After several months without additional recalls of vehicles with potentially defective Takata-produced airbags, Nissan has opened the gates again, adding some 45,000 sedans to the list of cars equipped with airbags found to spew pieces of shrapnel at passengers and drivers upon deployment. [More]
Takata
Honda Expands Takata Airbag Recall… Again
While five major car manufactures have recalled millions of vehicles with Takata-produced airbags in the last year, Honda has by far been the most affected. And today, the car company continued to distance itself from other automakers by recalling more than 100,000 additional vehicles that may contain the airbags known to spew pieces of shrapnel at drivers and passengers upon deployment. [More]
NHTSA Chief Says Takata More “Forthcoming” With Investigation, Senators Send Letter Urging Cooperation
A week after Japanese auto parts maker Takata said it would double its production of replacement airbags and three weeks after U.S. federal regulators began imposing a $14,000 per day fine against the company, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the company is being more forthcoming with information related to an investigation into millions of defective airbags. [More]
Honda Starting New Campaign Urging Consumers To Repair Recalled Vehicles
After recalling 6.2 million vehicles for a Takata airbag defect that can spew pieces of shrapnel at passengers and drivers, Honda now plans to launch a multi-million dollar campaign urging consumers to take those recalled vehicles to a dealer for much-needed repairs. [More]
Takata To Double Airbag Replacement Production To 900,000 Kits By September
After facing increased scrutiny by federal regulators in recent weeks regarding an investigation into the massive airbag recall and lack of new safety devices, Japanese auto parts maker Takata announced it will double production of replacement airbags in the next six months. [More]
NHTSA Increases Intensity Of Takata Airbag Investigation, Orders Company To Preserve Safety Devices
Federal regulators continue to put pressure on Takata Corporation to cooperate with a defective airbag investigation started last year. A week after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began fining the company $14,000 per day for failing to turn over documents and answer questions, the agency upgraded the investigation and ordered the company to preserve evidence. [More]
Advocates Push NHTSA For Answers Regarding Airbag Recall, Remedy Effectiveness
The first major automobile recall of 2015 centered on 2.1 million vehicles containing an electronic glitch that could cause the safety devices to deploy inadvertently. While that defect is obviously a safety hazard, little else about the recall seems out of the ordinary. That is until you learn that this is the fourth time these vehicles have been recalled for this particular issue. Now, a consumer group is pushing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for answers regarding the recall, its past remedy failures, and the agency’s ability to ensure owners of recalled vehicles are safe. [More]
Feds Fine Honda $70 Million For Over A Decade’s Worth Of Inaccurate Death And Injury Reports
The new year is off to a rough start for automaker Honda, as federal regulators announced today that the car company will be paying a record-setting $70 million fine for failing to report over 1700 injuries and deaths over a period of 11 years. [More]
2014: By The Numbers
2014 was a record-setting year in an enormous variety of ways, both good and bad. As we wrap up and head into 2015, here’s a look at what happened, and what we learned, in the 2014 that was. [More]
Takata President, COO Steps Down To “Unify” Response To Massive Airbag Issues
Takata Corp., the auto parts supplier behind the airbags responsible for more than 20 million vehicle recalls, is apparently taking steps to “unify” its response to the massive safety issue by replacing its president and COO. [More]
Ford And Chrysler Expand Recalls Of Vehicles With Takata Airbags
Yesterday, airbag-maker Takata made a terrifying admission: the company has no idea exactly why its products have been spraying metal shards into motorists’ bodies when they deploy. The good news is that two more automakers have, with the encouragement of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, expanded their recall of vehicles containing Takata parts to those registered in more states. [More]
Takata First Investigated Reports Of Exploding Air Bags In 2003
Airbag-maker Takata still will not issue a nationwide recall of all of its exploding, shrapnel-hurling car airbags, but the company has admitted (ahead of a Congressional investigation) that it has known about the issue and investigated possible problems with the airbag inflator since 2003. [More]