Honda Motor To Stop Using Takata Inflaters In New Models

USA auto safety regulators fined Takata Corp. of Japan $70 million for lapses in the way it handled recalls of millions of explosion-prone air bags that are responsible for eight deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday announced it has levied a potential $200 million fine against Japanese airbag maker Takata, over defect information that the company sat on too long before notifying federal regulators. The consent order also obliges Takata not only to stop manufacturing and selling the non-desiccated Phase Stabilized Ammonium Nitrate (PSAN) Takata inflators, but also to prohibit it from entering into new contracts to supply the specified air bags.

“This settlement is an important step forward for Takata that will enable us to focus on rebuilding the trust of automakers, regulators and the driving public”, Shigehisa Takada, chairman and CEO of Takata, said in the statement. So far, the consensus is that the chemical propellant that ignites the air bag inflators can be damaged by moisture over time in humid environments.

“Delay, misdirection and refusal to acknowledge the truth allowed a serious problem to become a massive crisis”, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

But there were few answers for consumers who are anxious about whether the airbags in their vehicles contain the chemical and whether they are now subject to the Takata recall.

“Unless new evidence emerges, the company will have to recall all of its inflators”, even those in vehicle brands that have not been implicated up to now, Foxx said.

NHTSA also ordered General Motors to pay $35 million in May for violations tied to its ignition switch scandal.

The agency will appoint an independent monitor to observe Takata for five years to ensure the company is complying with the orders. As part of the same agreement, Takata has also admitted that it was aware of a defect with its airbags, but failed to issue a recall in a timely fashion.

Takata will receive a $200 million penalty, with $70 million of that required in cash.

According to the DOT, a separate Coordinated Remedy Order was issued to Takata and the 12 other vehicle manufacturers involved in the existing Takata recalls.

Under the agreement, the Transportation Department is pushing Takata and US automakers to speed up their efforts to fix vehicles with defective airbags.

UPDATE 6/18/2015: NHTSA reports that all automakers have loaded Takata airbag recall vehicle VIN data into its searchable system; the searchable database is available here.