NHTSA Investigation
PE04053
FRONTAL DRIVER AIR BAG
Key Takeaways
- Investigation PE04053 currently maps to 1 tracked vehicle-year page across 1 make.
- This page summarizes the public investigation subject, status, timing, and affected tracked vehicles linked from NHTSA source data.
- The linked component on this record is air bags:frontal.
- This investigation record also references recall campaign 04V551000.
What This Investigation Page Shows
This page summarizes a public NHTSA investigation record tied to one or more tracked vehicle-year pages in our database. Investigation records sit between owner complaints and recall campaigns: they can remain open, close without a recall, or connect to a later remedy action. Use this page to see which tracked vehicles are linked to the record, then open the individual vehicle pages for complaints, recalls, and crash test context.
Investigation Summary
DURING TWO OF 13 NHTSA RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT COMPATIBILITY CRASH TESTS, THE DRIVER-SIDE FRONTAL AIRBAG FAILED TO PROPERLY DEPLOY DUE TO A LARGE TEAR IN THE AIRBAG FABRIC.BOTH R&D TEST VEHICLES THAT CONTAINED A FAILED AIR BAG WERE 4-DOOR, 4-CYLINDER (L4) VEHICLES.SUBSEQUENT STATIC AND DYNAMIC TESTS CONDUCTED BY HONDA REVEALED THAT DURING SEVERE CRASH CONDITIONS, THE AIRBAG FABRIC CAN SNAG THE INSIDE SURFACE OF THE AIRBAG MODULE COVER AT THE EMBLEM ATTACHMENT POINTS.HONDA REPORTS THAT THE AIR BAG MODULE AND COVER DESIGN ARE UNIQUE TO THE 4-DOOR, 4-CYLINDER SUBJECT VEHICLES.ON NOVEMBER 17, 2004, HONDA NOTIFIED THE AGENCY THAT IT WOULD RECALL 228,932 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 AND 28,428 EARLY-MY 2005 ACCORD L4 SEDANS (UP THROUGH EARLY-OCTOBER, 2004).AS PART OF THE RECALL REMEDY, HONDA WILL INSTALL AN ADDITIONAL PIECE OF PROTECTIVE FABRIC/FLAP BETWEEN THE AIRBAG AND THE INSIDE AIRBAG MODULE COVER.SEE NHTSA RECALL 04V551 FOR DETAILS.IN ADDITION, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 250 EXPORTED ACCORD VEHICLES INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. THE V-6 MODELS AND THE 2-DOOR, 4-CYLINDER MODELS ARE NOT INCLUDED BASED ON DIFFERENT AIR BAG AND AIR BAG MODULE COVER DESIGNS.THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Manufacturer listed on the source record: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Component listed on the source record: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Affected Vehicles (1)
| Year | Make | Model |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Honda | Accord |
Browse Affected Vehicles
Affected Models
Affected Years
All data is sourced from NHTSA public records. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or any government agency. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and may not reflect confirmed defects. For official information, visit nhtsa.gov.
Latest vehicle import recorded anywhere on this site: Sep 14, 2026. Individual vehicles and datasets may have older records; this is not this page's update date.