— A Honda Accord, Honda Accord Hybrid and Honda HR-V seat belt pretensioner recall got the attention of federal safety regulators who wanted to know if the recall repairs were good enough.
Honda issued a recall in November 2023 which included 2023-2024 Honda Accord, Honda Accord Hybrid and Honda HR-V vehicles.
Honda said the front seat belt pretensioner assemblies may have been manufactured without rivets that secure the pretensioner quick connectors and wire plates.
Without the rivet the seat belt pretensioner won't restrain an occupant in a crash.
Both front seat belt pretensioners may be missing rivets in Honda HR-V vehicles, but in Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid vehicles the driver's side pretensioners are affected.
According to recall documents, dealers were told to inspect and possibly replace both front seat belt pretensioner assemblies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had questions about Honda's method to test the seat belt pretensioner to determine if it was missing the rivet.
Dealers used a pull force gauge to determine if the seat belt pretensioner needed to be replaced.
Apparently the inspection method worked fine because there have been no complaints or failures of the seat belt pretensioners since they were inspected by Honda dealerships.
NHTSA has closed the Honda investigation but will monitor the vehicles for additional problems.