DETROIT — Honda is admitting that it failed to report more than 1,700 injury and death claims about its vehicles to U.S. safety regulators, a violation of federal law.
The Japanese automaker, in statements issued Monday, also said it became aware of the omissions in 2011, yet it took about three years to take action.
The company said it filed documents detailing the lapses Monday with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had demanded an explanation Nov. 3. The agency said at the time that Honda may have failed to report incidents related to air bags made by Takata Corp. as well as other defective parts.
Honda blamed the lapses on inadvertent data entry and computer programming errors, as well as a misinterpretation of the federal TREAD Act, a 2000 law requiring faster reporting of deaths, injuries and safety defects by automakers.
But Honda said it did not report 1,729 death and injury claims from July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2014. During that 11-year period, the company reported only 1,144 claims.
Honda should get the maximum fine for “massively” violating the law, said Clarence Ditlow, head of nonprofit watchdog group Center for Auto Safety.
