A spokesperson at the car manufacturer’s sales and service cente in Klang Valley told FMT this was for safety reasons as the product is not allowed to be shipped by air and can only be brought in by sea.
“The goods cannot be shipped by plane because of the high pressure. They have to be brought in by sea, which takes around 14 days.”
The representative was answering criticism from customers dissatisfied with the long wait to have their airbags changed.
Two Honda customers had earlier told FMT they were informed that there were no replacements for their faulty airbags despite them responding to the widespread recall following reported fatalities.
They also had to wait a while before setting a date for servicing and this had caused some to choose not to replace their malfunctioning parts.
On Sunday, single mother Norazlin Haron, 44, died in a minor accident while travelling from Sri Gombak to Kota Damansara.
Investigations found that her death may be due to an exploding airbag inflator, with a projectile hitting her chest.
The other three passengers, her two children, aged 9 and 12, and her niece, 22, were not injured.
According to Honda, it had sent her three reminders to replace her airbags for her 2005 Honda City but this was not done.
According to the Honda representative, who spoke to FMT on condition of anonymity, calls have been flooding in from those requesting for maintenance and this had caused the centre to face workforce shortages.
“Since Sunday’s fatality, the issue of Honda’s malfunctioning airbags has become widely spoken of.
“Whenever something like this happens, people will start panicking and start making appointments. But we have limited staff and time.
“That is also why there has been a delay in our service.”
Reports state, worldwide, 11 known deaths and more than 100 injuries have been blamed on exploding Takata-made airbag inflators.
In November last year, a 43-year-old pregnant Malaysian housewife was killed after a collision activated the airbag in her Honda. Honda also confirmed two other deaths linked to airbag issues in April and May this year.