The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Honda Motor Co. with $70 million in fines for failing to report potential safety problems in vehicles for more than a decade, the highest penalties levied against an auto maker by the agency.
The U.S. auto regulator said Honda didn’t submit early warning reports detailing 1,729 death and injury claims for 11 years through 2014. Honda also neglected to report required warranty data and claims under so-called customer satisfaction campaigns during the same period, it said.
Honda and other auto makers have been dealing with fallout from defective Takata Corp. air bags prone to explosions that have been linked to five deaths world-wide. The Japanese auto maker acknowledged that eight Takata-related claims or notices weren’t included in early warning reporting to regulators, including one death and seven injuries. But Honda said they were disclosed to NHTSA through other means.
Honda signed a consent order related to the fines on Dec. 29 and will have 60 days from then to provide further details on the 1,729 incidents it didn’t previously report.
The fines are the most since General Motors Co. agreed in May to pay $35 million to settle an investigation into failing to alert regulators to a deadly ignition-switch problem.
