Lawsuit alleges 5 carmakers knew of deadly Takata airbag defects

Washington

COURT documents filed on Monday allege that five car companies were aware of defects that caused Takata airbags to potentially harm or kill motorists, but continued to use them anyway to save on costs.

The documents claim that Honda, Ford, BMW, Toyota and Nissan have known about the issues with the Japanese manufacturer's airbags for more than a decade, but still used them because Takata was cheaper than its competitors and could produce the bulk quantities the carmakers needed, according to the court documents.