Automakers Knew of Takata Airbag Problems for Years, Lawsuit Alleges

Takata is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges related to its recalled airbag inflators today. At the same time that Takata is under fire, a lawsuit alleges BMW, Ford, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota knew of problems with the airbags for years but continued to use them anyway.

“They were focused on the low price of Takata’s inflators and concerned that if they stopped using [them], they might not have a sufficient supply, which would prevent them from selling vehicles and generating billions of dollars in revenue,” said a report filed today by Peter Prieo, lead plaintiff attorney.

The allegations, which are detailed in very specific examples in the court filing, are partially based on documents from automakers. According to one allegation, Ford kept using Takata inflators even after its own inflator expert warned against it. One of the automakers, although not mentioned by name in the filing, described the problem with Takata inflators as “one in which a passenger protection device was transformed into a killing weapon.” This admission allegedly came after an inflator ruptured in 2009.

“The automotive defendants were aware that rupture after rupture, both during testing and in the field, confirmed how dangerous and defective Takata’s air bags were,” the court document said.

This isn’t the first time that automakers have been accused of hiding problems with Takata airbags. A New York Times report published last year claimed that General Motors knew about the dangerous inflators for more than a decade. After researching and testing the problematic Takata airbags, GM’s then-supplier Autoliv warned that its competitor’s inflator was “dangerously volatile.” GM allegedly decided to use the risky inflators anyway. Autoliv also allegedly warned other automakers, including Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota. An audit carried out by Honda, however, claimed that Takata gave the automaker manipulated test data.

Takata’s airbags can rupture with too much force when exposed to high humidity and temperatures. Takata will pay $1 billion in criminal penalties related to the airbags that have killed at least 16 people worldwide.

Source: The Detroit News, Los Angeles Times

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