Mario So Funny

TORRANCE, California — Honda on Thursday expanded a previously announced recall of vehicles with defective airbags to an additional 603,000 vehicles, including the 2001-’02 Accord and 2001-’03 Civic.

Other vehicles also include the 2001-’03 Honda Odyssey, 2002-’03 CR-V, 2003 Pilot, 2002-’03 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL.

With the latest additions, the recall now includes nearly 900,000 vehicles.

Honda said in a statement posted on its Web site that the additional vehicles need to be brought into a dealer for inspection because they may contain defective parts. It said it is “aware of several incidents related to this recall and expansions,” but offered no further details. Information about the expanded recall has yet to be posted on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal safety agency that oversees recalls in the U.S.

Honda originally started the recall because it said the driver’s airbag inflator on 273,000 vehicles needed to be replaced. “The inflators may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality,” Honda said.

“Separately, Honda has also determined that approximately 640 affected driver’s airbag service parts were sold for installation in vehicles for collision repair or other vehicle service,” said Honda. “Because Honda is unable to determine the specific vehicles that may have received the affected service parts through existing information, Honda will inspect an additional approximately 603,000 vehicles and replace those parts as necessary.”

The recall is expected to begin in late December. Owners can contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009 and select option 4 or Acura at 1-800-382-2238 and select option 4.

Inside Line says: If you own one of the aforementioned Honda vehicles, be aware that a recall is in the works.