Honda will pay $605 million in a settlement over Takata air-bag flaws

Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Honda will announce a $605 million economic loss settlement on Friday covering 11.4 million owners of U.S. vehicles with potentially faulty Takata air bag inflators, sources briefed on the matter said.

The Japanese automaker joins other major automakers that have reached similar settlements, and agreed to take additional actions to try to help speed recall repairs of vehicle inflators that can potentially rupture and cause serious injuries or deaths. Five other automakers have reached similar settlements worth about $650 million in total.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2015 recalled 33.8 million vehicles because they were equipped with Takata airbags that could explode and spray occupants with shards of metal.

At least 17 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide have been tied to the air-bag defect that prompted the largest ever auto safety recall and led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in May.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown; Danielle Muoio contributed to this report.)

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