Honda has been fined a record $70m, by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The penalty, which is the maximum the NTSA can impose, is apparently for failure to report death and injury complaints and warranty and customer satisfaction claims over an eleven year period.
US federal law requires automakers to submit death and injury complaints to regulators as part of an "early warning" system for identifying potential vehicle safety defects that can lead to a recall.
A serious dent in Honda's reputation? Image: IIHS |
Since 2008, Honda has recalled more than five million vehicles in the US alone to fix a potentially fatal defect in Takata-made air bags and to replace other defective parts. Seemingly the air bag inflators can rupture after a crash and injure occupants with shards of metal.
Officials are saying that they have not yet received all the complaints from Honda and therefore don't have a tally of how many deaths and injuries are involved.
The company is blaming the omissions on "errors related to data entry, computer coding, regulatory interpretation, and other errors in warranty and property damage claims reporting."
US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated that Honda's failure to disclose the complaints has also been forwarded to the Justice Department, while the Center for Auto Safety is calling for an increase in the fine.