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Four Carmakers Settle Takata Airbag Lawsuits for $554 Million
Four carmakers— BMW, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota—have agreed to spend a combined $554 million to settle class-action lawsuits to compensate U.S. customers for replacing the Takata Corp. airbag inflators in their vehicles.
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Four carmakers— BMW, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota—have agreed to spend a combined $554 million to settle class-action lawsuits to compensate U.S. customers for replacing the Takata Corp. airbag inflators in their vehicles.
The deal awaits the approval by a judge in Florida. Separate settlements for similar lawsuits involving Ford, Honda and Nissan are still being negotiated.
Thursday’s settlement will cover the costs of contacting owners, compensating them for economic hardship involved in completing the repairs and perhaps compensation payments as much as $500 each. Toyota’s share will be $279 million, followed by BMW ($131 million), Mazda ($76 million) and Subaru ($68 million).
So far 19 carmakers have announced recalls covering about 100 million Takata inflators worldwide. The devices can misfire in a crash, spewing shrapnel into the passenger compartment at more than 200 mph. The explosions have killed 16 people and injured about 180 others.
Takata separately agreed in January to pay carmakers $850 million in restitution for its flawed inflators and establish a similar $125 million fund for victims of the explosions.
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