In a briefing, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said NHTSA had “taken Takata from being in a kicking-and-screaming mode to being part of the solution”.
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“The effect of the delay and refusal has damaged lots of consumers and caused the biggest, most sophisticated security recall ever”. “Today’s actions represent aggressive use of NHTSA’s authority to clean up these problems and protect public safety”.
This is a developing story…
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration imposed the fine because the Tokyo-based company failed to disclose in a timely manner a defect affecting millions of its airbags.
Takata’s air bags are inflated by an explosion of ammonium nitrate, and investigators so far have found that prolonged exposure to airborne moisture can cause the propellant to burn too fast, according to a story by the Associated Press.
Takata is the manufacturer of vehicle airbags. “In connection with the Consent Order, NHTSA also issued findings that Takata provided NHTSA with selective, incomplete or inaccurate data dating back to at least 2009, and continuing through the agency’s current investigation, and that Takata also provided its customers with selective, incomplete or inaccurate data”.
Honda has not ruled out the use of other Takata products, including air bags minus the inflators.
As part of the consent order, Takata will have a babysitter for the next five years, an independent monitor to be selected by NHTSA.
All of that should help NHTSA’s handling of the case slide down easier for the American public, which originally fined Takata only $14,000 a day.
Takata will receive a $200 million penalty, with $70 million of that required in cash.
Older vehicles sold in humid regions will be the first to be recalled, especially if they have Takata airbags in both drivers’ and passenger positions.
The NHTSA recommends people enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see if it matches one of the approximately 19 million vehicles from 12 auto manufacturers involved in the recall.at this website: https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/. Edward J. Markey. “We can’t wait for the next auto-recall, NHTSA needs to step up its enforcement and Congress should put the strongest auto-safety reforms on the books before another auto-related tragedy or scandal occurs”. The recall has been plagued by a shortage of replacement parts.
The safety regulator has demanded all inflators made with ammonium nitrate be recalled, which will again expand the recall process, potentially by millions of cars.
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Takata has defended its use of ammonium nitrate in airbag inflators, arguing that the chemical propellant is perfectly safe, however even new airbags have been subject to recalls for inflators that are prone to rupture and send shrapnel flying through a vehicle’s cabin.
