Toyota/Daihatsu scandal: Corolla and Yaris Cross production halted

KUALA LUMPUR: Emerged almost a year ago, the Toyota/Daihatsu scandal concerning irregularities in crash tests does not seem to be ending soon. After identifying issues with 64 car models and recalling over 3,20,000 cars, the scandal now took another turn.

On January 26 this year, Toyota began investigating its model certification applications as instructed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). The investigation revealed seven models that did not comply with government standards. 

According to the reports, the model certification issues involve inadequate data in pedestrian and occupant protection tests for three models—the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross—which are currently in production. They also involve errors in crash tests and other test methods for the other four models—Crown, Isis, Sienta, and RX—which were discontinued in 2014.

After conducting thorough internal verifications, Toyota confirmed that the affected vehicles do not have performance issues that violate laws and regulations. Thus, owners are not required to stop using these vehicles.

However, it has decided to temporarily halt the shipments and sales of three models in Japan.

A brief look at testing Issues for Corolla and Yaris Cross models

Based on the previous-gen Corolla, the Axio sedan and Fielder wagon are still available in Japan for fleet use. While testing them, the company used development test data under rigorous test conditions to assess pedestrian head injury in a collision and conducted the impact angle at 65 degrees instead of the required 50 degrees. 

For the Yaris Cross, Toyota ignored a regulation change while testing the rear bench damage caused by luggage kept in the trunk during an accident. However, the automaker introduced the requirement for luggage blocks at a later stage but did not repeat the test and used the old test data for the certification.

“We sincerely apologize for any concern or inconvenience this may cause to our customers and stakeholders who have placed their trust in Toyota. We take it seriously that the problem was discovered at Toyota following the recent discovery of certification issues at Hino Motors, Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. and Toyota Industries Corporation, said Toyota.

“We are not a perfect company. But if we see anything wrong, we will take a step back and keep trying to correct it,” said Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder,

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