Honda slammed over missing airbags

Motorists are being short-changed by a car maker sending models to Australia without important safety gear.

Australian Honda customers are missing out on tech that has the potential to save lives.

An investigation by independent vehicle safety body ANCAP has found that local examples of the CR-V, Civic and ZR-V lack key safety equipment fitted to the models sold in other markets.

ANCAP says Australian petrol-powered – not hybrid – versions of the Honda Civic miss out on a centre airbag between the driver and passenger, rear side thorax airbags, speed sign recognition, intelligent speed limiter systems and seatbelt reminders that are found in other markets.

There are structural differences between European and Australian Honda ZR-V models.

The safety body says Australia’s four-star CR-V SUVs have less sophisticated driver assistance systems than five-star models sold overseas.

Smaller ZR-V models have structural differences behind the front bumper that separate Australian and European examples of the car.

Local versions also miss out on an additional structural beam hidden inside the rear doors.

Carla Hoorweg, chief executive of ANCAP, says “the lives and safety of Australian and New Zealand consumers are just as important as those in Europe or any other world region”.

Honda’s CR-V is a polished car to drive. Photo: Thomas Wielecki

“What we’re seeing here are manufacturers consciously providing Australian and New Zealand consumers with products that do not match the same levels of safety provided to European consumers, and no doubt consumers will be surprised to learn of these differences,” she says.

“We are seeing some manufacturers prioritise higher levels of safety only in markets where the regulation requires it – while others are offering different safety specifications based on the expectations of dominant sales markets, production locations, or markets with less mature consumer expectations.”

Hybrid Honda Civic models have more safety gear than petrol versions. Photo: Thomas Wielecki

A spokeswoman for Honda Australia defended the brand by saying “the Honda vehicles we have in market today are the safest in Honda’s history of manufacturing”.

“Whilst some of the features available in Honda vehicles sold in Europe (sourced from China) are not available in the same models for the Australian market (sourced from Japan and Thailand), we are confident that the overall safety packaging within our current line-up of Honda vehicles is more than equipped to reduce the impact or mitigate an accident involving an object or other road user.”

Originally published as Honda slammed over missing airbags