NHTSA opens investigation into Honda’s reporting of Takata airbag failures

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said in a statement released on Monday that it will initiate an investigation into Honda Motor's reporting of deaths or injuries resulting from defects in airbags manufactured by Takata.

With Takata airbag defects now part of an all-encompassing federal review, the NHTSA said in its statement that it will probe into whether there was a failure on the part of Honda, with regard to reporting deaths or injuries which occurred in its vehicles due to defective airbags.

According to the NHTSA, Honda may have failed to report accidents caused due to defects in Takata air bags in its vehicles as well as other defective components. Since 2008, a total of over 5 million vehicles have been recalled by Honda thus far in the US, for fixing a potentially fatal defect in airbags.

Opening the probe into Honda's reporting of airbag failures, safety regulators have given a three-week period to the automaker to answer comprehensive questions about how accident reports were sought and logged by the automaker for over a decade. Honda is required to answer the NHTSA's Monday order - which includes 34 points - under oath.

In reference to the NHTSA's probe into Honda's reporting of airbag failures in its vehicles, the agency's Deputy Administrator David Friedman said: "Honda and the other automakers are legally obligated to report this information to us and failure to do so will not be tolerated."