On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on I-15 South of las vegas, nv the right front. Passenger airbag on my 2006 Honda Element inadvertently deployed. There was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right front passenger seat when the incident occurred. The right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. Upon returning to my home in ventura, ca I contacted a local Honda dealer in oxnard, ca. They were very circumspect in their discussions with me and I was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any "additional information" I may have. I have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your Agency, but with little or no results. It is my understanding that North american Honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). So far as I can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a Honda Element such as mine. It is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an "X" in the death or fatality box on your form. It's time your Agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force Honda to take responsibility for this defect.

- Ventura, CA, USA

On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on I-15 South of las vegas, nv the right front. Passenger airbag on my 2006 Honda Element inadvertently deployed. There was no impact or collision of any kind. My wife was sitting in the right front passenger seat when the incident occurred. The right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. Upon returning to my home in ventura, ca I contacted a local Honda dealer in oxnard, ca. They were very circumspect in their discussions with me and I was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any "additional information" I may have. I have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min E have occurred in the past and have been reported to your Agency, but with little or no results. It is my understanding that North american Honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). So far as I can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a Honda Element such as mine. It is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an "X" in the death or fatality box on your form. It's time your Agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force Honda to take responsibility for this defect.

- Ventura, CA, USA

I was driving my 2006 Honda Element down the road to get out of the neighborhood. The car only has 24,000 miles on it. It was in arrowhead Honda in peoria, AZ on June 30th 09 for a oil change. As I was driving the driver side airbag(seat airbag) deployed. It was an extremely load bang. I pulled over to see if it was my tire or what had happened. There was no debris road at all. The airbag deployed on its own. I took it back to arrowhead Honda, and they said they would not fix it. They said I had to file an insurance claim for this. I did some research and found out I am not the only person that this has happened to. Honda needs to fix this.

- Surprise, AZ, USA

My daughter was driving on the highway to school when suddenly the driver's air bag exploded into her side. She hadn't hit a pot hole and hadn't run over anything. She pulled off the road and checked to see if she had been shot. She said smoke or a gas released from the airbag. She took it to the closest Honda dealership the next day. The dealership did an assessment of the sensors and examined underneath the car. They said that the car must have run over an object that set the sensors off because they said there was a small gash that ran parallel to the car's body. My daughter did not notice any debris on the road. Even if she did run over road debris, why are sensors placed in this spot under the sidestep where any little bump causes the sensors to make the airbag explode. They offered to have the sensors and seat airbag replace at a cost to us. We declined as we feel that Honda should pay for this since the sensors are placed in a dangerous accident causing position where any bump can set it off causing the airbag to explode without necessarily being in an accident. This could have caused a serious accident.

- Centennial, CO, USA

Accidental side airbag deployment: The side air bad has deployed twice (~12 months apart) without any side impact.

- Terrell, NC, USA

Air bag went off while driving down the freeway... air bag went off for no reason just driving drivers side air bag burned and bruised arm..car at the Honda dealer they are deciding to fix or not to fix the car. Don't know if Honda will fix the car.

- Corona, CA, USA

Driver's side airbag deployed after minor non-damaging bottom impact. The car was driven over a pile of asphalt at a very low rate of speed (>5mph) and when it came down it bottomed out on the pile. The side (passenger seat) air bag deployed. There is no external body damage to the vehicle other than some shallow scratches on the bottom frame at the point of impact. I don't deny impact, but complain that a $1000 repair and the potential for passenger injury (no one in seat at time) resulted from a non-damaging, non-severe, non-injury threatening bottom impact. An airbag should not deploy with such minor impact. My bag system is now inoperative and my side bag is blown out of the passenger seat back. Airbags are there to protect flesh from crushing metal and shattering glass. Why did a bag go off when no protection was necessary? the only protection needed at that time was protection from a needlessly exploding air bag! now my entire system is inoperable in the event it is needed for a valid impact.

- New River, AZ, USA

I was driving my 2006 Honda Element on a dirt road at 25 mph when the side airbag in the drivers side seat spontaneously deployed. I took it to the dealer and they said that it was not covered under the bumper to bumper warranty because the airbag did what it was supposed to do. The side airbag on a Honda Element deploys as the result of a single sensor being activated. The front airbags deploy when 2 out of 3 sensors are activated. I was told by the dealer that this has happened on other Honda Elements, not as the result of an accident but because of the sensor indicating a need for deployment.

- Whitefish, MT, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Honda Element. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle was involved in a crash. The air bags failed to deploy. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of failure and advised the contact to call the manufacturer and NHTSA. The contact sustained an injury to her collar bone. A police report was filed. The engine size and # of cylinders were unknown. Updated 08/16/07.

- Canfield, OH, USA

I was driving at low speed along a gravel road at approximately 10 mph in a 2004 Honda Element ex when the side airbag deployed on the driver's side of the vehicle. I did not hit anything and I can find no reason why this airbag would deploy without any impact.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

July 28th 2006 @ about 3 pm. I was driving home on the freeway @ normal rate of speed (65 or so mph) with the flow of traffic. I was driving in the second from the fast lane. It was a normal southern California day, sunny, clear and hot. After about 40 minutes of my 1 hour commute the drivers side airbag suddenly and without any warning deployed with a extremely loud and disorienting bang! I was quite startled by the deployment but was able to maintain control of the vehicle. When the bag went off my left arm was resting on the window ledge. I received a nasty welt on my upper forearm as a result of the bags sudden deployment. I then pulled off the freeway to inspect my vehicle. I found no signs of damage on the exterior and none on the interior except for the rather large rip in my drivers side seat and the now deployed airbag hanging off the side of my seat. I took the car to the dealer on Saturday left it for the tech to evaluate. I was called that afternoon and informed that I would need to bring it back and leave it during the week so they could consult the corporate advisors/specialist in the matter. I returned the car on Tuesday Aug 1 2006 for the evaluation. I received a call later in the day informing me that Honda would not be repairing the vehicle as I had hit or run over something causing the deployment. As I said earlier there was no impact and nothing was run over prior to the deployment. I have owned the car since mile 7 on the odometer and have been the only driver for it's 18000 miles. I want to make it clear this was a very dangerous occurrence. I was able to control the vehicle and avoid an accident. Maybe the next person this happens to wont. I don't want this to go undocumented for future victims. Also, I don't think a sensor should be placed anywhere under the vehicle where it could be struck and cause an accidental deployment anyway!

- Monrovia, CA, USA