Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced a multi-state settlement with TK Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Takata, over allegations that the company had concealed safety issues with their airbag systems.
The settlement reached between the attorneys general of 44 states and the District of Columbia, along with TK Holdings, Inc., concludes the multi-state investigation into the company's failure to timely disclose known safety defects with its airbag inflators.
"The safety of consumers is one of my top priorities as your attorney general," Schuette said. "That's why I crack down on companies that lack transparency to the consumer, especially when it directly affects their safety."
The investigation alleged that the company knew of the airbag inflator's safety defect due to testing failures. TK Holdings, Inc.'s parent company pleaded guilty to manipulating data and submitting false and misleading reports to auto manufacturers.
The company was aware of airbag ruptures as early as 2004 but did not take appropriate action to recall unsafe airbag inflators or notify regulators and the public of the danger until November 2014.
More than 50 million airbags in ore than 37 million vehicles have been recalled with future recalls through the end of 2019 likely, bringing the total number of affected airbags to around 65 or 70 million.
