NHTSA orders Honda to provide documents on defective Takata airbags

Honda Motors has been hit by a second demand from federal safety regulators from the United States  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over the Japanese automaker’s recall of millions of vehicle models that were equipped with defective and potentially deadly Takata airbags, according to Automotive News.

The NHTSA demanded on Wednesday that Honda produce documents and answer questions under oath relevant to our ongoing investigation into defective air bags made by Takata,” according to David Friedman, NHTSA Deputy Administrator. However, Honda has issued no immediate replay to the demand, which is very unusual for an automaker.

Honda was also ordered by the NHTSA on Monday to provide information about its Early Warning Reports (EWR) to government safety regulators, according to Detroit Free Press. Those quarterly reports require all automakers in the United States to disclose vehicle problems and any deaths that might be linked to a defective component.

This information is being used by the NHTSA to analyze whether to begin an investigation or order a recall. Despite the fact that Honda is the one who started the Takata airbag recall, the NHTSA believes that the automaker may have omitted other deaths from its EWR documents, however, Friedman says that he expects the automaker to cooperate.