Takata fined record $200 million over recalls of exploding airbags

Takata Corp. agreed to phase out its use of ammonium nitrate propellant in airbag inflators and pay a $70 million cash fine as part of a consent order with US auto safety regulators to resolve violations stemming from the supplier’s airbag defect crisis.

“For years, Takata has built and sold defective products, refused to acknowledge the defect, and failed to provide full information to NHTSA, its customers, or the public”, Foxx is quoted in the adjoining press release.

Takata’s air bags are inflated by an explosion of ammonium nitrate, and investigators have found so far that prolonged exposure to airborne moisture can cause the propellant to burn too fast.

The NHTSA fined Takata $70 million and could add another $130 million onto that penalty if the company fails to abide by its consent order to address the safety issue.

Takata will face a fine of another $130 million if it doesn’t meet the terms of a five-year agreement to complete recalls and upgrade its own safety systems. Out of the 19 million recalled vehicles from various automobile manufacturers that were fitted with the faulty air bags, 6 million are getting prioritized by the NHTSA.

The agency has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference in Washington to unveil the penalty, which could be a record if it grows to $200 million.

“We have become aware of evidence that suggests that Takata misrepresented and manipulated test data for certain air bag inflators”, Honda said. Under a deal with the NHTSA, Takata admitted to failing to recall its defective air bags quickly enough.

After years of investigations and a confusing patchwork of recalls to replace its fatally flawed airbags, Takata has finally buckled.

Transport Canada says there have been no reports of the airbags malfunctioning in Canada.

“We want to understand their intention”, Hiroshi Shimizu said Wednesday. Speaking to the media in Tokyo, Chief Executive Shigehisa Takada said Takata had made a decision to phase out ammonium nitrate after the US order and in view of consumers’ concerns. NHTSA also issued findings that Takata provided the department with selective, incomplete or inaccurate data dating back to at least 2009, and continuing through the agency’s current investigation.

“The effect of the delay and refusal has damaged lots of consumers and caused the biggest, most sophisticated security recall ever”.

Honda said it provided NHTSA with information from “millions of pages of Takata internal documents” that the Japanese supplier produced in connection with US lawsuits. “No one deserves to have an exploding airbag installed in their vehicle; a safety recall is a burden”, Mark Rosekind, Ph.D., NHTSA administrator, said.