Subaru reports improper vehicle inspections

October 30, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's Subaru Corp.on Monday submitted to the transport ministry the result of an in-house investigation into its improper final inspections of finished vehicles.

The automaker, which used unqualified workers in preshipment inspections for over 30 years, will recall 255,000 affected vehicles manufactured in the past three years.

Subaru is expected to file for the recall with the ministry around the middle of next week. The company is still conducting necessary procedures.

After similar misconduct came to light at Nissan Motor Co. in September, the ministry told automakers to open in-house investigations and report the results by the end of this month. A total of 23 companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp. , Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Daihatsu Motor Co., have reported that they found no cases of such fraud in their final vehicle inspections, according to the ministry.

Subaru has a system to promote workers recognized as having enough knowledge and skills to be inspectors after they obtain two to six months of experience and pass a written test. The system runs counter to a ministry notice stipulating that such inspections must be carried out by designated workers.

At Subaru, some certified inspectors lent unqualified workers their certification seals to allow final inspection documents to be signed off under the names of the inspectors. Jiji Press