(Bloomberg) — The U.S. government moved to preserve evidence in its investigation of defective Takata Corp. air-bag inflators, telling the company to turn over data from the devices that have been removed from the recalled cars.
Takata is prohibited from destroying or damaging recovered inflators except for the purposes of testing and is required to set aside 10% of the devices for plaintiffs in lawsuits. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis, a formal step that signals the agency believes there's a safety defect.
"This department is focused on protecting the American public from these defective air bags and at getting to the bottom of how they came to be included in millions of vehicles," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement Wednesday.
Investigating air-bag inflators
Regulators are investigating air-bag inflators that may malfunction, deploying with so much force that the part breaks and hurls metal shrapnel at the car's occupants. At least five fatalities in the U.S. and more than 100 injuries have been reported.
Tokyo-based Takata said it worked with regulators "to reach a constructive solution," on the preservation order and will fully cooperate with NHTSA's continuing investigation.
"The outcome is in the best interest of all parties, and consistent with our commitment to the safety of the driving public," the company said in a statement Wednesday. "Determining the root cause of the inflator issues has been, and remains our top priority."
Testing data
Under the order issued by NHTSA, the agency also is requiring Takata to get approval for how it gathers, stores and preserves inflators that are removed during the recalls. The agency wants a written plan for how the company will grant access to automakers and plaintiff's lawyers who seek inflators for testing.
NHTSA will get access to all testing data from Takata, as well as from separate investigations being conducted by automakers and by trial lawyers. The agency also is reserving the right to collect the inflators for its own analysis, if necessary.
17 million vehicles recalled since 2008
Ten automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have recalled about 17 million vehicles since 2008 with Takata air bags. Last year, five automakers upgraded recalls for drivers' side air bags at NHTSA's urging.
NHTSA last week began fining Takata $14,000 a day for not completely answering questions about air-bag inflator production and company efforts to investigate the explosions. Takata hasn't provided details needed to determine how the 2.4 million pages of documents produced relate to the agency's specific inquiries, NHTSA said.
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