After scouring junkyards for defective air bags, lawyers suing Takata Corp. asked a U.S. judge to order the Japanese company to preserve recalled components for independent testing because the parts are so hard to find.
Takata, based in Tokyo, has been taking air bags brought into dealers for recalls and sending them for testing in Japan, raising concerns about destruction of evidence, according to attorneys for Angelina Sujata, who sued the company this month.
Sujata said she was injured when the air bag in her Honda Civic ruptured, sending shrapnel at her chest. Honda Motor Co. has said it's aware of three deaths and 52 injuries in the U.S. related to the defect and is reviewing two more possible deaths.