Vehicle recalls not uncommon: Honda exec

Japanese automaker Honda, which is recalling more than 400,000 vehicles globally for faulty airbags, has termed it as 'not totally uncommon'.

"Recalls are not new in our industry. Honda has had them before. They are not uncommon but we certainly don't like it," Honda's assistant vice-president public relations for America, Kurt Antonius told reporters on the sidelines of the Chicago Auto Show.

He said the company is currently focussing on taking care of the issues and ensuring that its customers drive safe vehicles.

"The important thing is, we are taking care of the issues for our customers. We have to provide the safest vehicle possible for our customers and the best way we can do that is to have those customers come in and get those airbags replaced," he added.

Honda is recalling an additional 437,000 cars globally, including 2001 and 2002 Accords, Civics and CRVs, bringing its 15-month-old recall to nearly one million vehicles.

The company says faulty airbags in some of its cars can cause injury to the driver. As rival Toyota also deals with the same problem, Antonius said recalls are 'not a new phenomenon in our industry and everyone needs to deal with it in their own best way'.

On its part, Honda is calling customers and emailing notices asking owners to get to a Honda dealership as fast as possible to get the vehicles repaired.