NHTSA Orders Takata to Document Airbag Recalls

The National Highway Safety Administration has threatened Takata Corp. with a $35 million fine if it fails to answer 36 questions about defects in its airbag inflators that have triggered the recall of 7.8 million vehicles.

The agency is giving Takata until Dec. 1 to respond to the special order issued last Thursday. NHTSA wants copies of internal documents about production problems with the company's inflators, communications between Takata and other airbag makers and details about every lawsuit or claim against the Japanese supplier that involves faulty airbag systems.

Earlier this week Takata's CEO apologized for consumer uncertainty created by the crisis and pledged the company's full cooperation with government investigations.

Critics wonder why NHTSA is only now demanding more data. Carmakers have recalled some 17 million vehicles worldwide over the past five years to fix Takata airbag problems, including about 2.6 million in the U.S. within the past two years. The agency is under increasingly tough scrutiny into its recall investigation methods.