Units of Honda Motor Co. have agreed to pay $85 million (¥9 billion) to settle investigations by most U.S. states into its use of defective Takata airbag inflators in its vehicles, according to a consent order made public Tuesday.
The state probes are connected with the ongoing recalls of tens of millions of vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata inflators that were sold by Honda and other major auto manufacturers over the past 20 years.
To date, more than 40 million U.S. vehicles equipped with 60 million defective Takata air bags have been recalled because the inflators can explode when deployed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At least 25 deaths around the world and nearly 300 injuries have been linked to faulty Takata inflators.