More than 1,100 deaths have already been reported by Honda to U.S. safety regulators, but the Japanese auto maker admits it failed to report an additional 1,700 deaths and injuries involving its cars since 2003.
Honda says it failed to report a total of 1,729 claims of death and injury from its customers during the 11-year period, citing "various errors related to data entry" and its programming code as well as its "overly narrow interpretation" of what the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD) qualifies as legal complaints that should be reported to regulators. TREAD requires companies to inform regulators about complaints, claims, injuries and lawsuits resulting from the use of defective products.
In its filing submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Honda says it left out information collected from third-party sources, such as police officers and private investigators as they were not specified by TREAD. This is in response to an order issued by the NHTSA on Nov. 3 requiring Honda to explain why it failed to submit early warning reports for the additional 1,700 cases.
The total number of claims now amount to 2,843, which could lead the NHTSA to fine Honda a whopping $35 million, the maximum penalty for failure to report claims. The largest fine the NHTSA imposed on a car maker was $3.5 million on Ferrari for failing to report three deaths linked to defects in its supercars.
"I think absolutely they are going to get a $35 million fine," says former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook. "It's quite shocking Honda would behave this way. They've put their company reputation at risk."
Of the 1,729 unreported claims, Honda says eight of them are related to the defective Takata air bags, including one fatality and seven injuries. The NHTSA learned of these incidents through other means, prompting the regulatory body to demand an explanation from Honda as to why it never reported these eight incidents.
Honda is one of 10 car makers embroiled in the defective air bag controversy involving Tokyo-based Takata. The Japanese car maker has called more than 7.5 million vehicles all over the world after it has been found that the air bags are prone to rupture especially in high humidity areas and send pieces of shrapnel flying all over the passenger cabin.
At least four deaths have officially been linked to the defective air bags found in Honda cars, but the company faces a slew of lawsuits filed by customers making death and injury claims. The most recent one was filed on Monday by the family of Mary Lyon Wolfe, who died from grave injuries caused by an air bag that was "deployed with excessive force" in her 2002 Honda Accord.
