Diagsheet

2018 Honda Odyssey · symptom sheet

Airbag warning light or recall

  • 25owner reports
  • 80,000median miles
  • 5involved a crash

Newest report Sep 4, 2026 · checked Sep 10, 2026

25 of the 979 complaints on this car describe airbag.

Tick what matches of 25 reports

12
16
1
7
1

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (16 reports).

Recalls and investigations

2 recalls on the airbags cover the 2018 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

26V-332May 21, 2026
Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification:Front Passenger

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Risk and remedy
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
26V-227Apr 9, 2026
Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Module:Software

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Odyssey vehicles. A software programming error can cause the side and side curtain air bags to deploy unexpectedly.

Risk and remedy
Risk: Air bags that deploy unexpectedly can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the supplemental restraint system (SRS) electronic control unit (ECU) software or replace the ECU, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is UNW. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning April 16, 2026. The information in your report suggests that Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) may have been aware of this issue more than five business days before filing a report with NHTSA. Please be reminded that under Federal law, this agency is to be notified of all safety defect and/or noncompliance decisions within five business days. 49 CFR 573.6 Significant civil penalties can be assessed for this violation.

NHTSA investigations into the airbags on the Odyssey

DP26-005opened Jul 13, 2026
Airbags · model years 2011 to 2017

Inadvertent deployment of air bags. Open.

NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a Petition dated May 30, 2026. The Petition is requesting an investigation into inadvertent air bag deployment in model year (MY) 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey vehicles. The Petition contends 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 alleges that the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) and Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) conflict and inaccurate data is being recorded for the air bag system. The Petitioner cites 10 complaints received by ODI alleging the same failure. ODI will evaluate these complaints to determine if they are related to the failure cited in the Petition andconduct a technical review under 49 CFR Part 552. This Defect Petition is being opened to evaluate whether to grant or deny the Petition. The Petition can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under NHTSA Number 11744118.
PE25-018opened Oct 28, 2025
Airbags · model years 2018 to 2022

Inadvertent deployment of side air bags. Closed jun 25, 2026, led to recall 26V-227.

NHTSA summary
On October 28, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE25018 to investigate complaints of inadvertent deployment of the side curtain and/or side thorax air bags. These complaints concern model year (MY) 2018-2022 Honda Odyssey vehicles manufactured by American Honda Motor Co. (Honda). Honda issued recall 26V227 on April 9, 2026, to address concerns of inadvertent side air bag deployment. In the recall filing, the company stated that “[a]s of April 2, 2026, Honda has had 130 warranty claims, 25 reports of an injury, and no reports of death related to this issue from January 24, 2017 – April 2, 2026.” Honda states that the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) contains incorrect deployment parameters for the side thorax and side curtain air bags, which may cause inadvertent deployment when the vehicle encounters strong road impacts, such as driving over potholes, speed bumps, or road debris. Honda stated that the SRS control logic for the second and third rows of seating contained an insufficient deployment threshold margin, allowing signal inputs to be misinterpreted as side impacts and causing inadvertent deployment of the side thorax and side curtain air bags. Recall 26V227 states that dealers will reprogram or replace the SRS ECU with improved air bag deployment parameters. Consumers received notice of this recall in late May 2026. In view of the recall being conducted by Honda, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation (
EA21-002opened Sep 17, 2021
Airbags · model years 2002 to 2004

Desiccated air bag inflator rupture. Open.

NHTSA summary
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been n
EA15-001opened Feb 24, 2015
Airbags · model years 2002 to 2004

Air bag inflator rupture. Open, led to recall 14V-668.

NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity co
PE14-016opened Jun 11, 2014
Airbags · model years 2002 to 2004

Air bag inflator rupture. Closed mar 2, 2015, led to recall 13V-172.

NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolu
PE13-020opened Jun 6, 2013
Airbags · model years 2003 to 2004

Inadvertent air bag deployment. Closed jan 6, 2014, led to recall 13V-412.

NHTSA summary
The investigation was opened based on reports of frontal air bag inadvertent deployments (ABIDs) on model year (MY) 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey vehicles.In its response dated September 20, 2013, Honda indicated that the MY 2003 Acura MDX vehicles use a SRS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which contains the same electrical component (an ASIC chip) as the Odyssey, and has a similar vehicle electrical system architecture.Through inspection and analysis of field returned vehicles and components, Honda determined that the SRS ECUs used in the Odyssey and MDX can degrade over time and result in the deployment of either the driver and/or the passenger frontal air bags.The deployment occurs without a crash or impact, and may occur while the vehicle is being operated on the roadway.Honda?s analysis determined that, when actuated, the electric power door lock circuitry on both the Odyssey and MDX produces high levels of electrical noise.The electrical noise, which is transmitted to the SRS ECU via harnessing, may cause damage to the ASIC chip.Cumulative damage to the ASIC chip results in an inadvertent deployment event.A similar defect issue was investigated under Engineering Analysis (EA) 12-001, which led to recalls 12V-527 and 13V-040, and to recall 13V-029.In total, ODI is aware of 25 frontal ABIDs on the Odyssey vehicle and another three ABIDs on the MDX vehicles (data as of August 01, 2013).Consistent with findings in EA12-001, the failure data indicated an increasing incident trend wi

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 27,783 and 120,657 miles, from the 10 reports that gave a mileage.

118
219
221
222
324
625
926

What owners wrote

“During a side impact accident to the driver's side door, the SRS airbag system did not deploy the airbags. Driver ended up hitting their head and shoulder on the door frame. Police report does exist for the accident and there was no recall on this part for this vehicle but for the next model year, there was a recall for the SRS control system for a few vehicles.”

Filed Apr 29, 2025

“While driving certainly Air bag SRS problem information came up on the dashboard and never went away during my four hours of driving. I know this is a safety issue and so many accident happened before for failure of the air bags and people died. I though I should inform to NHTSA about this safety issue. I contacted the dealer and take my car to check this problem.”

Filed Feb 22, 2025

“was driving in a rainstorm, a storm drain cap was pushed up and popped rear passenger tire. set off ALL passenger side airbags. I have a police report, numerous photos and videos.”

Filed Jul 2, 2024

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 5 of 25 reports involved a crash and 6 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.

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