On recalls, Honda goes the extra mile

Those first-generation, or "alpha," inflators pose an increased risk because the propellant can deteriorate quickly in high heat and humidity. Experts have estimated that these inflators have a 50 percent chance of exploding when a deployment is triggered. High sales volumes and long-lasting vehicles mean many older Accords, Civics and CR-Vs are still on the road with alpha inflators.

Honda estimates that about 130,000 unrepaired vehicles with alpha inflators remain on the road.

John Buretta, the attorney monitoring the Takata recall on NHTSA's behalf, has pushed Honda to try new remedies in high-risk climate areas.

In the U.S., 11.4 million Hondas and Acuras have been recalled, and the number will continue to rise as NHTSA expands the program on a rolling basis based on the vehicle's age and geographic location. Early replacement inflators also will have to be replaced with updated versions that contain a moisture retardant. Honda so far has repaired 11.3 million airbags, or 64 percent of the affected parts — a much higher completion rate than any other large manufacturer — according to agency data. And the company says it has completed 75 percent of repairs for the alpha inflators.

Florida is ground zero for the alpha inflator danger because it is a high-humidity state with a large population of Honda and Acura vehicles. Company officials say there has been a concerted effort to reach owners through reminder letters and phone calls, but responsiveness continues to lag that in other states. At Honda's request, the Florida Division of Motor Vehicles in summer 2016 sent letters to Honda-identified owners alerting them about the problem and urging them to go to a dealership for the free repair.

"Our theory was that having the imprimatur of the state might serve as motivation," Edward Cohen, Honda's vice president of government and industry relations, said.

Frustrated by the difficulty of reaching second and third owners who are unaware their vehicles have been recalled, Honda officials began exploring ways to leverage state registration and inspection systems as a touch point.

They found a willing partner in Lucinda Babers, the director of the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles. When approached about a letter campaign like the one in Florida, Babers proposed an additional idea: Invite owners for an appointment to get an emissions inspection and airbag repair at the same time. Honda would provide technicians to replace the inflators and the DMV would provide staff to do inspections on a Monday — normally an off day.

The district requires vehicles to pass emissions inspections every two years. There are no dealerships in the city, so all residents must take their cars to the DMV's inspection station.

Honda supplied the vehicle identification numbers of vehicles with alpha inflators and the DMV ran those against vehicles with inspections due within 90 days.

Sixteen people received invitation letters, and five responded. In addition to taking care of two chores at once, they didn't have to wait in line for what is normally first-come, first-serve inspection service.

On the day of the event in April, Honda offered coffee and doughnuts and checked the VIN to determine the exact inflator the vehicle needed. Technicians from Rosenthal Landmark Honda in nearby Alexandria, Va., did the work.

Elsewhere, Honda is sending out "recall pit crews." After more than 141 million attempts to reach affected customers by conventional means, Honda is trying door-to-door outreach for owners of certain older vehicles who did not respond to multiple recall notices.

Honda employees will take the vehicle to a dealership and return it to the customer within a few hours.

The company said in August that it is now expanding the grassroots program nationwide, with a team of more than 500 dedicated staff.

Insurance companies have begun cooperating with Honda to facilitate removal of Takata inflators before vehicles go into the auction market.

Honda is working with auction companies Copart and Insurance Auto Auctions, which sell totaled vehicles that may later be either reconditioned or scrapped by whoever buys them from insurance auctions, to identify vehicles with open Takata recalls and give Honda an opportunity to complete the repairs. But the insurance companies, which own the vehicles, must grant permission to complete any repairs. Seven major insurers are now authorizing those repairs, American Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.

Separately, Honda has worked for a few years with auto salvage yards to purchase airbag modules that contain recalled Takata inflators in fully scrapped vehicles. It's illegal to sell a recalled part for use in a vehicle, but the practice continues, Martin said.

The effort has successfully removed more than 80,000 inflators from salvage yards, according to Honda. The company has also requested that major online auction sites stop the sale of affected airbags.

Recall approaches vary from country to country, depending on requirements and available data, Martin said. Some countries lack robust vehicle databases, making it difficult to find owner information. "There is no single recall playbook that works in every market," he said.

Honda is going to extraordinary lengths to address the alpha inflators because of the imminent danger they pose, but it can't justify duplicating those efforts for the average recall.

"It's difficult to commit that what we are doing for the alphas would become the norm," Martin said. "We just haven't seen that level of risk for other recalls. It's a unique situation with the alphas, resulting in unique efforts to get that fixed. It's a very time-consuming and resource-consuming activity."