The Japanese automaker Toyota has acknowledged that three of its seven vehicles remaining on the market cheated on safety and certification tests.
While apologizing at a news conference in Tokyo, Chairman Akio Toyoda offered the traditional low bow. He made these remarks after reviewing the results of an internal Toyota inquiry that was initiated at the same time as the Japanese government’s probe was disclosed at the start of the year. That ongoing inquiry is investigating a number of automakers.
Falsely estimating airbag inflation and rear-seat damage in crashes, as well as using insufficient or out-of-date data in collision tests, were all parts of the extensive fraudulent testing at Japan’s leading carmaker. It was also discovered that engine power testing had been rigged.
Toyota in Japan halted the manufacturing of the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross. It was discovered that even discontinued models had misleading tests.
According to Toyota, the misconduct does not affect the safety of currently registered automobiles, including the small Corolla and the premium Lexus models.
In January, a probe against Toyota was initiated by the Japanese government. Production in other countries is unaffected by the problem.
Mazda Motor Corp., a Japanese competitor of Toyota, also stopped manufacturing the Roadster and the Mazda 2 after reporting suspicious certification tests. The results showed that the testing had employed the wrong engine control software. Mazda has also admitted that three of its discontinued cars failed crash testing. Additionally, Honda Motor Co. expressed regret for conducting many models with flawed testing, including those pertaining to noise and torque. Older Accord, Odyssey, and Fit vehicles that were impacted are no longer being manufactured, according to Honda.
Hino Motors, a truck manufacturer, Daihatsu Motor Co., and Toyota Industries Corporation, a subsidiary that makes machinery and car parts, all began experiencing certification issues around two years ago.
