The US is fining air bag maker Takata US$14,000 per day for failing to cooperate fully with the government investigation into the company’s defective airbags, the US transportation secretary said on Friday.
According to Reuters, Anthony Foxx said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued two orders late last year requiring Takata to provide documentation and other material relating to the agency’s investigation of defective air bags made by Takata.
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“Takata has not fully cooperated with the investigation,” Fox said in a statement cited by the news agency.
“Safety is a shared responsibility and Takata’s failure to fully cooperate with our investigation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he added. “For each day that Takata fails to fully cooperate with our demands, we will hit them with another fine.”
The NHTSA has said at least 7.8m cars are potentially affected by defective air bags made by Takata.
The agency is trying to determine whether Takata air bag inflators made between 2000 and 2007 were improperly sealed. Bags inflating with too much force potentially could spray metal shrapnel at occupants. They have been linked to four deaths and resulted in several lawsuits.
The NHTSA has urged owners of certain vehicles to replace the air bags as soon as possible.
More than 16m vehicles globally have been recalled since 2008 because of defective Takata air bags.
