NHTSA Complaint #11645676 — 2021 HONDA PILOT

The side curtain airbags deployed while I was sitting in the passenger's side of the car looking into the glove compartment for about ten minutes with the car being completely off and parked in the driveway. The Ignition was off and there was glitching and clicking sounds seconds before the airbags deployed. This could have happened at any point while driving on the street or the freeway. It could have caused an accident and could have killed me if it happened elsewhere. It could have been the passenger's side airbag that deployed and I could have been seriously injured. This incident happened on a Sunday, so I had the car towed to Honda the following day. Honda's response after investigating: "We contacted American Honda Technical Support. Our American Honda District Rep informed us to have the customer contact her insurance provider for repairs." Aside from this official response, I was told that they investigated what they could and found no reason as to why the airbags would have deployed. I was told I had two options. Pay for repair with them or report it to the insurance. I stated that the release of the vehicle was a liability if I decided to not pay for repairs with Honda. After some dialogue, they helped with a loaner car and did not release the car to me. There were no warning lights or messages on the dash whatsoever. About a month prior to this incident, the car started alarming randomly. The random alarming would stop when disconnecting the hood latch sensor. I took the car in for a diagnosis and Honda reported that the cause of the alarm was the keyless access unit. The car (screen and dash) would still glitch after the hood latch sensor was disconnected. My hope is that Honda & American Honda admit responsibility & provide a solution not only for me but for all Honda Pilot owners that may be in danger. Investigating should be a priority, but even if repairs are done to my vehicle, I no longer feel safe driving a my vehicle.