These airbags are said to have killed at least 23 people worldwide.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said owners must show evidence they have replaced these airbags with a letter from Honda.
He said the directive will take effect from Monday.
Explaining the need for the directive, he said there were 71,315 Honda vehicles, made from 2003 to 2013, that have yet to replace their airbags in Malaysia.
“That makes up 20% of the entire fleet recalled since 2014,” he said after meeting the family of the latest victim, Pong Hou Tien, 23, who was killed in an accident on May 27, at their home in Jalan Damai Perdana, Cheras. With him was JPJ director-general Shahruddin Khalid.
Last Sunday, Pong was believed to have been killed after his Honda City’s front passenger side airbag deployed and ejected a 2cm-long rusted metal shard that pierced his neck at high speed following a car crash in Taman Len Seng around 5.30am.
In February, another man died after he was struck by shrapnel from an exploding driver’s airbag inflator of his 2004 Honda City model in an accident in Selangor.
Loke told Bernama that so far eight Honda car owners had died in Malaysia due to the airbag problem.
He also wanted other car makers with such airbag problems to contact the RTD with details.
Loke told Malay Mail Online that owners of affected vehicles had to renew the road tax manually at RTD offices as online renewals will be blocked.
He was also considering publishing the registration numbers of all owners who do not comply with the recall.
He criticised owners for ignoring Honda’s repeated recalls after this issue cropped up four years ago.
He said Honda had informed customers of the recall through letters and through the press.
Honda Malaysia said Pong’s 2004 Honda City was listed in a 2015 recall but was never sent in for repairs.
Loke said 28 notice letters were sent to the victim’s old address, based on RTD records, with the latest delivered six days before the incident.
Loke also said the victim had not updated his address during the ownership transfer.
Honda confirms Takata air bag rupture in fatal Malaysia crash