Federal investigators ordered Takata on Wednesday to preserve the recalled airbag inflators as evidence for the investigation and litigation.
The order came from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. The Japanese auto parts supplier is prohibited to destroy all of the recalled airbag inflators except for a few that they will be using for testing. The government must have access to 10 percent of these airbag inflators for its own probe.
Including the recalled inflators in the probe takes it to an engineering level which will focus more on defect identification, which will be handled by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Takata said that they will comply with the new order that will allow both federal and private investigators to have access in the recalled inflators.
"We believe the outcome (Foxx's order) is in the best interest of all parties, and consistent with our commitment to the safety of the driving public. Determining the root cause of the inflator issues has been, and remains, our top priority," Takata spokesman Bob Rendine told Reuters.
The new order is another blow for Takata, which is currently being fined $14,000 per day for failing to fully cooperate with the federal investigation by not submitting the documentation requested. NHTSA also alleged that the Japanese company purposely discarded 2.4 million pages of documents and failed to explain the reason for such action, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Since 2008, several automakers have recalled about 17 million vehicles due to faulty airbags that can release shrapnel when deployed. About six deaths and dozens of injuries have been associated with said defect.
