Volkswagen's U.S. unit has agreed to a $42 million settlement covering 1.35 million vehicles that were equipped with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, Reuters reported. The settlement is the latest by major automakers and much of the funding goes to boosting recall completion rates. To date, seven other major automakers have agreed to settlements worth about $1.5 billion covering tens of millions of vehicles. The defect, which leads in rare instances to air bag inflators rupturing and sending dangerous metal fragments flying, prompted the largest automotive recall in history. To date, at least 19 U.S. deaths have been attributed to faulty Takata air bag inflators. Honda Motor Co said in April it had confirmed the 19th U.S. death tied to a ruptured Takata air bag inflator since 2009 — and the 16th in one of its vehicles. Honda reached an earlier $605 million civil settlement with owners similar to the Volkswagen settlement. More than 400 injuries are also tied to faulty Takata inflators and at least 28 deaths worldwide. There have been two U.S. Takata deaths in Ford Motor Co vehicles and one in a BMW.
