Victims claim BMW, others knew about Takata airbag problem 'for years'

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Lawyers for victims and their families suing air bag maker Takata Corp. and five automakers allege the car companies knew Takata’s air bags were dangerous yet continued to use them for years because the devices were inexpensive and they had a desire for uninterrupted revenues in the billions.

“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 status report filed Monday in Miami by lead plaintiff attorney Peter Prieo.

The allegations against Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford and BMW were made on the same day the Japanese auto supplier will be in a Detroit courtroom to plead guilty to wire fraud and pay $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the company’s fraudulent conduct related to sales of defective air bag inflators.

In the court filing, Prieo cited specific examples of evidence from Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan and BMW, including an allegation that Ford chose Takata’s inflators over the objections of Ford’s own inflator expert.

The federal court in Miami is handling pretrial evidence-gathering in dozens of lawsuits against Takata and the automakers. The filing says the allegations are partly based on auto company documents.

Earlier, the automakers had contended that Takata was the problem because it admitted to covering up the defective inflators, which can blow apart and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. In the court filing, plaintiffs lawyers allege that the automakers were “far from innocent” in the case, and that they had independent knowledge that Takata’s air bag inflators were unsafe before putting them in millions of vehicles.

“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 attorneys allege in the court document, called a “status report.”

Messages were left Monday morning for all five automakers. Toyota declined to comment.

Takata’s air bag inflators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The inflators are blamed for at least 16 deaths worldwide and more than 180 injuries. The problem touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history involving 42 million vehicles and 60 million inflators.

Unlike most other air bag makers, Takata uses the explosive chemical ammonium nitrate to inflate air bags instantly in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to prolonged airborne moisture.

Federal prosecutors in Detroit reached a settlement with Takata — one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive safety equipment — after a 25-month international investigation into the Tokyo-based company’s faulty air bags that have been linked to at least 17 deaths.

Three former Takata executives have been indicted on wire fraud charges. The indictments are part of a criminal resolution between U.S. regulators and the Japanese air bag maker.

Takata has agreed to implement rigorous internal controls, retain a compliance monitor for three years and cooperate fully with the department’s ongoing investigation.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, $125 million of the fine will be used for injured individuals who haven’t reached separate settlements while $850 million will be made available to automakers for air bag recall and replacement costs.

The remaining $25 million is a fine in the case. A court-appointed special master will oversee administration of the $975 million in restitution funds. Both sides agreed to recommend Ken Feinberg to serve as special master.

That appointment will need judicial approval by U.S. District Court Judge George Caram Steeh.

Closure with the Justice Department wraps up the criminal portion of Takata’s auto safety recall, which was the largest in history, and allows it to proceed with its hunt for a buyer.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...arge/98469000/

[Maynard]

Oh, so they were finally motivated to settle - by needing a buyer. Kind of like those millions of drivers who are now motivated to get the recall done, since they are considering whether they can sell a car with an active safety recall. If the DOJ grew a pair and firmly nixed any sales until fixed, and made the original companies do a buyback, this would have been history long ago. These wrist-slapper fines are a huge erosion of our quality of life, even if they appear innocuous - they undermine the fabric of everyday life. If penalties don't hurt the guilty parties enough to make others think twice, then they aren't doing the job. Think about how many little pieces of equipment you rely upon for your everyday safety and peace of mind, and how many millions could be 'saved' by cheaping out on them - I mean, all those extra safety systems in an elevator - what a waste - those never really get used do they? Who'd know if they just didn't replace them next time?

[Dackelone]

Ohh boy! People will be going to JAIL over this scandal!!!



Reminds me of these TDi-gate bumper stickers...

[Quicksilv3r]

Of course they did. They've also known about their inferior rod bearings on pretty much every M engine built since 1998, but I suppose this only affects the life of the car, not the owner so no care.

[RACEM3_LV]

Good story, thanks for sharing my man!

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Ohh boy! People will be going to JAIL over this scandal!!!



Reminds me of these TDi-gate bumper stickers...
Attachment 1581225

Attachment 1581226

I'm interested to see how this plays out. Takata claims they have documents that prove their claim.

[IndotagSwizz]

this is the firestone thing all over again...

[Nar]

I can't believe this whole Takata recall is still going on. Seems like it's never gonna end.

[zamboni]

I received a recall notice for my M3 and dealer won't have the replacement airbag, what is my other option?

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Nar

I can't believe this whole Takata recall is still going on. Seems like it's never gonna end.

We have been dealing with this crap for over 10 years now at Honda.

[tc328]

And they say airbags suppose to save lives

[marcva]

Originally Posted by zamboni

I received a recall notice for my M3 and dealer won't have the replacement airbag, what is my other option?

4 Pt harness and airbag delete?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by tc328

And they say airbags suppose to save lives

OK, so some 16 poor souls all around the world died due to a defective airbag (RIP), but how many actually got their life saved because of an airbag? Probably in the millions.

In no way do I condone the actions of Takata. Their actions are inacceptable, but from a probability standpoint, I still rather have an active airbag in my car, even if it has the very low risk of causing an injury when deploying.

[3M TAPE]

Originally Posted by marcva

4 Pt harness and airbag delete?

+1

I recommend Takata 4 point harness

[Eagle1oh7]

Originally Posted by marcva

4 Pt harness and airbag delete?

+HANS device.

[Herofmine]

Then just unplug the airbag and put the 0.99c resister instated, no airbag light + safety)) lol

[raysspl]

Damn, I hope this gets rectified quickly

[Destroya]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

OK, so some 16 poor souls all around the world died due to a defective airbag (RIP), but how many actually got their life saved because of an airbag? Probably in the millions.

In no way do I condone the actions of Takata. Their actions are inacceptable, but from a probability standpoint, I still rather have an active airbag in my car, even if it has the very low risk of causing an injury when deploying.

Does it bother you that Takata relied on a cost/benefit analysis when deciding to proceed with airbags it knew were defective? Let's see, we may kill 20 people, at about 5M per settlement or $100M total, but it would cost a billion to admit the problem and fix them. Hmmm, what to do?

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Destroya

Does it bother you that Takata relied on a cost/benefit analysis when deciding to proceed with airbags it knew were defective? Let's see, we may kill 20 people, at about 5M per settlement or $100M total, but it would cost a billion to admit the problem and fix them. Hmmm, what to do?

It comes down to having some morals, not the money.

[Eagle1oh7]

Still waiting for my recall.?

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by Eagle1oh7

Still waiting for my recall.?

Same in here. My letter is already over a year old if not more. I just called yesterday BMW Canada for a follow up and they don't know nothing.
Any ETA for parts, 2 months, 8 months another 3 years? They know NOTHING!

How is that for a customer care?

[mdai245]

I can see this story being taught as a case study in engineering ethics classes for decades to come