ST. THOMAS — Attorney General Claude Walker moved with haste to warn the territory’s drivers operating vehicles affected by the Takata airbag recall of the dangers of operating them. He also urged local Honda and Acura vehicle owners to visit any local dealership to replace the airbags, promising that Honda would cover all costs.<\/p>\n
But local Honda dealers said they are not aware of Honda’s promise, leaving the affected Honda and Acura owners in a quandary.<\/p>\n
Mr. Walker, displeased with the situation, issued a stern warning to Honda via letter, asking that immediate steps be taken to correct the matter, and scolded the automaker for failing take action when he first brought the issue to Honda’s attention.<\/p>\n
“This is not the first time that Honda’s shortcomings in handling its recall in the U.S. Virgin Islands have been brought to my attention. On May 31st, after the U.S. Virgin Islands filed suit against Takata and Honda, we communicated to you that Virgin Islands consumers who contacted Honda dealers to replace their Takata airbags were given the run-around -sent to the national Honda helpline, then to Honda Puerto Rico, and then back to Honda dealers in the U.S. Virgin Islands. At the time, we were assured that Honda had corrected that problem,” Mr. Walker wrote.<\/p>\n
Following an urgent plea by federal regulators on Thursday that airbags in more than 300,000 Honda and Acura vehicles were\u00a0at an unacceptably high risk of exploding, and should be replaced immediately, Mr. Walker on Friday asked Honda and Acura owners in the territory to stop driving the affected vehicles and get them repaired immediately. But with local dealers stating that they haven’t received correspondence from Honda, the situation serves as an embarrassment to Mr. Walker’s office.<\/p>\n
“This is an urgent safety issue, but so far, Honda has demonstrated a clear lack of\u2019 attention to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Honda has failed to repair or replace unsafe vehicles in the Virgin Islands and such neglect is treacherous and unacceptable. Honda seems all too willing to sell cars in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but not to protect its customers who drive those cars,” Mr. Walker added.<\/p>\n