— Owners of 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey minivans should be aware of a federal investigation opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
NHTSA has received 18 complaints and other injury reports about sudden inadvertent side curtain and/or side thorax airbag deployments.
The investigation includes more than 441,000 Odyssey minivans.
Without warning, the side curtain or side thorax airbags deployed, typically when the Odyssey minivans were in motion. But one driver complained the airbags deployed while refueling the minivan.
Some Honda Odyssey owners complained the airbags suddenly deployed after the vehicles drove over a bump, pothole or after striking a curb.
A few of those Honda Odyssey airbag deployment complaints:
"I was driving in Sequoia national forest and hit a small pothole/erosion hole in front of a gate at approximately 2-3mph. I slightly bottomed out the car. The airbags deployed. Mild abrasion friction burns on my wrist. I was told by Honda that this is my fault and that their airbag system only deployes [sic] when it should, and ultimately just filled an insurance claim."
"While operating the vehicle on a highway, under normal weather conditions the vehicle was traveling at a normal rate of speed while Side airbag curtains on both, drivers and passengers side, spontaneously deployed. Side airbags caused temporary visual and hearing impairment from deployment making vehicle operation on highway extremely dangerous to safely navigate to shoulder of highway to a place of safety."
"We hit a pot hole on a city street going 30-35 and it caused the airbags on both sides of the van to deploy. There was no damage to the van, rim, or tire. In addition, when the passenger airbag deployed my wife received a burn on her arm."
Minivan owners also complain of the distraction caused by unnecessary airbag deployments, and certain Odyssey owners complained how the deployed airbags blocked the use of mirrors.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Honda Odyssey airbag investigation.