American Honda estimates that more than 24,000 recalled airbag modules made by Takata are scattered among thousands of salvage yards and auto recyclers across the country. The company is scrambling to make sure none of them ends up back on the road. In recent months, Honda has been reaching out to these businesses with an offer to buy any Takata airbag inflators covered by the recalls. American Honda spokesman Chris Martin says the automaker has bought about 3,900 so far and is storing them in a safe location.
The effort casts a spotlight on a murky segment of the automotive supply chain and a weak spot in the nation's recall system: scrapped vehicles that are a common source of inexpensive replacement parts used by independent repair shops and wrench-savvy consumers, especially for fixing older vehicles.
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