Buyer of Japan’s Takata looks at possible seatbelt faults

The company that took over Japan’s Takata Corp. following a scandal over faulty airbags is looking into whether the company failed to provide accurate test data on seatbelts supplied to automakers

DETROIT — The company that took over Japan’s Takata Corp. following a scandal over faulty airbags is looking into whether the company failed to provide accurate test data on seatbelts supplied to automakers.

Chinese-owned Joyson Safety Systems, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, said it was reviewing tests on belt webbing over a 20-year period before Takata was acquired in 2018. JSS said it knew of no “field issues” related to the products.

Japanese authorities believe Takata might have failed to supply accurate test data on some 9 million seatbelts, according to news reports. They said that might trigger a recall affecting as many as 2 million vehicles.

The belt webbing came from a Takata factory in Hikone, Japan, according to JSS.

JSS, previously Key Safety Systems, is owned by Joyson Electronics Ltd. in Ningbo, China.

JSS acquired most of Takata’s operations after the company was bankrupted by a global recall of some 50 million airbag inflators. At least 22 deaths and more than 180 injuries were blamed on inflators that exploded with too much force, spewing shrapnel at passengers.

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Joyson Safety Systems: http://joysonsafety.com