NHTSA Defect Petition DP26005

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a Petition dated May 30, 2026. The Petition requested an investigation into inadvertent air bag deployment in model year (MY) 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey vehicles. The Petition contended that air bags can deploy absent a sufficiently severe event to trigger a deployment, such as an impact, rollover event, or G-force threshold breach. The Petition further alleged that the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) conflict and inaccurate data is being recorded for the air bag system. An air bag is a supplemental vehicle occupant restraint system that deploys a cushion designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision. The cushion prevents vehicle occupants from striking hard interior surfaces and, in some cases, exterior surfaces. Air bags are designed to work in conjunction with seat belts, the primary occupant restraint system. Seat belts restrain occupants keeping them in place for the air bag to provide proper protection and to mitigate injury from air bag deployment. An air bag system consists of an air bag cushion, an inflator module, an air bag Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and impact sensors. When a crash begins, impact sensors located on the vehicle exterior begin to measure impact severity. If a crash is severe enough, the sensors send a signal to the system’s ECU, which then signals the inflator to fill the air bag. ODI reviewed 9 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), one Early Warning Reporting (EWR) Death & Injury (D&I) report, and several TREAD (Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation) Field Reports alleging inadvertent air bag deployment in the Subject Vehicles. Several complaints allege that the inadvertent deployment of air bags occurred while traveling over potholes, road debris, or during minor curb strikes. All the complaints allege that there was no warning prior to the inadvertent deployment. In general, different type