantly to being socially responsible, having implemented
initiatives towards sustainable manufacturing, and setting goals towards having zero
environmental impact (Environment: Honda, n.d.), they have been massively impacted by a
supply chain issue.
Airbag Defect
The Takata airbag recall represents the world’s largest automobile recall, as it affected over 100
million vehicles in the world (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2021). In
what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has dubbed the largest and
most complex safety recall in US history, automakers have been replacing frontal airbags on the
driver's side, passenger's side, or both. Takata, a major components supplier, produced airbags
which were deployed in cars from 2002 to 2015. Some of these airbags, when exposed for a
long period of time to high heat and humidity, could explode hurting or killing passengers in the
car when it is deployed [CITATION NHT \l 1033 ]. In total, 67 million airbags have been recalled
(Takata airbag recall, 2021).
The airbag's inflator, a metal cartridge loaded with propellant wafers that has exploded in
certain cases, is at the root of the problem (Consumer Reports, 2021). Metal shards from the
airbag can be sprayed throughout the passenger compartment if the inflator housing ruptures
in a crash—a potentially disastrous outcome from a lifesaving technology (Takata airbag recall,
2021).
The fundamental source of the problem has been identified by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA): airbags that use an ammonium-nitrate-based propellant
without a chemical drying agent. Environmental dampness, extreme temperatures, and age
have all been linked to the problem, which can cause the airbags to malfunction and even shoot
shrapnel into the occupant. There have been 19 deaths and over 400 injuries because of this
problem in the U.S. and at least 27 deaths worldwide according to the NHTSA (Consumer
Reports, 2021). The United States was not the only country affected by these issues. For
instance, in Australia, more than 3 million cars were affected, with 312,000 deemed compliant.
This incident caused more than 350 serious injuries and 33 deaths (Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission, 2021). In Canada, 1,519,530 Honda and Acura vehicles were recalled
(Honda, 2020).
Despite Honda setting the industry benchmark for best practices regarding supplier regulations,
they hold Takata responsible for supplying defective airbags (For a complete list of the models
impacted, please refer to Appendix A). It is difficult to comprehend how a company so firm on
cultivating a culture of hands-on research can argue that the deadly airbags placed in almost 8
million US Honda vehicles over more than a decade were solely the fault of the supplier (The
cooper Firm, 2021). But as Transport Canada (2021), companies are, however, responsible for
their choice of suppliers and are also accountable for any disruption or damage that is caused,
as suppliers can impact not only their reputation but the supply chain.

Manufacturing Negligence
According to a New York Times story, despite horrible injuries from malfunctioning airbags that
can cause metal pieces to be ejected, and that led to simultaneous recalls from many
automakers, this was not taken seriously for years. While Honda was one of 11 manufacturers
using the same airbag supplier, it is claimed that Honda was aware of the problem long before
the others, and withheld vital information such as airbag ruptures, injuries, and deaths affecting
its vehicles from federal regulators and the public (Atiyeh, C. 2014).
According to the report, Honda, and their airbag supplier Takata, have been aware of the issue
since 2004, when an airbag inflator ruptured in a 2002 Honda Accord involved in an incident in
Alabama, sending metal fragments through the bag and injuring the driver. According to the
New York Times, Honda learned about three airbag ruptures in 2007 and reached a settlement
with the victims. Honda is also alleged to have reached an agreement with a Civic driver who
had "blood flowing" from her neck after being hit by a two-inch fragment when the airbag
deployed during a "small collision" in 2008 (Atiyeh, C. 2014).
Another woman driving a Honda Accord, was said to have bled to death in front of her three
children in 2009 after shrapnel from her car's airbag pierced her neck and chest. According to
the New York Times' review of federal papers, the airbags have resulted in two deaths and 30
injuries in Honda vehicles, with at least 139 documented injuries across all automakers (Atiyeh,
C. 2014).
In 2008, Honda announced a small recall for 4205 vehicles. Prior to this however, Honda had
not reported in its filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that the
airbags had ruptured or been linked to injuries or deaths. It also took back airbag parts without
alerting owners during dealer service appointments in 2007 and shipped the parts to Takata for
investigation. Contaminated propellant, storage errors, assembly line workers turning off an
"auto-reject" function, and high humidity have all been blamed for the defect (Atiyeh, C. 2014).
Takata commissioned the High-Pressure Combustion Laboratory at Pennsylvania State
University, one of the nation's most prestigious pyrotechnics labs, to investigate the substance,
ammonium nitrate. Takata however, contested the methodology, ignored the findings, and
waited more than two years before sharing the research with regulators, according to the
reports filed by Takata. Federal officials stated that no laws were broken by Takata and Honda
to keep the study a secret. The move was however heavily criticized by regulators and safety
advocates as being unethical, claiming that the companies have a pattern of denying, delaying,
and deferring blame to other parties, and have suppressed the information about the disaster
(The New York Times, 2015).
The commissioning of the Penn State study, which has not previously been revealed,
contradicts Takata and Honda's public comments regarding their internal studies into the origin
of the airbag problems provided at the time in regulatory filings. According to the employees,
both businesses understated the scope of the malfunction in their meetings with regulators,
even though they felt a more fundamental problem with the airbag's design was at fault (The
New York Times, 2015).
These incidents reveal a manufacturing negligence from Takata and Honda. As the supplier,
Takata was supposed to pay attention to the product that they were manufacturing, because
the incident did not happen with only Honda but over a dozen other brands. Honda however
shares the biggest part of the issue: they are the car manufacturer, and each part of the car
must thoroughly be inspected before being assembled. Also, it was unethical and reckless for
both parties to hide what was happening and to hide it from the authorities, as the issue having
been reported quicker and taken in charge, could have prevented additional causalities.
 Reference pages
Atiyeh, C. (2014, September 15). Honda and Takata allegedly knew about deaths, injuries from
exploding Airbags for years before recall expansion. Car and Driver.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15361948/honda-taking-heat-for-hiding-deaths-
injuries-from-exploding-airbag-recalls/

About us: Honda services & quality cars | Honda. (n.d.). American Honda Motor Co., Inc. -
Official Site. https://www.honda.com/about
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. (2021, March 5). Car manufacturers
complete 99.9 per cent of Takata airbag recall. Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.accc.gov.au/media-
release/car-manufacturers-complete-999-per-cent-of-takata-airbag-recall

Environment: Eco cars & best hybrid vehicles | Honda. (n.d.). American Honda Motor Co., Inc. -
Official Site. https://www.honda.com/environment

Honda: Passing the buck & the blame to Takata. (2021, June 29). The Cooper Firm.
https://thecooperfirm.com/honda-blames-takata/
Honda. (2020). AIRBAG INFLATOR RECALL INFORMATION. Honda Canada. Retrieved
November 27, 2021, from https://www.honda.ca/Content/honda.ca/189ce3b2-8825-
49ca-8727-858106655da7/GenericContent_Alerts/Airbag_Inflator_Recall_Info-EN-
Oct2019.pdf

Takata Airbag recall: Everything you need to know. (2021, August 24). Consumer Reports.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/takata-airbag-recall-everything-you-
need-to-know-a1060713669/

Takata and Honda kept quiet on study that questioned Airbag propellant (Published 2015).
(2015, October 21). The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and
Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/business/takata-and-honda-kept-quiet-on-
study-that-questioned-airbag-propellant.html

Transports Canada. (2021, April 12). Takata recalls in Canada. Transports Canada. Retrieved
November 27, 2021, https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/defects-recalls-vehicles-
tires-child-car-seats/takata-recalls-canada
Appendices

Appendix A

List of the Honda and Acura models concerned by the recall

[ CITATION NHT \l 1033 ]

Acura  2003-2006 Acura MDX

 2003 Acura 3.2CL
 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL
 2013-2016 Acura ILX
 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid
 2007-2016 Acura RDX
 2005-2012 Acura RL
 2009-2014 Acura TL
 2009-2014 Acura TSX
 2010-2013 Acura ZDX
Honda
 2001-2012 Honda Accord
 2001-2011 Honda Civic
 2003-2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
 2001-2011 Honda Civic NGV
 2010-2015 Honda Crosstour
 2002-2011 Honda CR-V
 2011-2015 Honda CR-Z
 2003-2011 Honda Element
 2010-2014 Honda FCX Clarity
 2007-2013 Honda Fit
 2013-2014 Honda Fit EV
 2010-2014 Honda Insight
 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
 2003-2015 Honda Pilot
 2006-2014 Honda Ridgeline