Honda faces $35 million fine for unreported deaths and injuries linked to its cars

Blaming "inadvertent data entry or computer programming errors," Honda Motor Co. filed an internal review on Monday saying it had failed to report 11 years' worth of injuries and deaths related to its vehicles, Bloomberg reports.

The company failed to report more than 1,700 claims to U.S. regulators from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2014; automakers can be fined $7,000 per violation per day, and Honda's lapse is so long that the automaker's fines may actually surpass the maximum civil penalty of $35 million.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Honda failed to report airbag-related deaths and injuries. That audit, which has yet to be made public, "identifies difficult facts where we did not meet our obligations," said Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America.

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