Published
June 8, 2026
Updated
July 7, 2026
If you own or lease a 2018–2022 Honda Odyssey, here is what the complaint claims about side airbags deploying with no crash — and why the recall alone may not make owners whole.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Honda has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice. If your vehicle is under a recall, follow the official Honda recall notice and any NHTSA guidance.
What Is This About?
Honda is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that 2018–2022 Honda Odyssey minivans were sold with a dangerous defect: side airbags that can deploy on their own, without any crash. The suit says owners have been hurt by airbags going off over ordinary road bumps, and that Honda concealed the problem before issuing a recall that the plaintiffs say does not make them whole.The case is captioned Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al., Case No. 5:26-cv-04431, and is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint targets Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiaries and seeks to represent owners and lessees of the affected Odyssey minivans across a group of states. Honda has not been found liable, and the claims remain unproven.
Status
Complaint Filed
Proposed class action · Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al.
Allegation
Side airbags that can deploy with no crash
2018–2022 Odyssey · suit says the April 2026 recall doesn't fix the defect or restore value
Can I Claim?
No — nothing to claim yet
No settlement, no fund, no claim form at this stage
What the Lawsuit Alleges
At the center of the case is the Odyssey's supplemental restraint system (SRS) — the electronics that decide when airbags fire. The complaint alleges that the side curtain and side thorax airbags in 2018–2022 Odysseys can deploy spontaneously, with no collision at all, in everyday driving situations such as going over a speed bump, a pothole, or road debris, sometimes at speeds as low as the mid-20s mph.According to the suit, an unexpected airbag deployment is not just startling — it can cause physical injuries on its own, and the deployed curtain airbags can block a driver's view of the side windows and mirrors, raising the risk of a crash. The plaintiffs allege Honda was aware of the defect and concealed it from buyers, and that at one point the company suggested it was "normal" for the side airbags to activate in some of these situations.
The complaint further alleges that Honda's April 2026 recall — a software reprogramming of the SRS control unit — does not fully resolve the problem and does nothing to restore the value owners lost by buying a minivan with a safety defect. Based on those allegations, the suit reportedly brings claims including:
• Fraudulent concealment / omission of a known safety defect
• Breach of express and implied warranty
• Violations of state consumer-protection and unfair-trade-practice statutes
• Unjust enrichment
As with any complaint, these are allegations only. A court has not ruled on whether the Odyssey is defective or whether Honda did anything wrong.
The Honda Odyssey Airbag Recall
Separate from the lawsuit, Honda announced a recall of the affected minivans in April 2026. The recall, assigned NHTSA campaign number 26V227000, covers roughly 440,830 Honda Odyssey vehicles from the 2018 through 2022 model years, built between January 24, 2017 and June 3, 2022.According to the recall, the SRS control logic for the second- and third-row side airbags has insufficient margin in its deployment threshold, so certain road inputs can be misread as a side impact and trigger an inadvertent deployment. Honda has linked the issue to a number of reported injuries. The remedy is to reprogram — or, where necessary, replace — the SRS electronic control unit, free of charge, with owner notification letters mailed beginning in late May 2026.
The lawsuit's core complaint is that this recall fix is not enough: the plaintiffs allege the software update does not eliminate the risk and does not compensate owners for the diminished value of a vehicle that was sold with the defect in the first place. You can check whether a specific minivan is covered by entering its VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup.
Is There a Honda Odyssey Settlement Yet?
No. Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al. is a newly filed lawsuit, not a settlement.That means:
• There is no settlement fund.
• There is no claim form.
• There is no payout, and no deadline to act.
• Owners and lessees do not need to do anything to "join" at this stage.
The filing of a complaint is the very beginning of a case. Honda has not been found liable simply because a lawsuit was filed, and the case remains pending unless and until a newer docket entry says otherwise. If the case is ever resolved through a settlement, or a class is certified, a formal claims process with its own eligibility rules and deadlines would be announced separately. The free recall repair, by contrast, is available now regardless of how the litigation turns out.
Who Could Be Affected?
The complaint reportedly seeks to represent owners and lessees of the affected Odyssey minivans in a group of states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The vehicles at issue are 2018–2022 Honda Odysseys covered by the side airbag recall. Because no class has been certified yet, the exact vehicle list, state list, and class definition are not final and could change.Drivers most likely to care about this case include:
• Odyssey owners and lessees who received the airbag recall notice
• Anyone whose side airbags deployed without a crash
• Owners who say their minivan's resale value dropped after the recall
• People who bought or leased a 2018–2022 Odyssey without being told about the airbag defect
If you own or lease an affected Odyssey, it may be worth keeping your purchase or lease paperwork, recall letters, and any repair records in case a class is later certified and a claims process opens. There is nothing to file right now.
What Should Odyssey Owners Do Now?
Even though there is nothing to claim, owners can take a few practical steps. Check whether your specific vehicle is under the recall using your VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup or Honda's owner site, and schedule the free SRS software repair your dealer offers. Follow any safety guidance in the recall notice, since that guidance is about preventing injury, not about the lawsuit. Keep copies of any recall notices and service visits.This page is informational and is not legal advice. Owners with questions about their individual rights — including state "lemon law" options for a vehicle that has been repeatedly out of service — may want to speak with a licensed attorney in their state.
What Happens Next?
From here, the case will move through the normal early stages of federal litigation. Honda may file a response to the complaint or a motion to dismiss, the parties may exchange information in discovery, and the plaintiffs would at some point ask the court to certify a class. Any of these steps can take months, and the case could be amended, narrowed, consolidated, or resolved along the way.OpenClassActions.com will continue watching the docket for any major updates, including a motion to dismiss, class certification activity, settlement talks, or any future claim form. For another example of an auto safety-defect class action at the complaint stage, see our coverage of the Volkswagen ID.4 battery defect lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Honda Odyssey airbag settlement yet?
No. The case is a proposed class action lawsuit. There is no settlement, no fund, and no claim form. Honda has not been found liable just because a lawsuit was filed.What does the lawsuit allege?
According to the complaint, 2018–2022 Honda Odyssey side curtain and side thorax airbags can deploy with no crash — over speed bumps, potholes, or road debris — that Honda concealed the defect, and that the April 2026 software recall does not fix the problem or restore lost value. The allegations are unproven.Which vehicles are covered by the recall?
The related recall (NHTSA 26V227000) covers about 440,830 Honda Odyssey minivans from the 2018–2022 model years, built between January 24, 2017 and June 3, 2022. The dealer reprograms or replaces the SRS control unit free of charge. You can confirm coverage by VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup.Do I need to file a claim?
No. Because this is a lawsuit and not a settlement, there is nothing to claim and no deadline. If a settlement or certified class ever produces a claims process, deadlines and eligibility would be announced then. In the meantime, have the free recall repair performed on your vehicle.Read the Complaint
The full class action complaint filed in Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al. is embedded below. It lays out the plaintiffs' allegations about the side airbag defect, Honda's marketing and knowledge, the NHTSA investigation, and the April 2026 recall. The allegations in the complaint are unproven.Sources
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California — Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al., Case No. 5:26-cv-04431 (complaint PDF)• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — recall 26V227000 and VIN recall lookup: NHTSA Recalls
• Consumer Reports and primary auto-industry reporting on the Honda Odyssey side airbag recall and complaint
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Status
Complaint Filed — Proposed Class Action
Case Title
Carr et al. v. Honda Motor Company, Ltd. et al.
Case Number
5:26-cv-04431
Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Vehicles
2018–2022 Honda Odyssey (recall 26V227000)
Recall Lookup
NHTSA Recall Lookup
