Takata has been in the news as of late, thanks to their airbag inflator defect issues. In fact, the company is slated to plead guilty in an upcoming criminal court case that will cost them $1 billion in settlement charges around the fatalities of 16 individuals due to the faulty inflators. However, a new lawsuit has been recently launched that claims auto manufacturers BMW, Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Ford may have known about the defective airbag inflators before they were installed within millions of cars globally.

As per Peter Prieo, lead attorney in the case, automakers ignored warnings of defects to gain access to cheaper costing equipment. They favored Takata’s low prices for the airbag inflators and showed concern around the idea that if they stopped using them, they may not have an adequate supply of cars available for sale; which would thus prohibit them to sell cars and generate billions of revenue dollars.

MSN reported that the lawsuit offers a detailed outline around these accusations. Ford allegedly went against their own experts’ advice when it came to Takata’s inflators and chose to use the faulty products anyways. There were other claims within the suit, including an unnamed manufacturer saying the inflators were something in which a rider’s protection device could transition into a ‘killing weapon’.

Unfortunately claims such as these have come to the forefront in the past. As per The New York Times, General Motors had been warned by Autoliv about Takata’s equipment and their dangers, in 2016. Takata’s airbags were also used by Honda despite recommendations from experts, as well.
Clearly, the courts won’t be taking these accusations lightly. As time wears on, there is sure to be statements from the car manufacturers named in the case, and only time will tell if these allegations are true or false.