Japanese airbag manufacturer and supplier, Takata Corporation, is currently embroiled in one of the most heated controversies in the history of the automobile and involving the largest-ever industry-spanning recall effort.
Takata airbags, over the years, have been fitted to over hundreds of millions of vehicles – with some estimates saying that 100 million of which are or will be involved in the recall – that range from cars under the Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA), to Ford, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Ferrari, and BMW.
As Bloomberg reports, following an investigation conducted in secret by Honda, one of Takata’s largest customers and probably the hardest hit automaker, the audit found a consistent pattern of airbag inflator test result manipulation, according to former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Brian O’Neil, whom Honda had tapped to begin the arduous task of probing their airbag supplier for signs of malpractice.
O’Neil said, during a phone interview: “We have found examples of what I would call ‘selective editing,’ where they have left out results not because they were bad results, but because the results that remained were better. We found evidence that the report that went to Honda was a shorter version of the original version, and it was a prettier shortened version.”
These finding and their reveal are damning as they are, but with Takata already desperate to keep their heads above water, it’s hard to see how anything can stop their freefall.
Currently, the company in turmoil is going through a corporate restructuring and sourcing for potential buyers, requiring a show of support from the same customers who are now trying to mobilise recall campaigns to replace these potentially defective airbag inflators that, just over the past month, has led to at least one known death.
It will take years for this recall to be completed and in that span will require the continued effort of all the automakers involved, shepherding owners of the effected cars to dealerships and service centres to have the problem rectified.
Honda has stated that none of its models nor those wearing the Acura badge currently being produced or are under development will be fitted with Takata-supplied airbag inflators.
Jared Levy, a Honda spokesperson, said: “Takata has previously acknowledged and deeply regrets issues related to the integrity of Takata’s inflator validation testing and reporting of test results to its customers. These issues are totally incompatible with Takata’s engineering standards and protocols and entirely inexcusable.”
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