Takata saga: Ford to pay R3.9-billion settlement due to faulty air-bag inflators

Ford agreed to a so-called "economic loss settlement" of $299.1 million covering at least 6-million US vehicles with potentially faulty Takata air bag inflators, court documents filed in a federal court, reports Reuters.

The settlement covers economic damages linked to the inflators, including claims that vehicles were "inaccurately represented to be safe", buyers had overpaid for cars with defective or substandard air bags and faced out of pocket costs to deal with recalls.

Host of other settlements

Six automakers have agreed to similar settlements worth more than $1.2-billion combined, including Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda Subaru and BMW .

READ: More 350 000 cars yet to change Takata airbags - Malaysia

At least 23 deaths worldwide are linked to faulty Takata airbags, with the recall involving about 100-million inflators among 19 automakers.

To date, 21 deaths have been reported in Honda vehicles and two in Ford cars.

Focusing on repairs

Ford said in a statement it remains "focused on working with our customers to get their vehicles repaired." 

The settlement also covers out-of-pocket costs, including lost wages and child care costs, Ford owners may face, or already incurred, to get vehicles repaired.

                                                                          Image: AP

In total, nearly 30 million U.S. vehicles remain unrepaired in the recall. 

                                                                            Image: AFP / Kazuhiro Nogi