Automotive giant Toyota has announced more vehicles have violated certification testing procedures in Japan, with the RAV4, Camry and Prius V now implicated in the months-long scandal.
“In relation to Wednesday’s announcement, Toyota Australia is seeking more information relating to the local market and will provide any updates as soon as possible,” a Toyota Australia spokesperson told CarExpert.
“At this stage, customers do not need to stop using their vehicles.”
In June 2024, Toyota admitted to undertaking safety tests it claims were more stringent than required by the Japanese transport ministry for certification, however it failed to obtain approval to do so.
This affected seven models, including the Yaris Cross which subsequently had its Australian deliveries paused. They later resumed after Toyota found the SUV was compliant with certification requirements.
Toyota has now announced another seven models have been found to breach its certification protocols, including the current-generation RAV4, the outgoing Camry and since-discontinued Prius V.
The Toyota RAV4 was tested in 2017 using “loading blocks that differ from the regulations, and seat locking mechanism parts that differ from those used in mass production”, affecting its “load shifting prevention test” results.
Toyota says the outgoing Camry – which is being replaced by a new model this year – was tested “with different steering from declaration, reported using photos of same specs”, impacting the results of its steering impact test.
Finally, the Toyota Prius V – discontinued in Australia in 2021 – was improperly tested for its pedestrian protection capabilities, due to the “reuse of tested Fr [front] bumper”.
In each case, Toyota has said it has reported the latest certification inconsistencies to the relevant authorities, though it added “customers do not need to stop using the vehicles”.
“We will review the structure and system to implement correct certification operations, clarify the responsibility and authority of the certification process once again, and continue to improve our infrastructure, including accurate data management.
“We will promptly compile these measures to prevent recurrence and report them to the MLIT [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism].
“Once again, we sincerely apologise to our stakeholders for any concern or inconvenience this may have caused.”
The latest announcement marks yet another scandal for Toyota.
In January, Toyota announced it had discovered “irregularities” during engine certification testing of three turbo-diesel engines produced by its subsidiary Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO).
While the carmaker was later cleared of misconduct and certifications for the three passenger vehicle engines weren’t revoked, three of its mass-produced industrial engines for forklifts and other heavy equipment had their certification taken away.
In July 2022, Toyota’s truck division Hino admitted to having falsified emissions data for 860,000 commercial vehicles globally since 2003.
In December 2023, Toyota’s small car specialist brand Daihatsu suspended manufacturing in Japan following the discovery that it falsified safety data and used unauthorised safety testing procedures, dating back to 1989.
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