The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into exploding Takata airbags has found that the manufacturer violated the Motor Vehicle Safety Act as well as the Federal regulations implementing the Act. The NHTSA have imposed one of the largest civil penalties in NHTSA history and have ordered all 12 vehicle manufacturers to accelerate repairs, prioritizing recalls so the vehicles experiencing the greatest safety risk will be fixed first.
The Consent Order requires Takata to phase out inflators that use phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate propellant, which is believed to be a factor in explosive ruptures, and lays out a schedule for recalling all Takata ammonium nitrate inflators currently used, unless the company can prove they are safe or can show it has determined why its inflators are prone to rupture.
The order also imposes oversight on Takata for the next five years, including an independent monitor to assess, track and report the company’s compliance with the phase-out schedule and other requirements of the Consent Order, and to oversee the Coordinated Remedy Program.
Under the Coordinated Remedy Order, vehicle manufacturers must ensure they have sufficient replacements on hand to meet consumer demand for the highest-risk inflators by March 2016, and to provide final remedies for all vehicles by the end of 2019. (View the complete updated list of the Takata air bag recall Here.)
