Honda ran tests on fatal air bag flaw following Takata reticence: sources

Two unnamed senior Honda insiders said Honda tested 100-150 Takata air bags at Honda's quality centre near Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, in the first half of this year indicated shortcomings in Takata's manufacturing quality - EPA Photo.

TOKYO: Honda Motor Co was so concerned by mounting recalls for Takata air bags, and frustrated by its supplier's failure to explain why some have exploded and killed five people with shrapnel, that it bought used and scrapped cars in Japan to conduct its own tests, according to sources.

Around 21 million vehicles have been recalled globally by automakers since 2008 for defective Takata inflators.