Takata deal will lead to faster airbag fixes

Bloomberg News report

WASHINGTON (June 1, 2015) — The legal order signed by troubled supplier Takata Corp. with U.S. regulators in late May will speed the investigation to determine the reason air bags are exploding and injuring motorists, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

The agreement means Takata is “no longer resisting” the Transportation Department's diagnosis that there was a wider safety defect, Mr. Foxx told reporters in Washington, D.C., on May 28. Takata's cooperation means company investigators will work alongside regulators on testing, he said.

“The first thing we're focused on is trying to get a root cause established, and protocols in place to get harmful products out of the marketplace,” Mr. Foxx said. “Now we'll be more or less looking over their shoulders.”

Takata agreed on May 19 to expand recalls to fix faulty airbag inflators to almost 34 million vehicles. Covering 11 different manufacturers, the campaign is the largest auto-safety recall in U.S. history and it may take weeks for auto makers to sort out and notify all consumers affected.

This Bloomberg News report appeared on the website of Automotive News, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.