Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) has filed a recall, assigned NHTSA campaign number 26V332000, covering a broad list of Honda and Acura vehicles built across model years 2016 through 2026. According to the recall record posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the component at issue is the front passenger seat weight sensor — the part the occupant classification system uses to decide how, or whether, the front passenger air bag should deploy. Honda's summary states that this sensor may crack and short circuit. The federal record classifies the component as "AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER," placing the defect in the sensing layer of the restraint system rather than in the air bag inflator itself.

The occupant classification system exists to tailor air bag behavior to who is in the front passenger seat. It reads a weight signal and uses it to suppress or enable the passenger air bag — for example, to keep the bag from firing for a small child or an empty seat. When the sensor that feeds that decision cracks and shorts, the system's input is corrupted, and the recall record describes the result in terms of an unintended deployment during a crash event rather than a failure to deploy.

"The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash."— NHTSA recall 26V332000, source

That sentence is the failure mode Honda disclosed on the federal record, and the stated consequence follows from it. The record's consequence text states that air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury. The wording is precise: it ties the hazard to a deployment that happens during a crash, which is the scenario the occupant classification system is meant to govern. The component is a sensor, but the effect Honda describes reaches the air bag's deployment behavior.

How wide the campaign is

The vehicle list on the record is unusually long and spans both the Honda and Acura nameplates. It includes certain 2018-2021 and 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 Acura RDX, and 2017-2020, 2022-2026 Acura MDX vehicles. On the Honda side it covers 2017-2021, 2023, and 2025 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 and 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 breadth of nameplates and model years is consistent with a shared seat-sensor component used across multiple Honda and Acura platforms.

The record also states that this recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. That earlier campaign establishes prior history for the same general issue, and the expansion language indicates the current campaign brings additional vehicles into scope rather than opening an entirely unrelated investigation. For owners, the practical effect is that a vehicle not previously included may now be covered, which is why the VIN-level record is the authoritative way to confirm inclusion.

What the remedy record says

According to the recall, dealers will replace the seat weight sensors free of charge. The remedy is a parts replacement at the sensor level, consistent with a defect attributed to the sensor cracking and short circuiting. The record states that owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 6, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. The record lists a series of Honda internal recall identifiers — BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK — which correspond to the different vehicle groupings within the single NHTSA campaign.

The record notes that the Vehicle Identification Numbers involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026. As with any recall covering many models, a VIN lookup is the reliable way to confirm whether a specific Honda or Acura is included, because the model-year ranges differ by nameplate and not every vehicle within a listed range is necessarily affected. The campaign was reported to NHTSA on May 21, 2026.

For owners tracking the campaign, the operative facts on the federal record are these: the affected vehicles are specific 2016-2026 Honda and Acura models listed on the record; the issue is a front passenger seat weight sensor that may crack and short circuit; the disclosed consequence is that the air bags may deploy unintentionally during a crash, increasing the risk of injury; the remedy is a free dealer replacement of the seat weight sensors; owner letters are expected July 6, 2026; and the campaign expands prior recall 24V064. The authoritative reference is the campaign record itself, identified by NHTSA number 26V332000, which NHTSA maintains and updates as the remedy proceeds.

Why a sensor recall reaches the air bag

It can seem counterintuitive that a recall over a seat sensor is described in terms of air bags deploying. The connection is the occupant classification system. That system's job is to decide, in real time, how the front passenger restraint should behave, and the seat weight sensor is one of its primary inputs. The recall record places the defect in the sensing layer — "AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER" — but the consequence Honda discloses reaches the deployment behavior of the restraint, because a cracked, short-circuited sensor feeds the system a faulty signal at the moment the system is deciding what to do.

The campaign's structure also reflects how a single shared part can ripple across an entire product line. The record lists more than a dozen distinct Honda internal recall identifiers tied to the one NHTSA campaign, each corresponding to a different grouping of vehicles. That is consistent with a common seat-sensor component carried across multiple platforms and assembled into many model lines over several years. The expansion of prior recall 24V064 reinforces that reading: rather than a new and isolated defect, the record describes a wider set of vehicles being brought under the same remedy.

For an owner, the takeaways from the federal record are concrete. The fix is a free replacement of the seat weight sensor performed by a dealer. The notification timeline points to owner letters expected July 6, 2026, with VIN searchability on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026. And the reliable way to confirm coverage is a VIN lookup under campaign number 26V332000, because the model-year ranges differ by nameplate and the record covers specific configurations rather than every vehicle in a model line. Honda's customer service line for the campaign is 1-888-234-2138.