Audit: Takata altered test results before sending to Honda, set for auction amidst ongoing scandal

Early results from an internal audit allegedly point towards Takata providing incomplete data for airbag inflator test results, according to Brian O’Neill, audit investigator who told Automotive News.

“We have found examples of what I would call ‘selective editing,’ where they have left out results not because they were bad results, but because the results that remained were better,” he said.

In depositions for a lawsuit, the company’s engineers reported a similar pattern in reports for Toyota, Nissan, and General Motors. The company’s current safety campaign in the United States covers 8.5 million vehicles that need 12.2 million inflators, where the faulty components have resulted in the loss of 10 lives in the United States and over 100 reported injuries, while two fatalities were reported in Malaysia.

Meanwhile on the local front, Honda Malaysia has reassured users that it is doing it all it can to fast-track the airbag inflator replacements for affected cars, including sourcing from other suppliers such as Daicel, Autoliv and TRW. Honda Malaysia has also extended its airbag inflator replacement program to cover grey import or “reconditioned” Hondas, i.e: those sold outside the official dealer network in Malaysia.

In the face of the ongoing safety scandal, Takata could be going up for sale, as there are as many as 20 different parties showing interest in purchasing the automotive components supplier.

With authorities such as the NHTSA expected to continue requests for inflator replacements on increasingly recent vehicles until December 2019, the growing recall could end up costing Takata billions of dollars, and its eventual buyer will be looking to restructure in order to pay off the costs of the recall campaign.

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