Honda to pay $605m to settle Takata air bag suit in US

September 2, 2017

TOKYO- Honda Motor Co. said Friday it has agreed to pay $605 million to settle a US group lawsuit filed by owners of Honda vehicles equipped with defective Takata Corp. air bags for compensation for their economic losses stemming from the problem.

The settlement marks major progress in the issue of compensation over faulty air bags supplied by the Japanese auto parts maker. Honda has sold the largest number of vehicles with Takata air bags.

Of the total, $200 million will be used to set up a fund to promote recalls of the affected vehicles, while 80 million dollars will be paid to the vehicle owners for compensation.

The major Japanese automaker will be exempted from paying part of the total money as it has been making active efforts to complete the recalls. The actual amount to be paid by Honda will thus total $484 million.

In May, Toyota Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., Subaru Corp.and BMW AG settled similar lawsuits, agreeing to pay $553 million in total.

Nissan Motor Co. settled its suit in August with an agreement to pay $97 million. Ford Motor Co. is still in settlement talks with plaintiffs.

In the United States, Honda vehicles subject to recalls due to the air bag problem total more than 11 million units. Thirteen fatal accidents linked to Takata air bags have so far been confirmed in the country, with 12 of them involving Honda vehicles.

As of Aug. 4, Honda had finished repairing some 61 percent of its vehicles subject to recalls, higher than about 42.3 percent for all affected vehicles in the United States, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Jiji Press