Toyota affirms local models are not affected by ‘diesel irregularities’

Toyota South Africa has indicated that its local market operations won’t be affected by its parent company announcing a halting of diesel engine production after the discovery of “irregular certification” during testing in Japan.

Report

On Monday evening, the automaker said it had opted to stop production of the 2.8 1GD and 3.3 F33A engines after an investigation by its Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) division found that ECU software, different from those used in mass production, had been used to test the unit’s power performance in order for the results to appear “smoother” and with “less variation”.

“Based on the results of the investigation, TICO decided today to temporarily suspend shipments of the affected engines. Toyota has also decided to temporarily suspend shipments of vehicles equipped with the affected engines,” Toyota’s statement read.

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“Going forward, we will provide detailed explanations to the authorities and promptly proceed with appropriate measures, including conducting testing in the presence of witnesses if appropriate”.

It also added, “We have re-verified the mass-produced products manufactured at the plant and confirmed that the affected engines and vehicles meet engine performance output standards. Therefore, there is no need to stop using the affected engines or vehicles”.

Vehicles identified as having been affected include the Fortuner, Hilux and outgoing Land Cruiser Prado powered by the 1GD, and the Land Cruiser 300 as well as its Lexus LX 500d sibling motivated by the V6 F33A.

Not South Africa

While the findings names Africa and the Prospecton Plant outside Durban – the latter only in the case of the Hilux – Toyota, in a statement to The Citizen, said “with the current information at hand, Toyota South Africa (TSAM) can confirm that this issue does not affect any models sold in South Africa. Should this change, we will notify our customers”.

It also added, “this matter relates to irregularities in the certification process based on national requirements in certain countries but does not have any impact on horsepower, torque or other powertrain-related values.

“Additionally, these irregularities do not compromise the emissions or safety of the vehicles involved”.

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