Honda has reached a USD 85 million settlement with multiple states over allegations that it hid safety failures in the airbags of certain Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. The settlement ties up an investigation into Honda’s alleged failure to inform regulators and consumers of issues related to the significant risk of rupture in the frontal airbag systems installed in certain cars, which could cause metal fragments to fly into the passenger compartments.
The systems were designed and made by Takata Corp. The ruptures have resulted in at least 14 deaths and more than 200 injuries in the U.S., according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Today’s settlement will not only guarantee Honda replaces all remaining defective airbags on the road, but that the company takes specific actions to ensure any future defect is thoroughly made public in the future to avoid this type of danger,’ James said in a prepared statement.
